Self-Enhancement of Efficiency and Self-Attenuation of Hysteretic Behavior of Perovskite Solar Cells with Aging

Spontaneous enhancement of the photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) after aging has been reported, but the underlying reasons for such behavior are still under debate. Herein, we demonstrate that this spontaneous improvement effect accompanied by self-attenuation of hysteresis in the current-voltage characteristics is time- and temperature-dependent. Moreover, it is universal to PSCs based on a range of mixed-ion perovskites and coupled to different hole- and electron-transporting materials. Time-resolved confocal fluorescence microscopy and other characterization techniques suggest that the "self-healing" phenomenon is accompanied by the homogenization and enhancement of the charge extraction efficiency as well as suppressed recombination throughout cm²-scale perovskite layers. These dynamic effects need to be accounted for when assessing the initial and stabilized performance of PSCs.