Six-Month Outdoor Performance Study of Stable Perovskite Solar Cells Under Real Operating Conditions

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have sparked great excitement in the photovoltaics community due to their remarkable efficiency, flexibility, and ability to be synthesized at low cost. However, their instability poses a major roadblock to their widespread adoption. Recognizing this challenge, this work describes the performance of stable PSCs operating under real-life conditions in the Paris area. Two state-of-the-art 2D/3D (HOOC(CH₂)₄NH₃)2PbI₄/CH₃NH₃PbI₃ encapsulated cells are considered—one with maximum power point tracking and hourly current–voltage curve measurements, and another connected to a fixed resistive load. Their performance is compared over six months, and a detailed analysis is conducted on the cells’ hysteresis and electrical response to varying weather conditions. Although the first cell starts to degrade after a few months of operation, the second one remains remarkably stable, highlighting critical issues with outdoor tracking. Given that the stability of this PSC architecture has already been established under controlled standard conditions for over one year, these exciting findings pave the way for the commercialization of perovskite-based photovoltaic devices.