TY - GEN A1 - Das, Chittaranjan A1 - Roy, Rajarshi A1 - Kedia, Mayank A1 - Kot, Małgorzata A1 - Zuo, Weiwei A1 - Félix, Roberto A1 - Sobol, Tomasz A1 - Flege, Jan Ingo A1 - Saliba, Michael T1 - Unraveling the Role of Perovskite in Buried Interface Passivation T2 - ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces N2 - Interfaces in perovskite solar cells play a crucial role in their overall performance, and therefore, detailed fundamental studies are needed for a better understanding. In the case of the classical n–i–p architecture, TiO2 is one of the most used electron-selective layers and can induce chemical reactions that influence the performance of the overall device stack. The interfacial properties at the TiO2/perovskite interface are often neglected, owing to the difficulty in accessing this interface. Here, we use X-rays of variable energies to study the interface of (compact and mesoporous) TiO2/perovskite in such a n–i–p architecture. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy methods show that the defect states present in the TiO2 layer are passivated by a chemical interaction of the perovskite precursor solution during the formation of the perovskite layer and form an organic layer at the interface. Such passivation of intrinsic defects in TiO2 removes charge recombination centers and shifts the bands upward. Therefore, interface defect passivation by oxidation of Ti3+ states, the organic cation layer, and an upward band bending at the TiO2/perovskite interface explain the origin of an improved electron extraction and hole-blocking nature of TiO2 in the n–i–p perovskite solar cells. KW - perovskite solar cells KW - interface KW - defects KW - photoemission spectroscopy Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c13085 SN - 1944-8244 SN - 1944-8252 VL - 15 IS - 48 SP - 56500 EP - 56510 ER -