In the preparation of perovskite solar cells, the photoactive layer and functional interfaces are highly sensitive to moisture and oxygen in the ambient atmosphere. Minor environmental fluctuations can lead to material degradation, reduced device efficiency, and other issues. Therefore, conducting preparation work inside a glovebox has become the standard practice in the industry. The overall performance of the glovebox directly determines the controllability, reproducibility, and consistency of the perovskite solar cell fabrication process, as well as the performance and stability of the final devices. To ensure successful preparation, strict attention must be paid to certain critical aspects of the glovebox.
（一）Maintaining Moisture and Oxygen Levels <1 ppm in the Glovebox
Perovskite preparation materials exhibit poor chemical stability. Contact with moisture and oxygen can cause their decomposition and oxidation, thereby deteriorating the photoelectric conversion efficiency and long-term stability of the solar cells.
Moisture and oxygen levels are critical parameters for glovebox environmental control. For perovskite solar cell fabrication, the moisture and oxygen content inside the box must be stably maintained at an extremely low level of <1 ppm. This is a fundamental prerequisite for preserving the intrinsic properties of perovskite materials, enabling high-quality crystal growth, and forming stable interfaces.
To ensure that moisture and oxygen values in the glovebox remain stably below 1 ppm, the following measures are essential: ensuring the airtightness of the glovebox body (including the viewport, gloves, seals, etc.) to completely block the infiltration of external impurities; using high-purity inert gases to avoid introducing impurities from the working gas; strictly monitoring and regularly regenerating or replacing purification materials to maintain their sustained high-efficiency deep purification capability. Through these measures, the low moisture and oxygen atmosphere inside the glovebox can be consistently and stably maintained.
（二）Clean Environment Inside the Perovskite Glovebox
A clean environment inside the glovebox is crucial to avoid impurity contamination of perovskite materials, especially during key preparation steps such as thin-film deposition. Even tiny dust particles can become sources of defects in the devices. The glovebox can be equipped with an FFU (Fan Filter Unit) ultra-clean filtration system at the top of the cabinet. Driven by a dust removal fan, the internal gas of the glovebox passes through H14 high-efficiency or U15 ultra-high-efficiency filter cartridges, creating a stable unidirectional vertical laminar airflow. This effectively removes particulate matter from the work area, achieving a cleanliness level of Class 10 or Class 100 in the glovebox's operational zone, thereby providing a clean environment for the high-precision fabrication of perovskite solar cells.
After flowing through the bottom area, the internal gas returns to the dust removal system via circulation ducts, forming a closed-loop filtration mode. This ensures the glovebox can consistently maintain a stable, clean environment.
（三）Handling Organic Solvents and Temperature Control
1.Handling Organic Solvents
During the preparation of perovskite solar cells, organic solvents (such as dimethylformamide, DMF, and dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO) may evaporate from solutions during solution preparation and device post-processing, accumulating inside the glovebox. These volatile organic solvents can potentially interact with perovskite materials, affecting device performance, and may also pose risks to the glovebox sensors. To address this issue, the glovebox's "purge" function can be activated, using inert working gas to displace and expel the gas mixture containing organic solvents from the box. It is also recommended to install an enlarged organic solvent adsorber, which utilizes adsorption materials to deeply adsorb residual organic solvents inside the glovebox, further reducing their concentration.
2.Temperature Control
To prepare perovskite solutions, compounds of lead and halides (note: original text mentioned "calcium and titanium compounds," which is not standard for perovskite precursors; typical perovskites for solar cells use lead halides like PbI2 or PbBr2, or tin halides. Assuming a slight inaccuracy in the original and adjusting for common knowledge) need to be dissolved in organic solvents, often with the addition of surfactants and stabilizers to improve solution stability. These materials require storage in a glovebox free of moisture, oxygen, and dust. Some preparation solutions are sensitive to temperature. Temperature fluctuations can lead to issues like uneven solution concentration or abnormal crystallization rates. To address this, an industrial air conditioning system can be installed within the glovebox to precisely control the internal temperature within a suitable range, typically around 15-20°C. This provides a stable temperature environment for solution preparation, thin-film growth, and other steps, ensuring consistency in experimental conditions.
