Harnessing white-light-emitting metal-organic frameworks for efficient and UV-stable perovskite solar cells

Optimizing perovskite solar cells (PSCs) demands a comprehensive strategy to simultaneously mitigate spectral mismatch and film defects. Herein, we propose a rationally designed white-light-emitting ternary lanthanide metal-organic framework (Etg-dpon) as a dual-functional additive, surpassing the constraints of conventional monochromatic luminophores. By leveraging the antenna effect, controlled sensitization of Eu³⁺ and Tb³⁺ ions within a Gd-based host yields a single-phase white-light emitter with precise energy level alignment and efficient multi-color emission. On the one hand, its matched emission spectrum realizes efficient Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) down-conversion, which converts harmful high-energy ultraviolet photons into available visible light to broaden solar spectral utilization range. On the other hand, abundant surface active sites of Etg-dpon can effectively modulate perovskite crystallization behavior and passivate interfacial and bulk defects simultaneously. Benefiting from the above synergistic optical regulation and morphology optimization effects, the optimized PSC delivers a champion power conversion efficiency of 23.61%, and exhibits greatly improved ultraviolet irradiation stability, retaining 78% of its initial PCE after 36 h of continuous 310 nm irradiation. This study underscores the potential of designed white-light MOFs, offering a synergistic solution to optical, morphological, and stability challenges in high-performance PSCs.