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Wang M, Liu S, Wei A, Luo T, Wen X, Li MY, Lu H. Effective Charge Collection of Electron Transport Layers for High-Performance Quantum Dot Infrared Solar Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2024. [PMID: 38690767 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c02069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2024]
Abstract
Infrared (IR) solar cells, capable of converting low-energy IR photons to electron-hole pairs, are promising optoelectronic devices by broadening the utilization range of the solar spectrum to the short-wavelength IR region. The emerging PbS colloidal quantum dot (QD) IR solar cells attract much attention due to their tunable band gaps in the IR region, potential multiple exciton generation, and facile solution processing. In PbS QD solar cells, ZnO is commonly utilized as an electron transport layer (ETL) to establish a depleted heterostructure with a QD photoactive layer. However, band gap shrinkage of large PbS QDs makes it necessary to tailor the behaviors of the ZnO ETL for efficient carrier extraction in the devices. Herein, the characteristics of ZnO ETL are efficiently and flexibly tailored to match the QD layer by handily adjusting the postannealing process of ZnO ETL. With a suitable temperature, the well-matched energy level alignment and suppressed trap states are simultaneously achieved in the ZnO ETL, effectively reducing the nonradiative recombination and accelerating the electron injection from the QD layer to ETL. As a consequence, a high-performance PbS QD photovoltaic device with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 10.09% and 1.37% is obtained under AM 1.5 and 1100 nm filtered solar illumination, demonstrating a simple and effective approach for achieving high-performance IR photoelectric devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Wang
- School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Sisi Liu
- School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Aoshen Wei
- School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Tianyu Luo
- School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Xiaoyan Wen
- School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
| | - Ming-Yu Li
- School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
- Yangtzi Delta Region Institute of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Huzhou, Zhejiang 313098, China
| | - Haifei Lu
- School of Science, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China
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2
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Zang L, Zhao C, Hu X, Tao J, Chen S, Chu J. Emerging Trends in Electron Transport Layer Development for Stable and Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells. Small 2024:e2400807. [PMID: 38573941 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202400807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) stand at the forefront of photovoltaic research, with current efficiencies surpassing 26.1%. This review critically examines the role of electron transport materials (ETMs) in enhancing the performance and longevity of PSCs. It presents an integrated overview of recent advancements in ETMs, like TiO2, ZnO, SnO2, fullerenes, non-fullerene polymers, and small molecules. Critical challenges are regulated grain structure, defect passivation techniques, energy level alignment, and interfacial engineering. Furthermore, the review highlights innovative materials that promise to redefine charge transport in PSCs. A detailed comparison of state-of-the-art ETMs elucidates their effectiveness in different perovskite systems. This review endeavors to inform the strategic enhancement and development of n-type electron transport layers (ETLs), delineating a pathway toward the realization of PSCs with superior efficiency and stability for potential commercial deployment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lele Zang
- Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Chunhu Zhao
- Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Carbon Neutrality and Intelligent, School of Resource & Environment, Hunan University of Technology and Business, Changsha, 410205, China
| | - Xiaobo Hu
- Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Jiahua Tao
- Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Precision Optics, Chongqing Institute of East China Normal University, Chongqing, 401120, China
| | - Shaoqiang Chen
- Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Junhao Chu
- Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
- Key Laboratory of Polar Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
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3
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Liu M, Wang Y, Lu C, Zhu C, Liu Z, Zhang J, Yuan M, Feng Y, Jiang X, Li S, Meng L, Li Y. Localized Oxidation Embellishing Strategy Enables High-Performance Perovskite Solar Cells. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202318621. [PMID: 38242850 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202318621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Perovskite solar cell (pero-SC) has attracted extensive studies as a promising photovoltaic technology, wherein the electron extraction and transfer exhibit pivotal effect to the device performance. The planar SnO2 electron transport layer (ETL) has contributed the recent record power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the pero-SCs, yet still suffers from surface defects of SnO2 nanoparticles which brings energy loss and phase instability. Herein, we report a localized oxidation embellishing (LOE) strategy by applying (NH4 )2 CrO4 on the SnO2 ETL. The LOE strategy builds up plentiful nano-heterojunctions of p-Cr2 O3 /n-SnO2 and the nano-heterojunctions compensate the surface defects and realize benign energy alignment, which reduces surface non-radiative recombination and voltage loss of the pero-SCs. Meanwhile, the decrease of lattice mismatch released the lattice distortion and eliminated tensile stress, contributing to better stability of the devices. The pero-SCs based on α-FAPbI3 with the SnO2 ETL treated by the LOE strategy realized a PCE of 25.72 % (certified as 25.41 %), along with eminent stability performance of T90 >700 h. This work provides a brand-new view for defect modification of SnO2 electron transport layer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minchao Liu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Yiyang Wang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Chenxing Lu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Can Zhu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Zhe Liu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Jinyuan Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Meng Yuan
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Yishun Feng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Xin Jiang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Siguang Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Lei Meng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yongfang Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Novel Semiconductor-optoelectronics Materials and Devices, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China
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4
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Wang Y, Feng M, Chen H, Ren M, Wang H, Miao Y, Chen Y, Zhao Y. Highly Crystalized Cl-Doped SnO 2 Nanocrystals for Stable Aqueous Dispersion Toward High-Performance Perovskite Photovoltaics. Adv Mater 2024; 36:e2305849. [PMID: 37651546 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202305849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2023] [Revised: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
Tin dioxide (SnO2 ) with high conductivity and low photocatalytic activity has been reported as one of the best candidates for highly efficient electron transport layer (ETL) in perovskite solar cell (PSC). The state-of-the-art SnO2 layer is achieved by chemical bath deposition with tunable properties, while the commercial SnO2 nanocrystals (NCs) with low tunability still face the necessity of further improvement. Here, a kind of highly crystallized Cl-doped SnO2 NCs is reported that can form very stable aqueous dispersion with shelf life up to one year without any stabilizer, which can facilitate the fabrication of PSCs with satisfactory performance. Compared to the commercial SnO2 NCs regardless of the extrinsic Cl-doping conditions, the intrinsic Cl-doped SnO2 NCs effectively suppress the energy barrier and reduces the trap state density at the buried interface between perovskite and ETL. Consequently, stable PSCs based on such Cl-doped SnO2 NCs achieve a champion efficiency up to ≈25% for small cell (0.085 cm2 ) and ≈20% for mini-module (12.125 cm2 ), indicating its potential as a promising candidate for ETL in high-performance perovskite photovoltaics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yao Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Menglei Feng
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Haoran Chen
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Meng Ren
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Haifei Wang
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yanfeng Miao
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yuetian Chen
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Shanghai Non-carbon Energy Conversion and Utilization Institute, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Yixin Zhao
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
- Shanghai Non-carbon Energy Conversion and Utilization Institute, Shanghai, 200240, China
- State Key Lab of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
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5
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Wang H, Luo H, Yang L, Liu X, Li H, Liu S, Tang Y, Ye Z, Long W. Simultaneous Interfacial Defect Passivation and Bottom-Up Excess PbI 2 Management via Rubidium Chloride in Highly Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells with Suppressed Hysteresis. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2024; 16:4854-4862. [PMID: 38252590 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c17743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
In halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs), moderate lead iodide (PbI2) can enhance device efficiency by providing some passivation effects, but extremely active PbI2 leads to the current density-voltage hysteresis effect and device instability. In addition, defects distributed on the buried interface of tin oxide (SnO2)/perovskite will lead to the photogenerated carrier recombination. Here, rubidium chloride (RbCl) is introduced at the buried SnO2/perovskite interface, which not only acts as an interfacial passivator to interact with the uncoordinated tin ions (Sn4+) and fill the oxygen vacancy on the SnO2 surface but also converts PbI2 into an inactive (PbI2)2RbCl compound to stabilize the perovskite phase via a bottom-up evolution effect. These synergistic effects deliver a champion PCE of 22.13% with suppressed hysteresis for the W RbCl PSCs, in combination with enhanced environmental and thermal stability. This work demonstrates that the interfacial defect passivation and bottom-up excess PbI2 management using RbCl modifiers are promising strategies to address the outstanding challenges associated with PSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanyu Wang
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
| | - Hu Luo
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
| | - Lang Yang
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
| | - Xingchong Liu
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
| | - Haimin Li
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
| | - Shuqian Liu
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
| | - Yanling Tang
- School of New Energy and Materials, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu 610500, China
| | - Zongbiao Ye
- Key Laboratory of Radiation Physics and Technology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Wei Long
- Tongwei Solar Co., Ltd., Chengdu 610200, China
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6
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Xie H, Que W. Solvothermal synthesis of SnO 2 nanoparticles for perovskite solar cells application. Front Chem 2024; 12:1361275. [PMID: 38348406 PMCID: PMC10859403 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1361275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Perovskite solar cells show great potential application prospects in the field of solar cells due to their promising properties. However, most perovskite solar cells that exhibit excellent photovoltaic performance typically require a carrier transport layer that necessitates a high-temperature annealing process. This greatly restricts the scalability and compatibility of perovskite solar cells in flexible electronics. In this paper, SnO2 nanoparticles with high crystallinity, good dispersibility and uniform particle size distribution are first prepared using a solvothermal method and dispersed in n-butanol solution. SnO2 electron transport layers are then prepared by a low-temperature spin coating method, and the photovoltaic characteristics of perovskite solar cells prepared with different SnO2 nanoparticles/n-butanol concentrations are studied. Results indicate that the rigid perovskite solar cell achieves the highest power conversion efficiency of 15.61% when the concentration of SnO2 nanoparticles/n-butanol is 15 mg mL-1. Finally, our strategy is successfully applying on flexible perovskite solar cells with a highest PCE of 14.75%. Our paper offers a new possibility for large-scale preparation and application of perovskite solar cells in flexible electronics in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haixia Xie
- School of Science, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, China
- Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Electronic Materials and Devices, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Wenxiu Que
- Electronic Materials Research Laboratory, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Electronic Materials and Devices, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
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7
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Kim H, Kim JS, Choi J, Kim YH, Suh JM, Choi MJ, Shim YS, Kim SY, Lee TW, Jang HW. MAPbBr 3 Halide Perovskite-Based Resistive Random-Access Memories Using Electron Transport Layers for Long Endurance Cycles and Retention Time. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2024; 16:2457-2466. [PMID: 38166386 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c01450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2024]
Abstract
Recent studies have focused on exploring the potential of resistive random-access memory (ReRAM) utilizing halide perovskites as novel data storage devices. This interest stems from its notable attributes, including a high ON/OFF ratio, low operating voltages, and exceptional mechanical properties. Nevertheless, there have been reports indicating that memory systems utilizing halide perovskites encounter certain obstacles pertaining to their stability and dependability, mostly assessed through endurance and retention time. Moreover, the presence of these problems can potentially restrict their practical applicability. This study explores a resistive switching memory device utilizing MAPbBr3 perovskite, which demonstrates bipolar switching characteristics. The device fabrication procedure involves a low-temperature, all-solution process. For the purpose of enhancing the device's reliability, the utilization of TPBI(2,2',2″-(1,3,5-benzinetriyl)-tris(1-phenyl-1-H-benzimidazole) as an electron transfer material on the MAPbBr3 switching layer was implemented for the first time. The formation and rupture of Ag filaments in the MAPbBr3 perovskite switching layer are attributed to reduction-oxidation reactions. The TPBI is involved in the regulation of filaments during the SET and RESET processes. Hence, it can be shown that the MAPbBr3 device incorporating TPBI exhibited about 1000 endurance cycles when subjected to continuous voltage pulses. Moreover, the device consistently maintained ON/OFF ratios above 107. In contrast, the original MAPbBr3 device without TPBI demonstrated a significantly lower endurance with only 90 cycles observed. In addition, the MAPbBr3 device integrated with TPBI exhibited a retention time exceeding 3 × 103 s. The findings of this research provide compelling evidence to support the notion that electron transfer materials have promise for the development of halide perovskite memory systems owing to their favorable attributes of dependability and stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyojung Kim
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
- Department of Semiconductor Systems Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
| | - Joo Sung Kim
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaeho Choi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Hoon Kim
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
- Department of Energy Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea
| | - Jun Min Suh
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Min-Ju Choi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Seok Shim
- School of Energy, Materials and Chemical Engineering, Korea University of Technology and Education, Cheonan 31253, Republic of Korea
| | - Soo Young Kim
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Tae-Woo Lee
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
| | - Ho Won Jang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea
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Luo P, Imran T, Ren DL, Zhao J, Wu KW, Zeng YJ, Su ZH, Fan P, Zhang XH, Liang GX, Chen S. Electron Transport Layer Engineering Induced Carrier Dynamics Optimization for Efficient Cd-Free Sb 2 Se 3 Thin-Film Solar Cells. Small 2024; 20:e2306516. [PMID: 37715101 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202306516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
Antimony selenide (Sb2 Se3 ) is a highly promising photovoltaic material thanks to its outstanding optoelectronic properties, as well as its cost-effective and eco-friendly merits. However, toxic CdS is widely used as an electron transport layer (ETL) in efficient Sb2 Se3 solar cells, which largely limit their development toward market commercialization. Herein, an effective green Cd-free ETL of SnOx is introduced and deposited by atomic layer deposition method. Additionally, an important post-annealing treatment is designed to further optimize the functional layers and the heterojunction interface properties. Such engineering strategy can optimize SnOx ETL with higher nano-crystallinity, higher carrier density, and less defect groups, modify Sb2 Se3 /SnOx heterojunction with better interface performance and much desirable "spike-like" band alignment, and also improve the Sb2 Se3 light absorber layer quality with passivated bulk defects and prolonged carrier lifetime, and therefore to enhance carrier separation and transport while suppressing non-radiative recombination. Finally, the as-fabricated Cd-free Mo/Sb2 Se3 /SnOx /ITO/Ag thin-film solar cell exhibits a stimulating efficiency of 7.39%, contributing a record value for Cd-free substrate structured Sb2 Se3 solar cells reported to date. This work provides a viable strategy for developing and broadening practical applications of environmental-friendly Sb2 Se3 photovoltaic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Luo
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Tahir Imran
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Dong-Lou Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Featured Metal Materials and Life-cycle Safety for Composite Structures, MOE Key Laboratory of New Processing Technology for Nonferrous Metals and Materials, School of Resources, Environment and Materials, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi, 530004, China
| | - Jun Zhao
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Ke-Wen Wu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Yu-Jia Zeng
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Zheng-Hua Su
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Ping Fan
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Xiang-Hua Zhang
- CNRS, ISCR (Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes), UMR 6226, Université de Rennes, Rennes, F-35000, France
| | - Guang-Xing Liang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
| | - Shuo Chen
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Advanced Thin Films and Applications, Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518060, China
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9
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Hu L, Han L, Quan J, Wu F, Li W, Zhou D, Zhang L, Jin Y, Yin X, Song J, Su Z, Li Z, Chen L. Doping of ZnO Electron Transport Layer with Organic Dye Molecules to Enhance Efficiency and Photo-Stability of the Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cells. Small 2023:e2310125. [PMID: 38100305 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202310125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
The solution-processed zinc oxide (ZnO) electron transport layer (ETL) always exhibits ubiquitous defects, and its photocatalytic activity is detrimental for the organic solar cell (OSC) to achieve high efficiency and stability. Herein, an organic dye molecule, PDINN-S is introduced, to dope ZnO, constructing a hybrid ZnO:PDINN-S ETL. This hybrid ETL exhibits improved electron mobility and conductivity, particularly post-light exposure. The catalytic activity of ZnO is also effectively suppressed.Consequently, the efficiency and photo-stability of inverted non-fullerene OSCs are synergistically enhanced. The devices based on PM6:Y6/PM6:BTP-eC9 active layer with ZnO:PDINN-S as ETL give impressive power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 16.78%/17.59%, significantly higher than those with pure ZnO as ETL (PCEs = 15.31%/16.04%). Moreover, ZnO:PDINN-S-based device shows exceptional long-term stability under continuous AM 1.5G illumination (T80 = 1130 h) , overwhelming the reference device (T80 = 455 h). In addition, Incorporating PDINN-S into ZnO alleviate mechanical stress within the inorganic lattice, making ZnO:PDINN-S ETL more suitable for the fabrication of flexible devices. Overall, doping ZnO with organic dye molecules offers an innovative strategy for developing multifunctional and efficient hybrid ETL of the non-fullerene OSCs with excellent efficiency and photo-stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Hu
- China-Australia Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
| | - Liangjing Han
- China-Australia Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
- Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants, Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696 Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang, 330063, China
| | - Jianwei Quan
- China-Australia Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
- Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants, Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696 Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang, 330063, China
| | - Feiyan Wu
- Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry (IPEC), Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China
| | - Wei Li
- College of Information Science and Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
| | - Dan Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants, Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696 Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang, 330063, China
- Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry (IPEC), Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China
| | - Lin Zhang
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Super Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
| | - Yingzhi Jin
- China-Australia Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
| | - Xinxing Yin
- China-Australia Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
| | - Jiaxing Song
- China-Australia Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
| | - Zhen Su
- China-Australia Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
| | - Zaifang Li
- China-Australia Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, 314001, China
| | - Lie Chen
- Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry (IPEC), Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China
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10
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Yang Y, Wang S, Ji W, Li T, Li S, Zhao Q, Li G. TiCl 4precursor affecting the performance of HTM-free carbon-based perovskite solar cell. Nanotechnology 2023; 35:07LT01. [PMID: 37972405 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ad0d22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
The presence of TiO2used as an efficient electron transport layer is crucial to achieving high-performance solar cells, especially for a hole transport material (HTM)-free carbon-based perovskite solar cell (PSC). The hydrolysis of TiCl4is one of the most widely used routes for forming TiO2layer in solar cells, which includes the stock solution preparation from TiCl4initial precursor and the thermal hydrolysis of the stock solution. The second thermal hydrolysis step has been extensively studied, while the initial hydrolysis reaction in the first step is not receiving sufficient attention, especially for its influence on the photovoltaic performance of HTM-free carbon-based devices. In this study, the role of TiCl4stock solution in the growth process of TiO2layer is examined. Based on the analysis of the Ti(IV) intermediate states for different TiCl4concentrations from Raman spectra, 2 M TiCl4precursor exhibits moderate nucleation and growth kinetics without generating too many intermediates which occurs in 3 M TiCl4precursor, yielding ∼300 nm size spherical TiO2agglomerates with a rutile phase. In the aspect of devices, the HTM-free carbon-based PSCs fabricated using 2 M TiCl4precursor deliver a conversion efficiency beyond 17%, which may be attributed to the reduced defect in compact TiO2layer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanbo Yang
- Institute of New Energy Material Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory for Performance and Structure Safety of Petroleum Tubular Goods and Equipment Materials, CNPC Tubular Goods Research Institute, Xi'an, Shanxi, 710077, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuo Wang
- Institute of New Energy Material Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenjie Ji
- Institute of New Energy Material Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, People's Republic of China
| | - Tiantian Li
- Institute of New Energy Material Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory for Performance and Structure Safety of Petroleum Tubular Goods and Equipment Materials, CNPC Tubular Goods Research Institute, Xi'an, Shanxi, 710077, People's Republic of China
| | - Simiao Li
- Institute of New Energy Material Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, People's Republic of China
| | - Qian Zhao
- Institute of New Energy Material Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, People's Republic of China
| | - Guoran Li
- Institute of New Energy Material Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, People's Republic of China
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11
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Moiz SA, Alshaikh MS, Alahmadi ANM. Simulation Design of Novel Non-Fluorine Polymers as Electron Transport Layer for Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cells. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:4387. [PMID: 38006111 PMCID: PMC10675704 DOI: 10.3390/polym15224387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Significant progress has been made in the advancement of perovskite solar cells, but their commercialization remains hindered by their lead-based toxicity. Many non-toxic perovskite-based solar cells have demonstrated potential, such as Cs2AgBi0.75Sb0.25Br6, but their power conversion efficiency is inadequate. To address this issue, some researchers are focusing on emerging acceptor-donor-acceptor'-donor-acceptor (A-DA'D-A)-type non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) for Cs2AgBi0.75Sb0.25Br6 to find effective electron transport layers for high-performance photovoltaic responses with low voltage drops. In this comparative study, four novel A-DA'D-A-type NFAs, BT-LIC, BT-BIC, BT-L4F, and BT-BO-L4F, were used as electron transport layers (ETLs) for the proposed devices, FTO/PEDOT:PSS/Cs2AgBi0.75Sb0.25Br6/ETL/Au. Comprehensive simulations were conducted to optimize the devices. The simulations showed that all optimized devices exhibit photovoltaic responses, with the BT-BIC device having the highest power conversion efficiency (13.2%) and the BT-LIC device having the lowest (6.8%). The BT-BIC as an ETL provides fewer interfacial traps and better band alignment, enabling greater open-circuit voltage for efficient photovoltaic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syed Abdul Moiz
- Device Simulation Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia; (M.S.A.); (A.N.M.A.)
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12
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Chai N, Chen X, Zeng Z, Yu R, Yue Y, Mai B, Wu J, Mai L, Cheng YB, Wang X. Photoexcitation-induced passivation of SnO 2 thin film for efficient perovskite solar cells. Natl Sci Rev 2023; 10:nwad245. [PMID: 37859635 PMCID: PMC10583279 DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwad245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/10/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
A high-quality tin oxide electron transport layer (ETL) is a key common factor to achieve high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the conventional annealing technique to prepare high-quality ETLs by continuous heating under near-equilibrium conditions requires high temperatures and a long fabrication time. Alternatively, we present a non-equilibrium, photoexcitation-induced passivation technique that uses multiple ultrashort laser pulses. The ultrafast photoexcitation and following electron-electron and electron-phonon scattering processes induce ultrafast annealing to efficiently passivate surface and bulk defects, and improve the crystallinity of SnO2, resulting in suppressing the carrier recombination and facilitating the charge transport between the ETL and perovskite interface. By rapidly scanning the laser beam, the annealing time is reduced to several minutes, which is much more efficient compared with conventional thermal annealing. To demonstrate the university and scalability of this technique, typical antisolvent and antisolvent-free processed hybrid organic-inorganic metal halide PSCs have been fabricated and achieved the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.14% and 22.75% respectively, and a 12-square-centimeter module antisolvent-free processed perovskite solar module achieves a PCE of 20.26%, with significantly enhanced performance both in PCE and stability. This study establishes a new approach towards the commercialization of efficient low-temperature manufacturing of PSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nianyao Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
| | - Xiangyu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
| | - Zhongle Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
| | - Ruohan Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
| | - Yunfan Yue
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
| | - Bo Mai
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
| | - Jinsong Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
| | - Liqiang Mai
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
- National Energy Key Laboratory for New Hydrogen-Ammonia Energy Technologies, Foshan Xianhu Laboratory, Foshan528000, China
| | - Yi-Bing Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
- National Energy Key Laboratory for New Hydrogen-Ammonia Energy Technologies, Foshan Xianhu Laboratory, Foshan528000, China
| | - Xuewen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, International School of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan430070, China
- National Energy Key Laboratory for New Hydrogen-Ammonia Energy Technologies, Foshan Xianhu Laboratory, Foshan528000, China
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13
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Yuan Z, Zhang M, Yen Z, Feng M, Jin X, Ibrahim A, Ahmed MG, Salim T, Gonçalves RA, Sum TC, Lam YM, Wong LH. High-Performance Semi-Transparent Perovskite Solar Cells with over 22% Visible Transparency: Pushing the Limit through MXene Interface Engineering. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023; 15:37629-37639. [PMID: 37463286 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c03804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Semi-transparent perovskite solar cells (ST-PSCs) have attracted enormous attention recently due to their potential in building-integrated photovoltaic. To obtain adequate average visible transmittance (AVT), a thin perovskite is commonly employed in ST-PSCs. While the thinner perovskite layer has higher transparency, its light absorption efficiency is reduced, and the device shows lower power conversion efficiency (PCE). In this work, a combination of high-quality transparent conducting layers and surface engineering using 2D-MXene results in a superior PCE. In situ high-temperature X-ray diffraction provides direct evidence that the MXene interlayer retards the perovskite crystallization process and leads to larger perovskite grains with fewer grain boundaries, which are favorable for carrier transport. The interfacial carrier recombination is decreased due to fewer defects in the perovskite. Consequently, the current density of the devices with MXene increased significantly. Also, optimized indium tin oxide provides appreciable transparency and conductivity as the top electrode. The semi-transparent device with a PCE of 14.78% and AVT of over 26.7% (400-800 nm) was successfully obtained, outperforming most reported ST-PSCs. The unencapsulated device maintained 85.58% of its original efficiency after over 1000 h under ambient conditions. This work provides a new strategy to prepare high-efficiency ST-PSCs with remarkable AVT and extended stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengtian Yuan
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
- Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE), Nanomaterials for Energy and Energy-Water Nexus (NEW), Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore 138602, Singapore
| | - Mengyuan Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Zhihao Yen
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Minjun Feng
- School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371, Singapore
| | - Xin Jin
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Ahmad Ibrahim
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Mahmoud G Ahmed
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Teddy Salim
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Rui A Gonçalves
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Tze Chien Sum
- School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637371, Singapore
| | - Yeng Ming Lam
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Lydia H Wong
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
- Singapore-HUJ Alliance for Research and Enterprise (SHARE), Nanomaterials for Energy and Energy-Water Nexus (NEW), Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore 138602, Singapore
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14
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Drygała A, Starowicz Z, Gawlińska-Nęcek K, Karolus M, Lipiński M, Jarka P, Matysiak W, Tillová E, Palček P, Tański T. Hybrid Mesoporous TiO 2/ZnO Electron Transport Layer for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cell. Molecules 2023; 28:5656. [PMID: 37570627 PMCID: PMC10419676 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28155656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have gained major attention as potentially useful photovoltaic technology due to their ever-increasing power-conversion efficiency (PCE). The efficiency of PSCs depends strongly on the type of materials selected as the electron transport layer (ETL). TiO2 is the most widely used electron transport material for the n-i-p structure of PSCs. Nevertheless, ZnO is a promising candidate owing to its high transparency, suitable energy band structure, and high electron mobility. In this investigation, hybrid mesoporous TiO2/ZnO ETL was fabricated for a perovskite solar cell composed of FTO-coated glass/compact TiO2/mesoporous ETL/FAPbI3/2D perovskite/Spiro-OMeTAD/Au. The influence of ZnO nanostructures with different percentage weight contents on the photovoltaic performance was investigated. It was found that the addition of ZnO had no significant effect on the surface topography, structure, and optical properties of the hybrid mesoporous electron-transport layer but strongly affected the electrical properties of PSCs. The best efficiency rate of 18.24% has been obtained for PSCs with 2 wt.% ZnO.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Drygała
- Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18a Street, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
| | - Zbigniew Starowicz
- Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, Reymonta 25 Street, 30-059 Cracow, Poland; (Z.S.); (K.G.-N.); (M.L.)
| | - Katarzyna Gawlińska-Nęcek
- Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, Reymonta 25 Street, 30-059 Cracow, Poland; (Z.S.); (K.G.-N.); (M.L.)
| | - Małgorzata Karolus
- Institute of Materials Engineering, University of Silesia, 1a 75 Pułku Piechoty Street, 41-500 Chorzow, Poland;
| | - Marek Lipiński
- Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Polish Academy of Sciences, Reymonta 25 Street, 30-059 Cracow, Poland; (Z.S.); (K.G.-N.); (M.L.)
| | - Paweł Jarka
- Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18a Street, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
| | - Wiktor Matysiak
- Scientific and Didactic Laboratory of Nanotechnology and Material Technologies, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Silesian University of Technology, Towarowa 7 Street, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
| | - Eva Tillová
- Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Žilina, Univerzitná 1 Street, 010 26 Zilina, Slovakia; (E.T.); (P.P.)
| | - Peter Palček
- Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Žilina, Univerzitná 1 Street, 010 26 Zilina, Slovakia; (E.T.); (P.P.)
| | - Tomasz Tański
- Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18a Street, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
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15
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Zanoni KPS, Pérez-Del-Rey D, Dreessen C, Rodkey N, Sessolo M, Soltanpoor W, Morales-Masis M, Bolink HJ. Tin(IV) Oxide Electron Transport Layer via Industrial-Scale Pulsed Laser Deposition for Planar Perovskite Solar Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023. [PMID: 37368062 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c04387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Electron transport layers (ETL) based on tin(IV) oxide (SnO2) are recurrently employed in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by many deposition techniques. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) offers a few advantages for the fabrication of such layers, such as being compatible with large scale, patternable, and allowing deposition at fast rates. However, a precise understanding of how the deposition parameters can affect the SnO2 film, and as a consequence the solar cell performance, is needed. Herein, we use a PLD tool equipped with a droplet trap to minimize the number of excess particles (originated from debris) reaching the substrate, and we show how to control the PLD chamber pressure to obtain surfaces with very low roughness and how the concentration of oxygen in the background gas can affect the number of oxygen vacancies in the film. Using optimized deposition conditions, we obtained solar cells in the n-i-p configuration employing methylammonium lead iodide perovskite as the absorber layer with power conversion efficiencies exceeding 18% and identical performance to devices having the more typical atomic layer deposited SnO2 ETL.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kassio P S Zanoni
- Instituto de Ciencia Molecular, Universidad de Valencia, C/Catedrático J. Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Daniel Pérez-Del-Rey
- Instituto de Ciencia Molecular, Universidad de Valencia, C/Catedrático J. Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Chris Dreessen
- Instituto de Ciencia Molecular, Universidad de Valencia, C/Catedrático J. Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Nathan Rodkey
- Instituto de Ciencia Molecular, Universidad de Valencia, C/Catedrático J. Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Michele Sessolo
- Instituto de Ciencia Molecular, Universidad de Valencia, C/Catedrático J. Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
| | - Wiria Soltanpoor
- MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Enschede 7500 AE, The Netherlands
| | - Monica Morales-Masis
- MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, Enschede 7500 AE, The Netherlands
| | - Henk J Bolink
- Instituto de Ciencia Molecular, Universidad de Valencia, C/Catedrático J. Beltrán 2, 46980 Paterna, Spain
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16
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Cheng WC, Tsai MR, Chen SA. Creation of Dual Thermally Activated Delayed-Fluorescence Exciplexes in a Bulk Emitting Layer and Its Interface with an Electron Transport Layer for Promoting the Performance of Thermally Activated Delayed-Fluorescence Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Fabricated by a Solution Process. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023. [PMID: 37339450 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c06128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
An exciplex, which is composed of electron donor and acceptor molecules and formed by intermolecular charge transfer, is an excited-state species that is able to emit light or transfer its energy to a lower-energy emitter. In reported exciplex-based organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), their working mechanism is to generate exciplexes either in the bulk emitting layer (bulk exciplex) or at its interface with an electron transport layer (interface exciplex); both types give promising device performance. Here, we propose a novel strategy of creating both types of exciplexes simultaneously (dual exciplexes) for the generation of more exciplexes for better device performance as indicated in the improved photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). Impressively, the dual exciplex-based device with blue thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitter 9,9-dimethyl-9,10-dihydroacridine-2,4,6-triphenyl-1,3,5-triazine (DMAC-TRZ) exhibits a record-high maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 26.7% among the solution-processed TADF blue OLEDs. By further doping with the red-emitting phosphor emitter into the EML, the white device also gives a record-high EQEmax of 24.1% among the solution-processed TADF-phosphor hybrid white OLEDs (T-P WOLEDs) with the Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.34, 0.42), color rendering index of 70, and correlated color temperature of 5198 K. Furthermore, both blue and white devices show an ultralow efficiency roll-off with external quantum efficiencies at a practical brightness value of 1000 cd m-2 (EQE1000) of 25.1 and 23.9%, respectively. This is the first report of employing a dual exciplex-based OLED with excellent device performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Chih Cheng
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
| | - Meng Rong Tsai
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
| | - Show-An Chen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
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17
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Patil P, Maibam A, Sangale SS, Mann DS, Lee HJ, Krishnamurty S, Kwon SN, Na SI. Chemical Bridge-Mediated Heterojunction Electron Transport Layers Enable Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023. [PMID: 37289997 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c04852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) emerged as potential photovoltaic energy-generating devices developing in recent years because of their excellent photovoltaic properties and ease of processing. However, PSCs are still reporting efficiencies much lower than their theoretical limits owing to various losses caused by the charge transport layer and the perovskite. In this regard, herein, an interface engineering strategy using functional molecules and chemical bridges was applied to reduce the loss of the heterojunction electron transport layer. As a functional interface layer, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) was introduced between PCBM and the ZnO layer, and as a result, EDTA simultaneously formed chemical bonds with PCBM and ZnO to serve as a chemical bridge connecting the two. DFT and chemical analyses revealed that EDTA can act as a chemical bridge between PCBM and ZnO, passivate defect sites, and improve charge transfer. Optoelectrical analysis proved that EDTA chemical bridge-mediated charge transfer (CBM-CT) provides more efficient interfacial charge transport by reducing trap-assisted recombination losses at ETL interfaces, thereby improving device performance. The PSC with EDTA chemical bridge-mediated heterojunction ETL exhibited a high PCE of 21.21%, almost no hysteresis, and excellent stability to both air and light.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pramila Patil
- Department of Flexible and Printable Electronics and LANL-CBNU Engineering Institute-Korea, Jeonbuk National University, 567, Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si 54896, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Ashakiran Maibam
- Physical and Materials Chemistry Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411 008, India
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, 3001 Victoria, Australia
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR-Human Resource Development Centre (CSIR-HRDC) Campus, Postal Staff College area, Ghaziabad 201 002, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Sushil S Sangale
- Department of Flexible and Printable Electronics and LANL-CBNU Engineering Institute-Korea, Jeonbuk National University, 567, Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si 54896, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Dilpreet Singh Mann
- Department of Flexible and Printable Electronics and LANL-CBNU Engineering Institute-Korea, Jeonbuk National University, 567, Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si 54896, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun-Jung Lee
- Department of Flexible and Printable Electronics and LANL-CBNU Engineering Institute-Korea, Jeonbuk National University, 567, Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si 54896, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Sailaja Krishnamurty
- Physical and Materials Chemistry Division, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune 411 008, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR-Human Resource Development Centre (CSIR-HRDC) Campus, Postal Staff College area, Ghaziabad 201 002, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Sung-Nam Kwon
- Department of Flexible and Printable Electronics and LANL-CBNU Engineering Institute-Korea, Jeonbuk National University, 567, Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si 54896, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Seok-In Na
- Department of Flexible and Printable Electronics and LANL-CBNU Engineering Institute-Korea, Jeonbuk National University, 567, Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si 54896, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
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18
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Li Y, Meng J, Duan P, Wu R, Shi Y, Zhang L, Yan C, Deng J, Zhang X. Transport Layer Engineering by Hydrochloric Acid for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells with a High Open-Circuit Voltage. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023; 15:23208-23216. [PMID: 37133487 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c02376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
A large number of defect states that exist at the interface between a perovskite film and an electron transport layer (ETL) are detrimental to the efficiency and the stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). It is still a challenge to simultaneously passivate the defects on both sides by a stable and low-cost ion compound. Herein, we demonstrate a simple and effective versatile strategy by introducing hydrochloric acid into SnO2 precursor solution to passivate the defects in both SnO2 and perovskite layers and simultaneously reduce the interface energy barrier, ultimately achieving a high-performance and hysteresis-free PSCs. Hydrogen ions can neutralize -OH groups on the SnO2 surface, whereas the Cl- can not only combine with Sn4+ in ETL but also suppress the Pb-I antisite defects formed at the buried interface. The reduced nonradiative recombination and the favorable energy level alignment result in a significantly increased efficiency from 20.71 to 22.06% of PSCs due to the enhancement of open-circuit voltage. In addition, the stability of the device can also be improved. This work presents a facile and promising approach for the development of highly efficient PSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanmin Li
- Faculty of Science, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Junhua Meng
- Faculty of Science, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Ping Duan
- Faculty of Science, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Rui Wu
- Faculty of Science, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Yiming Shi
- Faculty of Science, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Lisheng Zhang
- Faculty of Science, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Chunxia Yan
- Faculty of Science, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Jinxiang Deng
- Faculty of Science, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, P. R. China
| | - Xingwang Zhang
- Key Lab of Semiconductor Materials Science, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, P. R. China
- Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
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19
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Han L, Hu H, Yuan M, Lin P, Wang P, Xu L, Yu X, Cui C. CuCl2-modified SnO2 electron transport layer for high efficiency perovskite solar cells. Nanotechnology 2023; 34. [PMID: 37094553 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/accfa3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
SnO2 film is one of the most widely used electron transport layers (ETL) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the inherent surface defect states in SnO2 film and mismatch of the energy level alignment with perovskite limit the photovoltaic performance of PSCs. It is of great interesting to modify SnO2 ETL with additive, aiming to decrease the surface defect states and obtain well aligned energy level with perovskite. In this paper, anhydrous copper chloride (CuCl2) was employed to modify the SnO2 ETL. It is found that the adding of a small amount of CuCl2 into the SnO2 ETL can improve the proportion of Sn4+ in SnO2, passivate oxygen vacancies at the surface of SnO2 nanocrystals, improve the hydrophobicity and conductivity of ETL, and obtain a good energy level alignment with perovskite. As a result, both the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of the PSCs based on SnO2 ETLs modified with CuCl2 (SnO2-CuCl2) is improved in comparison with that of the PSCs on pristine SnO2 ETLs. The optimal PSC based on SnO2-CuCl2 ETL exhibits a much higher PCE of 20.31% as compared to the control device (18.15%). The unencapsulated PSCs with CuCl2 modification maintain 89.3% of their initial PCE after exposing for 16 days under ambient conditions with a relative humidity of 35%. Cu(NO3)2 was also employed to modify the SnO2 ETL and achieved a similar effect as that of CuCl2, indicating that the cation Cu2+ plays the main role in SnO2 ETL modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Han
- Faculty of Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Xuelin Street 928, Xiasha, Hangzhou, China, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, CHINA
| | - Haihua Hu
- College of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University City College, 52 Huzhou Road, Hangzhou, China, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310015, CHINA
| | - Min Yuan
- Faculty of Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Xuelin Street 928, Xiasha, Hangzhou, China, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, CHINA
| | - Ping Lin
- Department of Physics, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Xuelin Street 928, Xiasha, Hangzhou, China, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, CHINA
| | - Peng Wang
- Physics, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Xuelin Street 928, Xiasha, Hangzhou, China, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, CHINA
| | - Lingbo Xu
- Faculty of Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Xuelin Street 928, Xiasha, Hangzhou, China, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, CHINA
| | - Xuegong Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, Hangzhou, 310015, CHINA
| | - Can Cui
- Faculty of Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Xuelin Street 928, Xiasha, Hangzhou, China, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310018, CHINA
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20
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Zhang H, Liang X, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Park NG. Unraveling Optical and Electrical Gains of Perovskite Solar Cells with an Antireflective and Energetic Cascade Electron Transport Layer. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023; 15:21152-21161. [PMID: 37073758 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c02233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Electron transport layers (ETLs) are imperative in n-i-p structured perovskite solar cells (PSCs) because of their capability to affect light propagation, electron extraction, and perovskite crystallization, and any mismatch of optical constants, band position, and surface potential between the ETLs and the perovskites can cause unintentional optical and electrical losses. Herein, an antireflective and energetic cascade bilayer ETL with ubiquitously used SnO2 and TiO2 was constructed at 150 °C for PSCs, and the in-depth mechanism for performance improvement was systematically unraveled. It was revealed that the construction of an ETL with gradually increasing refractive indices can circumvent light reflection loss, resulting in enhanced photocurrent. The combined ETL forms an energetic cascade to promote electronic conductivity and facilitate electron extraction with reduced energy loss. Moreover, topologic perovskite growth with improved crystallinity and vertical orientation was preferred owing to the relative dewetting behavior, leading to reduced defect states and enhanced carrier mobility in the perovskite layer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), School of Flexible Electronics (Future Technologies), Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, Jiangsu, China
- School of Chemical Engineering, Center for Antibonding Regulated Crystals, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Xin Liang
- School of Chemical Engineering, Center for Antibonding Regulated Crystals, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Yalan Zhang
- School of Chemical Engineering, Center for Antibonding Regulated Crystals, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Yonghua Chen
- Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), School of Flexible Electronics (Future Technologies), Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, Jiangsu, China
| | - Nam-Gyu Park
- School of Chemical Engineering, Center for Antibonding Regulated Crystals, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
- SKKU Institute of Energy Science and Technology (SIEST), Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
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21
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Pang X, Huang J, Lin C, Zhang Y, Cheng N, Zi W, Sun ZZ, Yu Z, Zhao Z. Buried Interface Regulation by Bio-Functional Molecules for Efficient and Stable Planar Perovskite Solar Cells. Chemistry 2023; 29:e202202744. [PMID: 36446736 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202202744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Among the factors that lead to the reduction of the efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) the difficulty involved in realizing a high-quality film and the efficient charge transfer that takes place at the interface between electron-transport layer (ETL) and perovskite is worth mentioning. Here, a strategy for planar-type devices by natural bio-functional interfaces that uses a buried electron-transport layer made of cobalamin complexed tin oxide (SnO2 @B12 ) is demonstrated. Having systematically investigated the effects of SnO2 @B12 interfacial layer in perovskite solar cells, it can be concluded that cobalamin can chemically link the SnO2 layer and the perovskite layer, resulting in improved perovskite film quality and interfacial defect passivation. Utilizing SnO2 @B12 improves the efficiency of planar-type PSCs by 20.60 %. Furthermore, after 250 h of exposure to an ambient atmosphere, unsealed PSCs containing SnO2 @B12 degrade by 10 %. This research provides a viable method for developing bio-functional molecules that will increase the effectiveness and durability of planar-perovskite solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuerui Pang
- Energy-Saving Building Materials Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, P. R. China
| | - Jing Huang
- Energy-Saving Building Materials Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, P. R. China
| | - Chunxia Lin
- Energy-Saving Building Materials Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, P. R. China
| | - Yingfang Zhang
- Energy-Saving Building Materials Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, P. R. China
| | - Nian Cheng
- Energy-Saving Building Materials Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, P. R. China
| | - Wei Zi
- Energy-Saving Building Materials Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, P. R. China
| | - Zhu-Zhu Sun
- Energy-Saving Building Materials Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, P. R. China
| | - Zhen Yu
- Energy-Saving Building Materials Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, P. R. China
| | - Zhiqiang Zhao
- Energy-Saving Building Materials Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province, Xinyang Normal University, Xinyang, 464000, P. R. China
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22
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Nie H, Busireddy MR, Shih HM, Ko CW, Chen JT, Chang CC, Hsu CS. High-Performance Inverted Organic Solar Cells via the Incorporation of Thickness-Insensitive and Low-Temperature-Annealed Nonconjugated Polymers as Electron Transport Materials. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2023; 15:1718-1725. [PMID: 36548433 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c18946] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Developing new electron transport layers has been an effective way to fabricate high-performance bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs). Resolving the longstanding problems associated with commonly used zinc oxide (ZnO), such as electron traps and light-induced device deterioration, however, is still a great challenge. In this study, glycerol diglycidyl ether (GDE) and 1,4-butanesultone (BS) are blended with polyethyleneimine (PEI) to produce cross-linkable PEI-based materials, PEI-GDE and PEI-GDE-BS, which can function as alternative electron transport layers to replace conventional ZnO cathode-modifying layers in inverted OSCs. PEI-GDE and PEI-GDE-BS are amendable to low-temperature annealing processes to produce cross-linked films. The inverted device structure of ITO/ETL/PM6:BTP-BO-4F:PC71BM/MoO3/Ag was used to evaluate the effects of incorporating PEI-GDE and PEI-GDE-BS as electron transport materials. Compared with ZnO-based devices, the PEI-GDE- and PEI-GDE-BS-based devices exhibit significant improvements in photovoltaic performances due to smoother surface roughness, higher charge collection and exciton dissociation efficiencies, higher electron mobilities, and stronger π-π interactions. In particular, a PEI-GDE-BS-based device shows an outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.55% with a VOC of 0.83 V, a JSC of 27.88 mA/cm2, and an FF of 75.96%, which offers great possibilities in the applications of flexible solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hebing Nie
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Manohar Reddy Busireddy
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Min Shih
- Ways Technical Corp., 326 Kaoching Road, Yangmei, Taoyuan 326023, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Wen Ko
- Ways Technical Corp., 326 Kaoching Road, Yangmei, Taoyuan 326023, Taiwan
| | - Jiun-Tai Chen
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Chih Chang
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Chain-Shu Hsu
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
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23
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Sun X, Li L, Shen S, Wang F. TiO 2/SnO 2 Bilayer Electron Transport Layer for High Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2023; 13:249. [PMID: 36678002 PMCID: PMC9862634 DOI: 10.3390/nano13020249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The electron transport layer (ETL) has been extensively investigated as one of the important components to construct high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Among them, inorganic semiconducting metal oxides such as titanium dioxide (TiO2), and tin oxide (SnO2) present great advantages in both fabrication and efficiency. However, the surface defects and uniformity are still concerns for high performance devices. Here, we demonstrated a bilayer ETL architecture PSC in which the ETL is composed of a chemical-bath-deposition-based TiO2 thin layer and a spin-coating-based SnO2 thin layer. Such a bilayer-structure ETL can not only produce a larger grain size of PSCs, but also provide a higher current density and a reduced hysteresis. Compared to the mono-ETL PCSs with a low efficiency of 16.16%, the bilayer ETL device features a higher efficiency of 17.64%, accomplished with an open-circuit voltage of 1.041 V, short-circuit current density of 22.58 mA/cm2, and a filling factor of 75.0%, respectively. These results highlight the unique potential of TiO2/SnO2 combined bilayer ETL architecture, paving a new way to fabricate high-performance and low-hysteresis PSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolin Sun
- School of Aeronautical Engineering, Nanjing Vocational University of Industry Technology, Nanjing 210046, China
| | - Lu Li
- School of Electrical Engineering, Nanjing Vocational University of Industry Technology, Nanjing 210046, China
| | - Shanshan Shen
- School of Aeronautical Engineering, Nanjing Vocational University of Industry Technology, Nanjing 210046, China
| | - Fang Wang
- College of Electronic Engineering, Nanjing XiaoZhuang University, Nanjing 211100, China
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24
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Yadeta TF, Huang KW, Imae T, Tung YL. Enhancement of Perovskite Solar Cells by TiO 2-Carbon Dot Electron Transport Film Layers. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 13:186. [PMID: 36616096 PMCID: PMC9823919 DOI: 10.3390/nano13010186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 12/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The high performance of perovskite solar cells was produced with the help of an electron transport layer (ETL) and hole transport layer. The film ETL (mesoporous (meso)-TiO2/carbon dot) boosted the efficiency of the perovskite solar cells. A perovskite cell was fabricated by a coating of carbon dot on a meso-TiO2 ETL. The fabricated meso-TiO2/carbon dot-based device has decreased the pin-holes of the perovskite film layer compared to the meso-TiO2-based device, which boosted 3% of the averaged PCE value of the devices. The UV-visible spectroscopy confirmed that the meso-TiO2/carbon dot ETL showed better absorbance, that is, absorbed more incident light than meso-TiO2 ETL to generate higher power conversion efficiency. Coating of carbon dot on meso-TiO2 reduced carrier recombination, and fadeaway of the perovskite film cracks. The X-ray diffraction spectra displayed the removal of the perovskite component after spin-coating of carbon dot to the meso-TiO2 ETL, indicating that the suppression of non-radiative recombination improves the device performance compared to meso-TiO2 ETL. The stability after four weeks on the performance of the device was improved to be 92% by depositing carbon dot on meso-TiO2 ETL compared to the meso-TiO2 ETL-based device (82%). Thus, the high-quality perovskite cell was fabricated by coating carbon dot on a meso-TiO2 ETL, because the electron transport between ETL and perovskite film layer was improved by the injection of electrons from carbon dot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamasgen Fikadu Yadeta
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - Kuo-Wei Huang
- Coorporation of Photovoltaic Technology Division, Green Energy & Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Tainan 71150, Taiwan
| | - Toyoko Imae
- Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan
| | - Yung-Liang Tung
- Coorporation of Photovoltaic Technology Division, Green Energy & Environment Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Tainan 71150, Taiwan
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25
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Alsalme A, Altowairqi MF, Alhamed AA, Khan RA. Optimization of Photovoltaic Performance of Pb-Free Perovskite Solar Cells via Numerical Simulation. Molecules 2022; 28. [PMID: 36615419 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28010224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, the simulation of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) via SCAPS-1D has been widely reported. In this study, we adopted SCAPS-1D as a simulation tool for the numerical simulation of lead-free (Pb-free) PSCs. We used methyl ammonium germanium iodide (MAGeI3) as a light absorber, zinc oxysulphide (ZnOS) as an electron transport layer (ETL), and spiro-OMeTAD as a hole transport layer. Further, the thickness of the ZnOS, MAGeI3, and spiro-OMeTAD layers was optimized. The optimal thicknesses of the ZnOS, MAGeI3, and spiro-OMeTAD layers were found to be 100 nm, 550 nm, and 100 nm, respectively. The optimized MAGeI3-based PSCs exhibited excellent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.62%, fill factor (FF) of 84.05%, and Jsc of 14.51 mA/cm2. A fantastic open circuit voltage of 1.77 V was also obtained using SCAPS-1D. We believe that these theoretically optimized parameters and conditions may help improve the experimental efficiency of MAGeI3-based PSCs in the future.
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26
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Mude NN, Khan Y, Thuy TT, Walker B, Kwon JH. Stable ZnS Electron Transport Layer for High-Performance Inverted Cadmium-Free Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022; 14:55925-55932. [PMID: 36484498 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c14711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
We report high-efficiency and long-lifetime inverted green cadmium-free (InP-based) quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) using a stable ZnO/ZnS cascaded electron transport layer (ETL). We have successfully developed a strategy to spin-coat stable ZnS ETLs with a relatively higher conduction band minimum (CBM) and lower electron mobility than that of ZnO, which leads to balanced carrier injection and an improved device lifetime. Analysis shows that by using the ZnO/ZnS cascaded ETL, electron injection is reduced, resulting in an improved charge balance in the QD layer and suppressed exciton quenching, which preserves the emission properties of QDs. Optimized devices with ZnO/ZnS cascaded ETLs show a maximum external quantum efficiency of 10.8% and a maximum current efficiency of 37.5 cd/A; these efficiency values are an almost 2.2-fold improvement compared to those of reference devices without ZnS. The QLED devices also showed a remarkably long lifetime (LT70) of 265 h at an initial luminance of 1000 cd/m2. The predicted half-lifetime (LT50) at 100 cd/m2 is 60,255 h, which, to our knowledge, is currently the longest lifetime yet reported for InP-based green QLEDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nagarjuna Naik Mude
- Department of Information Display, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemoon-gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea
| | - Yeasin Khan
- Department of Chemistry, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemoon-gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea
| | - Truong Thi Thuy
- Department of Information Display, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemoon-gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea
| | - Bright Walker
- Department of Chemistry, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemoon-gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea
| | - Jang Hyuk Kwon
- Department of Information Display, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemoon-gu, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea
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27
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Umar A, Singh PK, Dwivedi DK, Algadi H, Ibrahim AA, Alhammai MAM, Baskoutas S. High Power-Conversion Efficiency of Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cells: A Theoretical Investigation. Micromachines (Basel) 2022; 13:2201. [PMID: 36557500 PMCID: PMC9781076 DOI: 10.3390/mi13122201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Solar cells based on lead-free perovskite have demonstrated great potential for next-generation renewable energy. The SCAPS-1D simulation software was used in this study to perform novel device modelling of a lead-free perovskite solar cell of the architecture ITO/WS2/CH3NH3SnI3/P3HT/Au. For the performance evaluation, an optimization process of the different parameters such as thickness, bandgap, doping concentration, etc., was conducted. Extensive optimization of the thickness and doping density of the absorber and electron transport layer resulted in a maximum power-conversion efficiency of 33.46% for our designed solar cell. Because of the short diffusion length and higher defect density in thicker perovskite, an absorber thickness of 1.2 µm is recommended for optimal solar cell performance. Therefore, we expect that our findings will pave the way for the development of lead-free and highly effective perovskite solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Umar
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Arts, and Promising Centre for Sensors and Electronic Devices (PCSED), Najran University, Najran 11001, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Pravin Kumar Singh
- Institute of Advanced Materials, IAAM, Gammalkilsvägen 18, 590 53 Ulrika, Sweden
| | - D. K. Dwivedi
- Photonics and Photovoltaic Research Lab, Department of Physics and Material Science, Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology, Gorakhpur 273010, India
| | - Hassan Algadi
- Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Najran University, Najran 11001, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahmed A. Ibrahim
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Arts, and Promising Centre for Sensors and Electronic Devices (PCSED), Najran University, Najran 11001, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mohsen A. M. Alhammai
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Arts, and Promising Centre for Sensors and Electronic Devices (PCSED), Najran University, Najran 11001, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sotirios Baskoutas
- Department of Materials Science, University of Patras, 265 04 Patras, Greece
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28
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Gu B, Du Y, Fang S, Chen X, Li X, Xu Q, Lu H. Fabrication of UV-Stable Perovskite Solar Cells with Compact Fe 2O 3 Electron Transport Layer by FeCl 3 Solution and Fe 3O 4 Nanoparticles. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 12:4415. [PMID: 36558268 PMCID: PMC9781711 DOI: 10.3390/nano12244415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Even though Fe2O3 is reported as the electron-transporting layer (ETL) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), its fabrication and defects limit its performance. Herein, we report a Fe2O3 ETL prepared from FeCl3 solution with a dopant Fe3O4 nanoparticle modification. It is found that the mixed solution can reduce the defects and enhance the performance of Fe2O3 ETL, contributing to improved electron transfer and suppressed charge recombination. Consequently, the best efficiency is improved by more than 118% for the optimized device. The stability efficiency of the Fe2O3-ETL-based device is nearly 200% higher than that of the TiO2-ETL-based device after 7 days measurement under a 300 W Xe lamp. This work provides a facile method to fabricate environmentally friendly, high-quality Fe2O3 ETL for perovskite photovoltaic devices and provides a guide for defect passivation research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bangkai Gu
- School of Physics, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Yi Du
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Song Fang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Xi Chen
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Xiabing Li
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Qingyu Xu
- School of Physics, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Hao Lu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
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29
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Zhou D, Quan J, Zhang H, Zheng H, Xu Z, Wang F, Hu L, Liu J, Tong Y, Chen L. Small-Molecule Electron Transport Layer with Siloxane-Functionalized Side Chains for Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022; 14:54063-54072. [PMID: 36442138 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c17490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Active layer materials with silicone side chains have been broadly reported to have excellent long-term stability in harsh environments. However, the application of conjugated materials with silicone side chains in electron transport layers (ETLs) has rarely been reported. In this research, we synthesized for the first time a siloxane-modified perylene-diimide derivative (PDI-OSi) consisting of a side-chain substituent of siloxane and a conjugated group of perylene-diimide (PDI). The inserted siloxane functional groups not only can strengthen the light transmittance of PDI-OSi but also can remarkably expand its solubility and improve the film-forming ability and air stability of the material. Second, introducing siloxane-containing side chains can dramatically lower the work function and interfacial barrier of the electrode, thereby achieving a favorable ohmic contact. In addition, the moderate surface energy of siloxane functional groups makes PDI-OSi hydrophobic, which is conducive to forming excellent miscibility with hydrophobic active layers to promote charge transfer. When PDI-OSi is used as an ETL in organic solar cells (OSCs), operative exciton dissociation and more favorable surface morphology enable OSCs to realize a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.99%. These results indicate that side-chain engineering with siloxane pendants is a facile strategy for constructing efficient OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants, Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696 Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang 330063, China
| | - Jianwei Quan
- Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants, Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696 Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang 330063, China
| | - Hehui Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants, Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696 Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang 330063, China
| | - Haolan Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants, Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696 Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang 330063, China
| | - Zhentian Xu
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering/Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry (IPEC), Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Fang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants, Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696 Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang 330063, China
| | - Lin Hu
- China-Australia Institute for Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (IAMM), Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, China
| | - Jiabin Liu
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering/Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry (IPEC), Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Yongfen Tong
- Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants, Control and Resources Recycle, Nanchang Hangkong University, 696 Fenghe South Avenue, Nanchang 330063, China
| | - Lie Chen
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering/Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry (IPEC), Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
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30
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Sabbah H, Arayro J, Mezher R. Simulation and Investigation of 26% Efficient and Robust Inverted Planar Perovskite Solar Cells Based on GA 0.2FA 0.78SnI 3-1%EDAI 2 Films. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 12:nano12213885. [PMID: 36364661 PMCID: PMC9657588 DOI: 10.3390/nano12213885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
A hybrid tin-based perovskite solar cell with p-i-n inverted structure is modeled and simulated using SCAPS. The inverted structure is composed of PEDOT:PSS (as hole transport layer-HTL)/GA0.2FA0.78SnI3-1% EDAI2 (as perovskite absorber layer)/C60-fullerene (as electron transport layer-ETL). Previous experimental studies showed that unlike conventional tin-based perovskite solar cells (PSC), the present hybrid tin-based PSC passes all harsh standard tests and generates a power conversion efficiency of only 8.3%. Despite the high stability that this material exhibits, emphasis on enhancing its power conversion efficiency (PCE) is crucial. To that end, various ETL and HTL materials have been rigorously investigated. The impact of energy level alignment between HTL/absorber and absorber/ETL interfaces have been elucidated. Moreover, the thickness and the doping concentration of all the previously mentioned layers have been varied to inspect their effect on the photovoltaic performance of the PSC. The optimized structure with CuI (copper iodide) as HTL and ZnOS (zinc oxysulphide) as ETL scored a PCE of 26%, which is more than three times greater than the efficiency of the initial structure. The current numerical simulation on GA0.2FA0.78SnI3-1% EDAI2 could greatly increase its chance for commercial development.
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Mahjabin S, Haque MM, Sobayel K, Selvanathan V, Jamal MS, Bashar MS, Sultana M, Hossain MI, Shahiduzzaman M, Algethami M, Alharthi SS, Amin N, Sopian K, Akhtaruzzaman M. Investigation of Morphological, Optical, and Dielectric Properties of RF Sputtered WO x Thin Films for Optoelectronic Applications. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 12:3467. [PMID: 36234594 PMCID: PMC9565653 DOI: 10.3390/nano12193467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Tungsten oxide (WOx) thin films were synthesized through the RF magnetron sputtering method by varying the sputtering power from 30 W to 80 W. Different investigations have been conducted to evaluate the variation in different morphological, optical, and dielectric properties with the sputtering power and prove the possibility of using WOx in optoelectronic applications. An Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), stylus profilometer, and atomic force microscope (AFM) have been used to investigate the dependency of morphological properties on sputtering power. Transmittance, absorbance, and reflectance of the films, investigated by Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, have allowed for further determination of some necessary parameters, such as absorption coefficient, penetration depth, optical band energy gap, refractive index, extinction coefficient, dielectric parameters, a few types of loss parameters, etc. Variations in these parameters with the incident light spectrum have been closely analyzed. Some important parameters such as transmittance (above 80%), optical band energy gap (~3.7 eV), and refractive index (~2) ensure that as-grown WOx films can be used in some optoelectronic applications, mainly in photovoltaic research. Furthermore, strong dependencies of all evaluated parameters on the sputtering power were found, which are to be of great use for developing the films with the required properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samiya Mahjabin
- Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
| | - Md. Mahfuzul Haque
- Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
| | - K. Sobayel
- Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
| | - Vidhya Selvanathan
- Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
| | - M. S. Jamal
- Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh
| | - M. S. Bashar
- Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh
| | - Munira Sultana
- Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh
| | - Mohammad Ismail Hossain
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Md. Shahiduzzaman
- Nanomaterials Research Institute (NanoMaRi), Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan
| | - Merfat Algethami
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Sami S. Alharthi
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nowshad Amin
- Institute of Sustainable Energy, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (The National Energy University), Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, Kajang 43000, Malaysia
| | - Kamaruzzaman Sopian
- Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
| | - Md. Akhtaruzzaman
- Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), Bangi 43600, Malaysia
- Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8573, Ibaraki, Japan
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32
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Ahmad K, Raza W, Khan RA, Alsalme A, Kim H. Numerical Simulation of NH 3(CH 2) 2NH 3MnCl 4 Based Pb-Free Perovskite Solar Cells Via SCAPS-1D. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 12:3407. [PMID: 36234533 PMCID: PMC9565589 DOI: 10.3390/nano12193407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Recently, the design and fabrication of lead (Pb)-free perovskite or perovskite-like materials have received great interest for the development of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Manganese (Mn) is a less toxic element, which may be an alternative to Pb. In this work, we explored the role of NH3(CH2)2NH3MnCl4 perovskite as a light absorber layer via SCAPS-1D. A Pb-free PSC device (FTO/TiO2/NH3(CH2)2NH3MnCl4/spiro-OMeTAD/Au) was simulated via SCAPS-1D software. The simulated Pb-free PSCs (FTO/TiO2/NH3(CH2)2NH3MnCl4/spiro-OMeTAD/Au) showed decent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.19%. Further, the impact of the thickness of absorber (NH3(CH2)2NH3MnCl4), electron transport (TiO2), and hole-transport (spiro-OMeTAD) layers were also investigated. Subsequently, various electron transport layers (ETLs) were also introduced to investigate the role of ETL. In further studies, an NH3(CH2)2NH3MnCl4-based PSC device (FTO/TiO2/NH3(CH2)2NH3MnCl4/spiro-OMeTAD/Au) was also developed (humidity = ~30-40%). The fabricated PSCs displayed an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 510 mV with a PCE of 0.12%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khursheed Ahmad
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Korea
| | - Waseem Raza
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
| | - Rais Ahmad Khan
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ali Alsalme
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Haekyoung Kim
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Korea
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Wu J, Li MH, Jiang Y, Xu Q, Xian L, Guo H, Wan J, Wen R, Fang Y, Xie D, Lei Y, Hu JS, Lin Y. Carrier Management via Integrating InP Quantum Dots into Electron Transport Layer for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells. ACS Nano 2022; 16:15063-15071. [PMID: 36036963 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c06171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Metal oxides are the most efficient electron transport layers (ETLs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, issues related to the bulk (i.e., insufficient electron mobility, unfavorable energy level position) and interface of metal oxide/perovskite (detrimental surface hydroxyl groups) limit the transport kinetics of photoinduced electrons and prevent PSCs from unleashing their theoretical efficiency potential. Herein, the inorganic InP colloid quantum dots (CQDs) with outstanding electron mobility (4600 cm2 V-1 s-1) and carboxyl (-COOH) terminal ligands were uniformly distributed into the metal oxide ETL to form consecutive electron transport channels. The hybrid InP CQD-based ETL demonstrates a more N-type characteristic with more than 3-fold improvement in electron mobility. The formation of the Sn-O-In bond facilitates electron extraction due to suitable energy level alignment between the ETL and perovskite. The strong interaction between uncoordinated Pb2+ at the perovskite/ETL interface and the -COO- in the ligand of InP CQDs reduces the density of defects in perovskite. As a result, the hybrid InP CQD-based ETL with an optimized InP ratio (18 wt %) boosts the power conversion efficiency of PSCs from 22.38 to 24.09% (certified efficiency of 23.43%). Meanwhile, the device demonstrates significantly improved photostability and atmospheric storage stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinpeng Wu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ming-Hua Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
| | - Yan Jiang
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong, China
| | - Qiaoling Xu
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong, China
- College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Center for Computational Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, China
| | - Lede Xian
- Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, Guangdong, China
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Center for Free Electron Laser Science, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Haodan Guo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jing Wan
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Rui Wen
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yanyan Fang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Dongmei Xie
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yan Lei
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jin-Song Hu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yuan Lin
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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34
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Gulomov J, Accouche O, Aliev R, Neji B, Ghandour R, Gulomova I, Azab M. Geometric Optimization of Perovskite Solar Cells with Metal Oxide Charge Transport Layers. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 12:nano12152692. [PMID: 35957123 PMCID: PMC9370162 DOI: 10.3390/nano12152692] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are a promising area of research among different new generations of photovoltaic technologies. Their manufacturing costs make them appealing in the PV industry compared to their alternatives. Although PSCs offer high efficiency in thin layers, they are still in the development phase. Hence, optimizing the thickness of each of their layers is a challenging research area. In this paper, we investigate the effect of the thickness of each layer on the photoelectric parameters of n-ZnO/p-CH3NH3PbI3/p-NiOx solar cell through various simulations. Using the Sol-Gel method, PSC structure can be formed in different thicknesses. Our aim is to identify a functional connection between those thicknesses and the optimum open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current. Simulation results show that the maximum efficiency is obtained using a perovskite layer thickness of 200 nm, an electronic transport layer (ETL) thickness of 60 nm, and a hole transport layer (HTL) thickness of 20 nm. Furthermore, the output power, fill factor, open-circuit voltage, and short-circuit current of this structure are 18.9 mW/cm2, 76.94%, 1.188 V, and 20.677 mA/cm2, respectively. The maximum open-circuit voltage achieved by a solar cell with perovskite, ETL and HTL layer thicknesses of (200 nm, 60 nm, and 60 nm) is 1.2 V. On the other hand, solar cells with the following thicknesses, 800 nm, 80 nm, and 40 nm, and 600 nm, 80 nm, and 80 nm, achieved a maximum short-circuit current density of 21.46 mA/cm2 and a fill factor of 83.35%. As a result, the maximum value of each of the photoelectric parameters is found in structures of different thicknesses. These encouraging results are another step further in the design and manufacturing journey of PSCs as a promising alternative to silicon PV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jasurbek Gulomov
- Renewable Energy Sources Laboratory, Andijan State University, Andijan 170100, Uzbekistan
- Andijan State Pedagogical Institute, Andijan 170100, Uzbekistan
- Correspondence: (J.G.); (M.A.)
| | - Oussama Accouche
- College of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, Egaila 54200, Kuwait
| | - Rayimjon Aliev
- Renewable Energy Sources Laboratory, Andijan State University, Andijan 170100, Uzbekistan
| | - Bilel Neji
- College of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, Egaila 54200, Kuwait
| | - Raymond Ghandour
- College of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, Egaila 54200, Kuwait
| | - Irodakhon Gulomova
- Renewable Energy Sources Laboratory, Andijan State University, Andijan 170100, Uzbekistan
| | - Marc Azab
- College of Engineering and Technology, American University of the Middle East, Egaila 54200, Kuwait
- Correspondence: (J.G.); (M.A.)
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35
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Xi J, Yuan J, Du J, Yan X, Tian J. Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells Based on Tin Oxide Nanocrystals with Difunctional Modification. Small 2022; 18:e2203519. [PMID: 35858226 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202203519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Tin oxide (SnO2 ) nanocrystals-based electron transport layer (ETL) has been widely used in perovskite solar cells due to its high charge mobility and suitable energy band alignment with perovskite, but the high surface trap density of SnO2 nanocrystals harms the electron transfer and collection within device. Here, an effective method to achieve a low trap density and high electron mobility ETL based on SnO2 nanocrystals by devising a difunctional additive of potassium trifluoroacetate (KTFA) is proposed. KTFA is added to the SnO2 nanocrystals solution, in which trifluoroacetate ions could effectively passivate the oxygen vacancies (OV ) in SnO2 nanocrystals through binding of TFA- and Sn4+ , thus reducing the traps of SnO2 nanocrystals to boost the electrons collection in the solar cell. Furthermore, the conduction band of SnO2 nanocrystals is shifted up by surface modification to close to that of perovskite, which facilitates electrons transfer because of the decreased energy barrier between ETL and perovskite layer. Benefiting from the decreased trap density and energy barrier, the perovskite solar cells exhibit a power conversion efficiency of 21.73% with negligible hysteresis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiahao Xi
- Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China
| | - Jifeng Yuan
- Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China
| | - Jiuyao Du
- Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoqin Yan
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China
| | - Jianjun Tian
- Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology, Beijing, 100083, P. R. China
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36
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Fernández S, Torres I, Gandía JJ. Sputtered Ultrathin TiO 2 as Electron Transport Layer in Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cell Technology. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 12:nano12142441. [PMID: 35889664 PMCID: PMC9317026 DOI: 10.3390/nano12142441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
This work presents the implementation of ultrathin TiO2 films, deposited at room temperature by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering, as electron-selective contacts in silicon heterojunction solar cells. The effect of the working pressure on the properties of the TiO2 layers and its subsequent impact on the main parameters of the device are studied. The material characterization revealed an amorphous structure regardless of the working pressure; a rougher surface; and a blue shift in bandgap in the TiO2 layer deposited at the highest-pressure value of 0.89 Pa. When incorporated as part of the passivated full-area electron contact in silicon heterojunction solar cell, the chemical passivation provided by the intrinsic a-Si:H rapidly deteriorates upon the sputtering of the ultra-thin TiO2 films, although a short anneal is shown to restore much of the passivation lost. The deposition pressure and film thicknesses proved to be critical for the efficiency of the devices. The film thicknesses below 2 nm are necessary to reach open-circuit values above 660 mV, regardless of the deposition pressure. More so, the fill-factor showed a strong dependence on deposition pressure, with the best values obtained for the highest deposition pressure, which we correlated to the porosity of the films. Overall, these results show the potential to fabricate silicon solar cells with a simple implementation of electron-selective TiO2 contact deposited by magnetron sputtering. These results show the potential to fabricate silicon solar cells with a simple implementation of electron-selective TiO2 contact.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ignacio Torres
- Correspondence: (S.F.); (I.T.); Tel.: +34913466039 (S.F.)
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37
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Dagar J, Brown TM. Biological/metal oxide composite transport layers cast from green solvents for boosting light harvesting response of organic photovoltaic cells indoors. Nanotechnology 2022; 33:405404. [PMID: 35700718 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ac7883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Organic solar cells with biological/metal-oxide electron transport layers (ETLs), consisting of a ZnO compact layer covered by a thin DNA layer, both of which deposited with green solvents (water or water/alcohols mixtures) are presented for application under low intensity indoor lighting. Under white LED lamp (200, 400 lx), photovoltaic cells with P3HT:PC70BM polymer semiconductor blends delivered an average maximum power density (MPD) of 8.7μW cm-2, corresponding to a power conversion efficiency, PCE, of = 8.56% (PCE of best cell was 8.74%). The ZnO/DNA bilayer boosted efficiency by 68% and 13% in relative terms compared to cells made with DNA-only and ZnO-only ETLs at 400 lx. Photovoltaic cells with ZnO/DNA composite ETLs based on PTB7:PC70BM blends, that absorb a broader range of the indoor lighting spectrum, delivered MPDs of 16.2μW cm-2with an estimated average PCE of 14.3% (best cell efficiency of 15.8%) at 400 lx. The best efficiencies for cells fabricated on flexible plastic substrates were 11.9% at 400 lx. This is the first report in which polymer photovoltaics incorporating biological materials have shown to increment performance at these low light levels and work very efficiently under indoor artificial light illumination. The finding can be useful for the production of more bio-compatible photovoltaics as well as bio-sensing devices based on organic semiconductors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janardan Dagar
- CHOSE (Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy), Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico 1, I-00133 Rome, Italy
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, HySPRINT Innovation Lab, Kekuléstrasse 5, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas M Brown
- CHOSE (Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy), Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico 1, I-00133 Rome, Italy
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Sabbah H, Arayro J, Mezher R. Numerical Simulation and Optimization of Highly Stable and Efficient Lead-Free Perovskite FA(1-x)Cs(x)SnI(3)-Based Solar Cells Using SCAPS. Materials (Basel) 2022; 15. [PMID: 35888227 DOI: 10.3390/ma15144761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Formamidinium tin iodide (FASnI3)-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have achieved significant progress in the past several years. However, these devices still suffer from low power conversion efficiency (PCE=6%) and poor stability. Recently, Cesium (Cs)-doped Formamidinium tin iodide (FA1−xCsxSnI3) showed enhanced air, thermal, and illumination stability of PSCs. Hence, in this work, FA1−xCsxSnI3 PSCs have been rigorously studied and compared to pure FASnI3 PSCs using a solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS) for the first time. The aim was to replace the conventional electron transport layer (ETL) TiO2 that reduces PSC stability under solar irradiation. Therefore, FA1−xCsxSnI3 PSCs with different Cs contents were analyzed with TiO2 and stable ZnOS as the ETLs. Perovskite light absorber parameters including Cs content, defect density, doping concentration and thickness, and the defect density at the interface were tuned to optimize the photovoltaic performance of the PSCs. The simulation results showed that the device efficiency was strongly governed by the ETL material, Cs content in the perovskite and its defect density. All the simulated devices with ZnOS ETL exhibited PCEs exceeding 20% when the defect density of the absorber layer was below 1015 cm−3, and deteriorated drastically at higher values. The optimized structure with FA75Cs25SnI3 as light absorber and ZnOS as ETL showed the highest PCE of 22% with an open circuit voltage Voc of 0.89 V, short-circuit current density Jsc of 31.4 mA·cm−2, and fill factor FF of 78.7%. Our results obtained from the first numerical simulation on Cs-doped FASnI3 could greatly increase its potential for practical production.
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39
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Lee DY, Kim HH, Noh JH, Lim KY, Park D, Lee IH, Choi WK. Enhanced Luminance of CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots Light-Emitting Diodes Using ZnO-Oleic Acid/ZnO Quantum Dots Double Electron Transport Layer. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 12:nano12122038. [PMID: 35745377 PMCID: PMC9231060 DOI: 10.3390/nano12122038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The widely used ZnO quantum dots (QDs) as an electron transport layer (ETL) in quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) have one drawback. That the balancing of electrons and holes has not been effectively exploited due to the low hole blocking potential difference between the valence band (VB) (6.38 eV) of ZnO ETL and (6.3 eV) of CdSe/ZnS QDs. In this study, ZnO QDs chemically reacted with capping ligands of oleic acid (OA) to decrease the work function of 3.15 eV for ZnO QDs to 2.72~3.08 eV for the ZnO-OA QDs due to the charge transfer from ZnO to OA ligands and improve the efficiency for hole blocking as the VB was increased up to 7.22~7.23 eV. Compared to the QLEDs with a single ZnO QDs ETL, the ZnO-OA/ZnO QDs double ETLs optimize the energy level alignment between ZnO QDs and CdSe/ZnS QDs but also make the surface roughness of ZnO QDs smoother. The optimized glass/ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PVK//CdSe/ZnS//ZnO-OA/ZnO/Ag QLEDs enhances the maximum luminance by 5~9% and current efficiency by 16~35% over the QLEDs with a single ZnO QDs ETL, which can be explained in terms of trap-charge limited current (TCLC) and the Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling conduction mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Da Young Lee
- Center for Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea; (D.Y.L.); (H.H.K.); (J.-H.N.); (K.-Y.L.)
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea;
| | - Hong Hee Kim
- Center for Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea; (D.Y.L.); (H.H.K.); (J.-H.N.); (K.-Y.L.)
| | - Ji-Hyun Noh
- Center for Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea; (D.Y.L.); (H.H.K.); (J.-H.N.); (K.-Y.L.)
| | - Keun-Yong Lim
- Center for Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea; (D.Y.L.); (H.H.K.); (J.-H.N.); (K.-Y.L.)
| | - Donghee Park
- Center for Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea; (D.Y.L.); (H.H.K.); (J.-H.N.); (K.-Y.L.)
- Correspondence: (D.P.); (W.K.C.)
| | - In-Hwan Lee
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea;
| | - Won Kook Choi
- Center for Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02792, Korea; (D.Y.L.); (H.H.K.); (J.-H.N.); (K.-Y.L.)
- Department of Nanoscience and Engineering, KIST School, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
- Correspondence: (D.P.); (W.K.C.)
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Sabbah H. Numerical Simulation of 30% Efficient Lead-Free Perovskite CsSnGeI(3)-Based Solar Cells. Materials (Basel) 2022; 15. [PMID: 35591563 DOI: 10.3390/ma15093229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A cesium tin−germanium triiodide (CsSnGeI3) perovskite-based solar cell (PSC) has been reported to achieve a high-power-conversion efficiency (PCE > 7%) and extreme air stability. A thorough understanding of the role of the interfaces in the perovskite solar cell, along with the optimization of different parameters, is still required for further improvement in PCE. In this study, lead-free CsSnGeI3 PSC has been quantitatively analyzed using a solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS−1D). Five electron transport layers (ETL) were comparatively studied, while keeping other layers fixed. The use of SnO2 as an ETL, which has the best band alignment with the perovskite layer, can increase the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSC by up to 30%. The defect density and thickness of the absorber layer has been thoroughly investigated. Results show that the device efficiency is highly governed by the defect density of the absorber layer. All the PSCs with a different ETL exhibit PCE exceeding 20% when the defect density of the absorber layer is in the range of 1014 cm−3−1016 cm−3, and degrade dramatically at higher values. With the optimized structure, the simulation found the highest PCE of CsSnGeI3-based PSCs to be 30.98%, with an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 1.22 V, short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 28.18 mA·cm−2, and fill factor (FF) of 89.52%. Our unprecedented results clearly demonstrate that CsSnGeI3-based PSC is an excellent candidate to become the most efficient single-junction solar cell technology soon.
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Wang L, Chen Y, Tao W, Wang K, Peng Z, Zheng X, Xiang C, Zhang J, Huang M, Zhao B. Polymerized naphthalimide derivatives as remarkable electron-transport layers for inverted organic solar cells. Macromol Rapid Commun 2022; 43:e2200119. [PMID: 35467054 DOI: 10.1002/marc.202200119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Two polymerized naphthalimide derivatives, named as N-TBHOB and N-DBH, have been prepared by quaternization, which exhibit excellent performance as electron-transport layers (ETLs) in inverted organic solar cells (i-OSCs). The results indicate N-TBHOB with a reticulated structure owns a superior performance on electron extraction, electron transport, thickness tolerance and less carrier recombination compared with N-DBH with linear structure. The i-OSCs based on N-TBHOB with PTB7-Th:PC71 BM as the active layer achieve PCEs of 10.72% and 10.03% under the thickness of 11 and 48 nm respectively, which indicates N-TBHOB possesses better thickness tolerance than most of organic ETLs in i-OSCs. N-TBHOB also shows more competent performance than N-DBH and ZnO in non-fullerene i-OSCs for comprehensively improved Jsc , Voc and FF values. Its i-OSC with PM6:Y6 blend presents a high PCE of 16.78%. The study provides an efficient strategy to prepare ETLs by combining conjugated and nonconjugated backbone with a reticulated structure for high-performance i-OSCs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linqiao Wang
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China
| | - Yaoqiong Chen
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China
| | - Wuxi Tao
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China
| | - Ke Wang
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China
| | - Zeyan Peng
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China
| | - Xiaolong Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China
| | - Changhao Xiang
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China
| | - Jian Zhang
- College of Material Science & Engineering, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, Guilin University of Electrical Technology, Guilin, 541004, P. R. China
| | - Meihua Huang
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China
| | - Bin Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China.,Key Laboratory of Polymeric Materials & Application Technology of Hunan Province, College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, P. R. China
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Gu B, Du Y, Chen B, Zhao R, Lu H, Xu Q, Guo C. Black Phosphorus Quantum Dot-Engineered Tin Oxide Electron Transport Layer for Highly Stable Perovskite Solar Cells with Negligible Hysteresis. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022; 14:11264-11272. [PMID: 35171576 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c22097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
An effective combination of smart materials plays an important role in charge transfer and separation for high photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) and stable solar cells. Black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) have been revealed as a direct band gap semiconductor with ultrahigh conductivity, which have been explored in the present work as an additive component to a precursor solution of SnO2 nanoparticles that can effectively improve the performance of SnO2 electron transport layer (ETL)-based perovskite solar cells. Such a device can yield a high PCE of 21% with the SnO2/BPQDs mixed ETL, which is higher than those of perovskite solar cells based on SnO2 single layer (18.2%), BPQDs/SnO2 bilayer (19.5%), and SnO2/BPQDs bilayer (20.5%) samples. The mixed samples still possess good stability of more than 90% efficiency after 1000 h under AM 1.5G lamp irradiation and negligible hysteresis. It is found that the strong interaction of BPQDs with SnO2 can not only modify the defects inherent to the SnO2 layer but also inhibit the oxidation of BPQDs. This work provides a promising functional material for SnO2 ETL-based perovskite solar cells and proves that the BPQD-based modification strategy is useful for designing other solar cells with high performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bangkai Gu
- School of Physics, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Yi Du
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Bo Chen
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Run Zhao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Hao Lu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Qingyu Xu
- School of Physics, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
| | - Chunxian Guo
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
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Sánchez-Godoy HE, Salim KMM, Rodríguez-Rojas R, Zarazúa I, Masi S. In Situ Ethanolamine ZnO Nanoparticle Passivation for Perovskite Interface Stability and Highly Efficient Solar Cells. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2022; 12:nano12050823. [PMID: 35269311 PMCID: PMC8912770 DOI: 10.3390/nano12050823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Zinc oxide (ZnO) has interesting optoelectronic properties, but suffers from chemical instability when in contact with perovskite interfaces; hence, the perovskite deposited on the top degrades promptly. Surface passivation strategies alleviate this instability issue; however, synthesis to passivate ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) in situ has received less attention. Here, a new synthesis at low temperatures with an ethanolamine post treatment has been developed. By using ZnO NPs prepared with ethanolamine and butanol (BuOH), (E-ZnO), the stability of the FA0.9Cs0.1PbI3 (FACsPI)−ZnO interface was achieved, with a photoconversion efficiency of >18%. Impedance spectroscopy demonstrates that the recombination at the interface was reduced in the system with E-ZnO/perovskite compared to common SnO2/perovskite and that the quality of the perovskite on the top is clearly due to the ZnO in situ passivation with ethanolamine. This work extends the use of E-ZnO as an n-type charge extraction layer and demonstrates its feasibility with methylammonium perovskite. Moreover, this study paves the way for other in situ passivation methods with different target molecules, along with new insights regarding the perovskite interface rearrangement when in contact with the modified electron transport layer (ETL).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - K. M. Muhammed Salim
- Institute of Advanced Materials (INAM), Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Avenida de Vicent Sos Baynat, 12071 Castellon de la Plana, Spain;
| | - Rubén Rodríguez-Rojas
- Centro Universitario de los Lagos, Universidad de Guadalajara, Lagos de Moreno 47460, Mexico; (H.E.S.-G.); (R.R.-R.)
| | - Isaac Zarazúa
- Centro Universitario de los Lagos, Universidad de Guadalajara, Lagos de Moreno 47460, Mexico; (H.E.S.-G.); (R.R.-R.)
- Correspondence: (I.Z.); (S.M.)
| | - Sofia Masi
- Institute of Advanced Materials (INAM), Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Avenida de Vicent Sos Baynat, 12071 Castellon de la Plana, Spain;
- Correspondence: (I.Z.); (S.M.)
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Zhang W, Lin Z, Cai Q, Xu X, Dong H, Mu C, Zhang JP. Electron Transport Assisted by Transparent Conductive Oxide Elements in Perovskite Solar Cells. ChemSusChem 2022; 15:e202102002. [PMID: 34879176 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202102002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Fluorine and indium elements in F-doped SnO2 (FTO) and Sn-doped In2 O3 (ITO), respectively, significantly contribute toward enhancing the electrical conductivity of these transparent conductive oxides. In this study, fluorine was combined with indium to modify the SnO2 electron transport layer (ETL) through InF3 . Consequently, the modified perovskite solar cells (PSCs) showe the favorable alignment of energy levels, improved absorption and utilization of light, enhanced interfacial charge extraction, and suppressed interfacial charge recombination. After InF3 modification, the open circuit voltage (Voc ) and fill factor (FF) of the PSC were significantly improved, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) reached 21.39 %, far exceeding that of the control PSC (19.62 %).
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqi Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, P. R. China
| | - Zhichao Lin
- Department of Chemistry, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, P. R. China
| | - Qingbin Cai
- Department of Chemistry, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, P. R. China
| | - Xiangning Xu
- Department of Chemistry, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, P. R. China
| | - Hongye Dong
- Department of Chemistry, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, P. R. China
| | - Cheng Mu
- Department of Chemistry, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, P. R. China
| | - Jian-Ping Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, P. R. China
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Velasco Davoise L, Díez-Pascual AM, Peña Capilla R. Application of Graphene-Related Materials in Organic Solar Cells. Materials (Basel) 2022; 15:ma15031171. [PMID: 35161115 PMCID: PMC8837950 DOI: 10.3390/ma15031171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Graphene-related materials (GRMs) such as graphene quantum dots (GQDs), graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), and so forth have recently emerged as photovoltaic (PV) materials due to their nanodimensional structure and outstanding properties such as high electrical and thermal conductivity, large specific surface, and unique combination of mechanical strength and flexibility. They can be a crucial part of transparent electrodes, hole/electron transport materials, and active layers in organic solar cells (OSCs). Besides their role in charge extraction and transport, GRMs act as device protectors against environmental degradation through their compact bidimensional structure and offer good durability. This review briefly presents the synthesis methods of GRMs and describes the current progress in GRM-based OSCs. PV parameters (short circuit current, open circuit voltage, power conversion efficiency, and fill factor) are summarized and comparatively discussed for the different structures. The efficiency recently surpassed 15% for an OSC incorporating polymer-modified graphene as a transparent electrode. The long-term stability of OSCs incorporating GRMs is also discussed. Finally, conclusions and the outlook for future investigation into GRM-based devices for PVs are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Velasco Davoise
- Universidad de Alcalá, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33.6, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain;
| | - Ana M. Díez-Pascual
- Universidad de Alcalá, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Química Analítica, Química Física e Ingeniería Química, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33.6, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain;
- Correspondence:
| | - Rafael Peña Capilla
- Universidad de Alcalá, Departamento de Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km. 33.6, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain;
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46
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Pettipas RD, Hoff A, Gelfand BS, Welch GC. Green Solvent-Processible N-H-Functionalized Perylene Diimide Materials for Scalable Organic Photovoltaics. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022; 14:3103-3110. [PMID: 34990105 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c20793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The growing demand for organic electronic devices warrants further development of the scalability and green solvent processibility of π-conjugated materials. Perylene diimide (PDI)-based materials have shown impressive performance as interlayers for electronic devices due to a low ELUMO energy and high charge mobility in films. The next step in the development of these materials is the transition toward scalable production and the fabrication of devices under ambient conditions. Here, we develop a green synthetic methodology to prepare a series of PDI-based electronically active materials (X2-5), which can be slot-die-coated into uniform thin films from green solvents in air. Compounds X2-5 comprised a monomeric PDI core with a functional cyclic secondary amine appended to the bay region. Bromine or cyano moieties are incorporated into the molecular scaffold to systematically tune optoelectronic properties. The utility of these materials is demonstrated by slot-die coating them from ethanol to serve as cathode interlayers in prototype air-processed conventional organic photovoltaics. Using a PM6:Y6 active layer, device power conversion efficiencies reached 10%, among the best reported under these conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard D Pettipas
- University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Anderson Hoff
- University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Benjamin S Gelfand
- University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
| | - Gregory C Welch
- University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4, Canada
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Hoff A, Farahat ME, Pahlevani M, Welch GC. Tin Oxide Electron Transport Layers for Air-/Solution-Processed Conventional Organic Solar Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022; 14:1568-1577. [PMID: 34978404 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c19790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Commercialization of organic solar cells (OSC) is imminent. Interlayers between the photoactive film and the electrodes are critical for high device efficiency and stability. Here, the applicability of SnO2 nanoparticles (SnO2 NPs) as the electron transport layer (ETL) in conventional OSCs is evaluated. A commercial SnO2 NPs solution in butanol is mixed with ethanol (EtOH) as a processing co-solvent to improve film formation for spin and slot-die coating deposition procedures. When processed with 200% v/v EtOH, the SnO2 NPs film presents uniform film quality and low photoactive layer degradation. The optimized SnO2 NPs ink is coated, in air, on top of two polymer:fullerene-based systems and a nonfullerene system, to form an efficient ETL film. In every case, addition of SnO2 NPs film significantly enhances photovoltaic performance, from 3.4 and 3.7% without the ETL to 6.0 and 5.7% when coated on top of PBDB-T:PC61BM and PPDT2FBT:PC61BM, respectively, and from 3.7 to 7.1% when applied on top of the PTQ10:IDIC system. Flexible, all slot-die-coated devices, in air, are also fabricated and tested, demonstrating the versatility of the SnO2 NPs ink for efficient ETL formation on top of organic photoactive layers, processed under ambient condition, ideal for practical large-scale production of OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson Hoff
- Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive Northwest, Calgary, AlbertaT2N 1N4, Canada
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Queen's University, 19 Union Street, Kingston, OntarioK7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Mahmoud E Farahat
- Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive Northwest, Calgary, AlbertaT2N 1N4, Canada
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Queen's University, 19 Union Street, Kingston, OntarioK7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Majid Pahlevani
- Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive Northwest, Calgary, AlbertaT2N 1N4, Canada
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Queen's University, 19 Union Street, Kingston, OntarioK7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Gregory C Welch
- Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive Northwest, Calgary, AlbertaT2N 1N4, Canada
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Queen's University, 19 Union Street, Kingston, OntarioK7L 3N6, Canada
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Muchuweni E, Mombeshora ET, Martincigh BS, Nyamori VO. Recent Applications of Carbon Nanotubes in Organic Solar Cells. Front Chem 2022; 9:733552. [PMID: 35071180 PMCID: PMC8770437 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2021.733552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, carbon-based materials, particularly carbon nanotubes (CNTs), have gained intensive research attention in the fabrication of organic solar cells (OSCs) due to their outstanding physicochemical properties, low-cost, environmental friendliness and the natural abundance of carbon. In this regard, the low sheet resistance and high optical transmittance of CNTs enables their application as alternative anodes to the widely used indium tin oxide (ITO), which is toxic, expensive and scarce. Also, the synergy between the large specific surface area and high electrical conductivity of CNTs provides both large donor-acceptor interfaces and conductive interpenetrating networks for exciton dissociation and charge carrier transport. Furthermore, the facile tunability of the energy levels of CNTs provides proper energy level alignment between the active layer and electrodes for effective extraction and transportation of charge carriers. In addition, the hydrophobic nature and high thermal conductivity of CNTs enables them to form protective layers that improve the moisture and thermal stability of OSCs, thereby prolonging the devices' lifetime. Recently, the introduction of CNTs into OSCs produced a substantial increase in efficiency from ∼0.68 to above 14.00%. Thus, further optimization of the optoelectronic properties of CNTs can conceivably help OSCs to compete with silicon solar cells that have been commercialized. Therefore, this study presents the recent breakthroughs in efficiency and stability of OSCs, achieved mainly over 2018-2021 by incorporating CNTs into electrodes, active layers and charge transport layers. The challenges, advantages and recommendations for the fabrication of low-cost, highly efficient and sustainable next-generation OSCs are also discussed, to open up avenues for commercialization.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Vincent O. Nyamori
- School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
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Li P, Chen L, Hu X, He L, Jiang Z, Luo M, Huang H, Yuan W, He Y. Effective Double Electron Transport Layer Inducing Crystallization of Active Layer for Improving the Performance of Organic Solar Cells. Nanomaterials (Basel) 2021; 12:15. [PMID: 35009965 PMCID: PMC8746582 DOI: 10.3390/nano12010015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Interface modification plays an important role in enhancing the photoelectric conversion efficiency and stability of organic solar cells. In this work, alkali metal lithium chloride (LiCl) was introduced between indium tin oxide and polyethyleneimine ethoxylate (PEIE) to prepare a double-layer electron transport layer. Results show that the introduction of LiCl has dual functions. The first function is that LiCl can enhance conductivity, thereby facilitating charge collection. The second function is that the double-layer electron transport layer based on LiCl can induce the crystallization of active layer, thereby enhancing charge transport. Devices with LiCl/PEIE double layer achieve a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.84%, which is 21.5% higher than that of pristine devices (the PCE of pristine devices with pure PEIE interface layer is 3.16%).
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Li
- School of Physics and Electronic Science, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, China; (X.H.); (L.H.); (Z.J.); (M.L.); (H.H.); (Y.H.)
| | - Lijia Chen
- College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China;
| | - Xiaoyan Hu
- School of Physics and Electronic Science, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, China; (X.H.); (L.H.); (Z.J.); (M.L.); (H.H.); (Y.H.)
| | - Lirong He
- School of Physics and Electronic Science, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, China; (X.H.); (L.H.); (Z.J.); (M.L.); (H.H.); (Y.H.)
| | - Zezhuan Jiang
- School of Physics and Electronic Science, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, China; (X.H.); (L.H.); (Z.J.); (M.L.); (H.H.); (Y.H.)
| | - Minghao Luo
- School of Physics and Electronic Science, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, China; (X.H.); (L.H.); (Z.J.); (M.L.); (H.H.); (Y.H.)
| | - Haishen Huang
- School of Physics and Electronic Science, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, China; (X.H.); (L.H.); (Z.J.); (M.L.); (H.H.); (Y.H.)
| | - Wei Yuan
- Department of Rail Transportation Engineering, GuiZhou Communication Polythechnic, Guiyang 551400, China;
| | - Yinghu He
- School of Physics and Electronic Science, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi 563006, China; (X.H.); (L.H.); (Z.J.); (M.L.); (H.H.); (Y.H.)
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50
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Dong JY, Ng KW, Song YM, Li JL, Kong YC, Wang MW, Xu JC, Li L, Chen S, Tang ZK, Wang SP. Observation and Suppression of Stacking Interface States in Sandwich-Structured Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:56630-56637. [PMID: 34794311 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c13052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Interfacial quality of functional layers plays an important role in the carrier transport of sandwich-structured devices. Although the suppression of interface states is crucial to the overall device performance, our understanding on their formation and annihilation mechanism via direct characterization is still quite limited. Here, we present a thorough study on the interface states present in the electron transport layer (ETL) of blue quantum dot (QD) light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). A ZnO/ZnMgO bilayer ETL is adopted to enhance the electron injection into blue QDs. By probing the ETL band structure with photoelectron spectroscopy, we discover that substantial band bending exists at the ZnO/ZnMgO interface, elucidating the presence of a high density of interface states which hinder electron transport. By inserting a ZnO@ZMO interlayer composed of mixed ZnO and ZnMgO nanoparticles, the band bending and thus the interface states are observed to reduce significantly. We attribute this to the hybrid surface properties of ZnO@ZMO, which can annihilate the surface states of both the ZnO and ZnMgO layers. The introduction of a bridging layer has led to ∼40% enhancement in the power efficiency of blue QLEDs and noticeable performance boosts in green and red QLEDs. The findings here demonstrate a direct observation of interface states via detailed band structure studies and outline a potential pathway for eliminating these states for better performances in sandwich-structured devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Yi Dong
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
| | - Kar Wei Ng
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
| | - Yin-Man Song
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
| | - Jie-Lei Li
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
| | - You-Chao Kong
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
| | - Meng-Wei Wang
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
| | - Jin-Cheng Xu
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
| | - Lin Li
- Key Laboratory for Photonic and Electronic Bandgap Materials, Ministry of Education, School of Physics & Electron Engineering, Harbin Normal University, Harbin 150025, China
| | - Shi Chen
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
| | - Zi-Kang Tang
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
| | - Shuang-Peng Wang
- Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao, SAR 999078, China
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