scholarly journals Investigation of the Effects of Various Organic Solvents on the PCBM Electron Transport Layer of Perovskite Solar Cells

Coatings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 237
Author(s):  
Chih-Hung Tsai ◽  
Chia-Ming Lin ◽  
Cheng-Hao Kuei

In this study, four organic solvents including 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB), chlorobenzene (CB), methylbenzene (MB), and chloroform (CF) were used as solvents in the [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) electron transport layer (ETL) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This study observed the effects of various solvents on the surface morphology of the ETL by using an optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The surface roughness, crystal structure, and surface element bonding of the ETL were observed using an atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), respectively. The absorption spectrum of the perovskite layer was explored using an ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrometer. The characteristics of the PSC device were analyzed in terms of its current density–voltage (J–V) curve, external quantum efficiency (EQE), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The results showed that DCB is a solvent with a high boiling point, low vapor pressure, and high dielectric constant, and using DCB as the solvent for ETL, the uniformity, coverage, and surface roughness of the ETL showed better properties. The power conversion efficiency of the PSC in which DCB was used as the solvent achieved a value of 11.07%, which was higher than that of the PSCs in which other solvents were used.

Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mao Jiang ◽  
Qiaoli Niu ◽  
Xiao Tang ◽  
Heyi Zhang ◽  
Haowen Xu ◽  
...  

The commonly used electron transport material (6,6)-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) for perovskite solar cells (PSC) with inverted planar structures suffers from properties such as poor film-forming. In this manuscript, we demonstrate a simple method to improve the film-forming properties of PCBM by doping PCBM with poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT) as the electron transport layer (ETL), which effectively enhances the performance of CH3NH3PbI3 based solar cells. With 5 wt % F8BT in PCBM, the short circuit current (JSC) and fill factor (FF) of PSC both significantly increased from 17.21 ± 0.15 mA·cm−2 and 71.1 ± 0.07% to 19.28 ± 0.22 mA·cm−2 and 74.7 ± 0.21%, respectively, which led to a power conversion efficiency (PCE) improvement from 12.6 ± 0.24% to 15 ± 0.26%. The morphology investigation suggested that doping with F8BT facilitated the formation of a smooth and uniform ETL, which was favorable for the separation of electron-hole pairs, and therefore, an improved performance of PSC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-347
Author(s):  
K. Bhavsar ◽  
◽  
P.B. Lapsiwala ◽  

Perovskite solar cells have become a hot topic in the solar energy device area due to high efficiency and low cost photovoltaic technology. However, their function is limited by expensive hole transport material (HTM) and high temperature process electron transport material (ETM) layer is common device structure. Numerical simulation is a crucial technique in deeply understanding the operational mechanisms of solar cells and structure optimization for different devices. In this paper, device modelling for different perovskite solar cell has been performed for different ETM layer, namely: TiO2, ZnO, SnO2, PCBM (phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester), CdZnS, C60, IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide), WS2 and CdS and effect of band gap upon the power conversion efficiency of device as well as effect of absorber thickness have been examined. The SCAPS 1D (Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator) has been a tool used for numerical simulation of these devices.


Nanoscale ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (42) ◽  
pp. 16249-16255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kisu Lee ◽  
Jaehoon Ryu ◽  
Haejun Yu ◽  
Juyoung Yun ◽  
Jungsup Lee ◽  
...  

In this work, a phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) electron transport layer was modified with Triton X-100, and this improved the photovoltaic performance and air-stability of perovskite solar cells.


Author(s):  
U.C. Obi ◽  
D.M. Sanni ◽  
A. Bello

Theoretical study of methyl-ammonium bismuth halide perovskite solar cells, (CH3NH3)3Bi2I9, was carried out using a one-dimensional Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D) software. The performance of the tested device architectures largely depends on the thickness of the absorbing layer, with the combination of electron transport, and hole transport layers. Thus, the bismuth perovskite absorber layer was optimized by varying the thickness and also, the thicknesses of the different charge-transport materials such as Spiro-OmeTAD, copper (I) oxide (Cu2O), and copper (I) iodide (CuI) as hole transport layer (HTL), and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT), zinc oxide, and titanium dioxide as electron transport layer (ETL). The best performance in terms of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) was recorded for the device with Cu2O as the HTL and ZnO as the ETL with the absorber layer thickness of 200 nm. The working temperature of the device was varied from 295 to 320 K and the effects of temperature on various device architectures were investigated. Results obtained indication that the efficiency of the bismuth perovskite solar cells can be improved by optimizing the thickness of the absorber layer and utilizing an appropriate combination of HTLs and ETLs. Keywords: methyl-ammonium bismuth perovskite, SCAPS, HTL, ETL, PCE.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (23) ◽  
pp. 7870
Author(s):  
R. K. Koech ◽  
Reisya Ichwani ◽  
D. O. Oyewole ◽  
M. Kigozi ◽  
D. Amune ◽  
...  

The design of electron transport layers (ETLs) with good optoelectronic properties is one of the keys to the improvement of the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Titanium dioxide (TiO2), one of the most widely used ETL in PSCs, is characterized by low electrical conductivity that increases the series resistance of PSCs, thus limiting their PCEs. In this work, we incorporated tin oxide (SnO2) into titanium dioxide (TiO2) and studied the evolution of its microstructural and optoelectronic properties with SnO2 loading. The thin films were then integrated as ETLs in a regular planar Formamidinium (FA)-rich mixed lead halide PSCs so as to assess the overall effect of SnO2 incorporation on their charge transport and Photovoltaic (PV) characteristics. Analysis of the fabricated PSCs devices revealed that the best performing devices; based on the ETL modified with 0.2 proportion of SnO2; had an average PCE of 17.35 ± 1.39%, which was about 7.16% higher than those with pristine TiO2 as ETL. The improvement in the PCE of the PSC devices with 0.2 SnO2 content in the ETL was attributed to the improved electron extraction and transport ability as revealed by the Time Resolved Photoluminescence (TRPL) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) studies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Song Fang ◽  
Bo Chen ◽  
Bangkai Gu ◽  
Linxing Meng ◽  
Hao Lu ◽  
...  

UV induced decomposition of perovskite material is one of main factors to severely destroy perovskite solar cells for instability. Here we report a UV stable perovskite solar cell with a...


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3295
Author(s):  
Andrzej Sławek ◽  
Zbigniew Starowicz ◽  
Marek Lipiński

In recent years, lead halide perovskites have attracted considerable attention from the scientific community due to their exceptional properties and fast-growing enhancement for solar energy harvesting efficiency. One of the fundamental aspects of the architecture of perovskite-based solar cells (PSCs) is the electron transport layer (ETL), which also acts as a barrier for holes. In this work, the influence of compact TiO2 ETL on the performance of planar heterojunction solar cells based on CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite was investigated. ETLs were deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates from a titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) precursor solution using the spin-coating method with changing precursor concentration and centrifugation speed. It was found that the thickness and continuity of ETLs, investigated between 0 and 124 nm, strongly affect the photovoltaic performance of PSCs, in particular short-circuit current density (JSC). Optical and topographic properties of the compact TiO2 layers were investigated as well.


Author(s):  
Zhihai Liu ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Chongyang Xu ◽  
Xiaoyin Xie

Recently, Ruddlesden–Popper two-dimensional (2D) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been intensively studied, owing to their high power conversion efficiency (PCE) and excellent long-term stability. In this work, we fabricated electron-transport-layer-free...


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