scholarly journals Stannite Quaternary Cu2M(M = Ni, Co)SnS4 as Low Cost Inorganic Hole Transport Materials in Perovskite Solar Cells

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5938
Author(s):  
Zohreh Shadrokh ◽  
Shima Sousani ◽  
Somayeh Gholipour ◽  
Zahra Dehghani ◽  
Yaser Abdi ◽  
...  

In this study, inorganic stannite quaternary Cu2M(M = Ni, Co)SnS4 (CMTS) is explored as a low-cost, earth abundant, environmentally friendly and chemically stable hole transport material (HTM). CMTS nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile and mild solvothermal method and processed into aggregated nanoparticle inks, which were applied in n-i-p perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The results show that Cu2NiSnS4 (CNiTS) is more promising as an HTM than Cu2CoSnS4 (CCoTS), showing efficient charge injection as evidenced by considerable photoluminescence quenching and lower series resistance from Nyquist plots, as well as higher power conversion efficiency (PCE). Moreover, the perovskite layer coated by the CMTS HTM showed superior environmental stability after 200 h light soaking in 50% relative humidity, while organic HTMs suffer from a severe drop in perovskite absorption. Although the obtained PCEs are modest, this study shows that the cost effective and stable inorganic CMTSs are promising HTMs, which can contribute towards PSC commercialization, if the field can further optimize CMTS energy levels through compositional engineering.

Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Funeka Matebese ◽  
Raymond Taziwa ◽  
Dorcas Mutukwa

P-type wide bandgap semiconductor materials such as CuI, NiO, Cu2O and CuSCN are currently undergoing intense research as viable alternative hole transport materials (HTMs) to the spiro-OMeTAD in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Despite 23.3% efficiency of PSCs, there are still a number of issues in addition to the toxicology of Pb such as instability and high-cost of the current HTM that needs to be urgently addressed. To that end, copper thiocyanate (CuSCN) HTMs in addition to robustness have high stability, high hole mobility, and suitable energy levels as compared to spiro-OMeTAD HTM. CuSCN HTM layer use affordable materials, require short synthesis routes, require simple synthetic techniques such as spin-coating and doctor-blading, thus offer a viable way of developing cost-effective PSCs. HTMs play a vital role in PSCs as they can enhance the performance of a device by reducing charge recombination processes. In this review paper, we report on the current progress of CuSCN HTMs that have been reported to date in PSCs. CuSCN HTMs have shown enhanced stability when exposed to weather elements as the solar devices retained their initial efficiency by a greater percentage. The efficiency reported to date is greater than 20% and has a potential of increasing, as well as maintaining thermal stability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 665-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Höcker ◽  
David Kiermasch ◽  
Philipp Rieder ◽  
Kristofer Tvingstedt ◽  
Andreas Baumann ◽  
...  

AbstractThe organic and hydrophobic polymer poly[N, N′-bis(4-butilphenyl)-N, N′-bis(phenyl)-benzidine] (polyTPD) represents a promising hole transport layer (HTL) for perovskite photovoltaics due to its suitable energy levels, whereby its highest occupied molecular orbital level matches well with the valence band level of methylammonium lead triiodide (CH3NH3PbI3, MAPbI3) perovskite. However, processing a perovskite layer from the solution on the surface of this organic material, is found to be difficult due to the surface properties of the latter. In this study, we evaluate efficient p-i-n type MAPbI3 perovskite solar cells employing differently processed polyTPD layers. We found that the surface coverage of the MAPbI3 perovskite layer strongly depends on the preparation method of the underlying polyTPD layer. By varying the solvents for the polyTPD precursor, its concentration, and by applying an optimised two-step perovskite deposition technique we increased both the surface coverage of the perovskite layer as well as the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the corresponding solar cell devices. Our simple solvent-engineering approach demonstrates that no further interface modifications are needed for a successful preparation of efficient planar photovoltaic devices with PCEs in the range of 15 %–16 %.


CrystEngComm ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (47) ◽  
pp. 7677-7687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddhant B. Patel ◽  
Amar H. Patel ◽  
Jignasa V. Gohel

CZTS nano-particles are synthesized under ambient condition and applied as low-cost and sustainable inorganic HTM in Perovskite solar cells.


RSC Advances ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (109) ◽  
pp. 107723-107731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shufang Wu ◽  
Ya Zheng ◽  
Qingwei Liu ◽  
Renjie Li ◽  
Tianyou Peng

A solution-processable and dopant-free ZnPc(tBu)4was used a potential cost-effective substitute for the expensive HTMs containing multifold dopants used in the current PSCs.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lie Chen ◽  
Bin Huang ◽  
Yujun Cheng ◽  
Hui Lei ◽  
Lin Hu ◽  
...  

A low-cost and efficient hole transport layer (HTL) material (TPE-CZ) with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effect has been synthesized. Due to the AIE effect, perovskite solar cells with TPE-CZ as HTL...


Metals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Zhang ◽  
Haiming Zhang ◽  
Xiaohui Zhang ◽  
Lijuan Wei ◽  
Biao Zhang ◽  
...  

Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have made immense progress in recent years, owing to outstanding optoelectronic properties of perovskite materials, such as high extinction coefficient, carrier mobility, and low exciton binding energy. Since the first appearance in 2009, the efficiency of PSCs has reached 23.3%. This has made them the most promising rival to silicon-based solar cells. However, there are still several issues to resolve to promote PSCs’ outdoor applications. In this review, three crucial aspects of PSCs, including high efficiency, environmental stability, and low-cost of PSCs, are described in detail. Recent in-depth studies on different aspects are also discussed for better understanding of these issues and possible solutions.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1635
Author(s):  
Sumayya M. Abdulrahim ◽  
Zubair Ahmad ◽  
Jolly Bahadra ◽  
Noora J. Al-Thani

The future photovoltaic technologies based on perovskite materials are aimed to build low tech, truly economical, easily fabricated, broadly deployable, and trustworthy solar cells. Hole transport material (HTM) free perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are among the most likely architectures which hold a distinctive design and provide a simple way to produce large-area and cost-effective manufacture of PSCs. Notably, in the monolithic scheme of the HTM-free PSCs, all layers can be printed using highly reproducible and morphology-controlled methods, and this design has successfully been demonstrated for industrial-scale fabrication. In this review article, we comprehensively describe the recent advancements in the different types of mesoporous (nanostructured) and planar HTM-free PSCs. In addition, the effect of various nanostructures and mesoporous layers on their performance is discussed using the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique. We bring together the different perspectives that researchers have developed to interpret and analyze the EIS data of the HTM-free PSCs. Their analysis using the EIS tool, the limitations of these studies, and the future work directions to overcome these limitations to enhance the performance of HTM-free PSCs are comprehensively considered.


Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 978
Author(s):  
Chaoqun Lu ◽  
Weijia Zhang ◽  
Zhaoyi Jiang ◽  
Yulong Zhang ◽  
Cong Ni

The hole transport layer (HTL) is one of the main factors affecting the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, obtaining HTLs with the desired properties through current preparation techniques remains a challenge. In the present study, we propose a new method which can be used to achieve a double-layer HTL, by inserting a CuI layer between the perovskite layer and Spiro-OMeTAD layer via a solution spin coating process. The CuI layer deposited on the surface of the perovskite film directly covers the rough perovskite surface, covering the surface defects of the perovskite, while a layer of CuI film avoids the defects caused by Spiro-OMetad pinholes. The double-layer HTLs improve roughness and reduce charge recombination of the Spiro-OMeTAD layer, thereby resulting in superior hole extraction capabilities and faster hole mobility. The CuI/Spiro-OMeTAD double-layer HTLs-based devices were prepared in N2 gloveboxes and obtained an optimized PCE (photoelectric conversion efficiency) of 17.44%. Furthermore, their stability was improved due to the barrier effect of the inorganic CuI layer on the entry of air and moisture into the perovskite layer. The results demonstrate that another deposited CuI film is a promising method for realizing high-performance and air-stable PSCs.


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