Extended investigation of sol aging effect on TiO2 electron transporting layer and performances of perovskite solar cells

Journal Article · Thu Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Materials Research Bulletin

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.MATERRESBULL.2017.10.035· OSTI ID:22805421

Starowicz, Z.; Walter, J. ^[1]; Socha, R. P. ^[2]; Kulesza-Matlak, G.; Lipiński, M. ^[3]

---

1. Cracow University of Technology, 24 Warszawska Str., 31-155, Cracow (Poland)
2. Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences, Niezapominajek 8, 30-239, Krakow (Poland)
3. Institute of Metallurgy and Materials Science of Polish Academy of Sciences, 25 Reymonta Str., 30-059, Krakow (Poland)

Highlights: • Conditions of deposition of compact sol-gel TiO{sub 2} significantly influence the parameters of perovskite cells. • Sol aging originally considered as beneficial was proved to be adverse due to no repeatability, defects and residual water. • Free from such disadvantages TiO{sub 2} made from fresh sol can support as good cell parameters. • Roughness of transparent conductive oxide influences the optimal thickness of electron transporting layer. - Abstract: Organic−inorganic hybrid perovskites have created significant opportunities for low-cost and high-performance solar cells. The electron transporting layer (ETL) is one of the main components of the solar cell, which selectively transports electrons and at the same time acts as a barrier for holes. This paper focuses on the ETL composed of titanium dioxide deposited by sol-gel method. In particular, perovskite solar cells with ETL from aged titanium sol revealed significant differences of short circuit current which is 8% higher than their counterpart with ETL from fresh sol. Analysis of ETL morphology by atomic force microscopy combined with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and optical properties measurements enabled to determine the source of this diversity. Additionally, the role of roughness of transparent electrode was indicated. The in-depth material analysis revealed some disadvantages of the ETL material, originally considered as supporting higher photovoltaic performance. The results indicated several problems associated with hardly controlled aging conditions, defects and presence of residual water, strongly advocate for TiO{sub 2} ETL form the fresh sol, which after optimization can guarantee the same good solar cell performance.

• OSTI ID: 22805421
• Journal Information: Materials Research Bulletin, Vol. 99; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0025-5408
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
14 SOLAR ENERGY
AGING
ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY
DEFECTS
DEPLETION LAYER
ELECTRICAL FAULTS
ELECTRODES
MORPHOLOGY
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
OPTIMIZATION
PEROVSKITE
PHOTOVOLTAIC EFFECT
ROUGHNESS
SOLAR CELLS
SOL-GEL PROCESS
SPECTROSCOPY
THICKNESS
THIN FILMS
TITANIUM OXIDES