Electron and hole transporting layers are considered the key element of the fabrication of a high-performance photovoltaic device. An efficient electron transport layer (ETL) must provide better electrons extraction by minimizing the charge recombination rate. In the current work, we have successfully fabricated a solution-processed titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) thin film using a simple deposition technique to serve as an effective ETL for photovoltaic applications. The prepared TiO 2 underwent different annealing processes during the deposition process to provide two sets of compact TiO 2 (c-TiO 2 ) thin films. The first set was annealed at a relatively low temperature (125 °C) and labeled as pristine TiO 2 , while the second set underwent an additional annealing process at 500 °C and labeled as post-annealed TiO 2 . The effect of post-annealing treatment on the structural and optoelectronic properties of the TiO 2 layers was studied using FT-IR, XRD, SEM, UV-Vis absorption, and photoluminescence (PL) analysis. The post-annealed TiO 2 thin film showed better crystallinity and larger grain sizes than the pristine TiO 2 . In addition, the optoelectronic investigations showed that the post-annealed TiO 2 had lower band gap energy and higher photocatalytic activity, qualifying it to act as an effective ETL. Finally, the performance of the TiO 2 electron transport layers was tested by fabricating two solar cell devices. It was found that the post-annealed TiO 2 layer exhibits a better device performance than the pristine TiO 2 by approximately a 21% increase in the power conversion efficiency (PCE).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.