Compatibility of Al-doped ZnO electron transport layer with various HTLs and absorbers in perovskite solar cells

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have shown a significant improvement in cell performance in photovoltaics technology. The commonly used light absorbing material of halide-based perovskite in PSCs has produced high efficiency cells with low cost and a simple fabrication process. However, it contains the harmful substance of Pb, which affects the environment, and the cell still suffers from instability in the long run. Therefore, this work presents a theoretical study of the Pb-free absorber layer of C H 3 N H 3 S n I 3 that is paired for compatibility with various types of hole transport layers (HTLs). Several key parameters of the absorbent layer and HTL have been optimized to produce the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) using 1D-SCAPS software under AM 1.5 illumination. It was found that the combination of C u 2 O and C H 3 N H 3 S n I 3 used as the HTL and absorbent layer, respectively, has resulted in great PCE as high as 27.72%. These findings prove that the use of inorganic HTLs and Pb-free perovskite layers is promising for use in PSCs.

Study the effect of nickel and aluminium doped ZnO photoanode in DSSC

“…Similarly, Ni doped ZnO photoanode of concentration 4 mol% and 6 mol% provided PCE as high as 3.9% compared to PCE without doped ZnO photoanode which is low. The PCE in DSSC is able to increase and provide best cell performance as the concentration of material increase, however at certain point, Al 3+ and Ni 2+ consist of a solubility limit to substitute in ZnO material and these findings were found in previous reports [9]- [12]. The obtained results can be used as a guide and direction for future device fabrication.…”

Impact of Al on ZnO Electron Transport Layer in Perovskite Solar Cells

“…TiO2 offers high photostability and an appropriate band gap for efficient electron transport from the perovskite layer and functions well as a hole-blocker at the perovskite interface [9,10]. However, to produce a highquality TiO2 ETL, an annealing process with high temperatures (above 500 °C) is inevitable, which causes the feasibility of flexible PSCs to be disrupted [8,11]. ZnO has been proposed as an alternative ETL material, which provides almost the same band gap and higher electron mobility compared to a TiO2 ETL as well as a low thermal budget fabrication process [4,11].…”

“…However, to produce a highquality TiO2 ETL, an annealing process with high temperatures (above 500 °C) is inevitable, which causes the feasibility of flexible PSCs to be disrupted [8,11]. ZnO has been proposed as an alternative ETL material, which provides almost the same band gap and higher electron mobility compared to a TiO2 ETL as well as a low thermal budget fabrication process [4,11]. In a PSC, the electron extraction capability of the ETL is dependent on two important factors, the conductivity and the work function (WF) of the ETL.…”

“…In a PSC, the electron extraction capability of the ETL is dependent on two important factors, the conductivity and the work function (WF) of the ETL. The electrical conductivity of ZnO can be improved by extrinsically doping a small amount of impurity [11,12] of Al. Since the ion radius of Zn 2+ (0.74 Å) is larger than that of Al 3+ (0.54 Å), a small amount of Al 3+ can sneak in to replace Zn 2+ at the lattice site.…”