Flame Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition of NiO hole transport layers for planar perovskite cells

Abstract

Thin films of polycrystalline NiO were deposited by Flame Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition, which is an ideal process for in-line, atmospheric pressure deposition of wide area coatings. This, along with the ability to use aqueous salts rather than organic precursors or solvents makes it well suited for industrial integration. To establish the capability of FACVD deposited NiO for use as a low cost, commercially viable option planar perovskite cells were fabricated under ambient conditions. The resulting cells showed the importance of both the flame composition and NiO thickness. A continuous NiO Hole Transport Layer (HTL) was achieved for ca. 36 nm thick film, which showed a maximum higher efficiency of 12.3% over that of the control (11.8%) which used a spin coated HTL. This was mainly driven by the large improvement in the current density from 16.6 mA/cm 2 to 19.0 mA/cm 2 .

Tuning Coordination Geometry of Nickel Ketoiminates and Its Influence on Thermal Characteristics for Chemical Vapor Deposition of Nanostructured NiO Electrocatalysts

“…Nickel­(II) oxide thin films are highly appealing in numerous fields of technological applications. Due to its p-type semiconducting behavior, NiO is a promising hole transport layer for dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells. − Additionally, it has been widely used for gas sensing applications , and owing to its inherent chemical stability NiO can serve as a protection layer for photocatalysts which are generally prone to photocorrosion. , In view of its high activity as an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst, NiO is applicable in photoelectrochemical electrodes as well as conventional electrodes for electrochemical water-splitting applications. , …”

A Perspective on the Commercial Viability of Perovskite Solar Cells

“…CVD is considered as a mature technology for large‐area thin‐film fabrication, [ 506–510 ] which offers better film quality compared with the PVD technique. Perovskite films with small roughness (≈50 nm) and large grain size (up to microscale), beneficial for the high performance of PSCs, have been successfully fabricated using CVD.…”

“…CVD is considered as a mature technology for large-area thinfilm fabrication, [506][507][508][509][510] which offers better film quality compared with the PVD technique. Perovskite films with small roughness (%50 nm) and large grain size (up to microscale), beneficial for the high performance of PSCs, have been successfully Solvent abbreviation: DMF, N,N-dimethylfomamide; DMSO, dimethylsulfoxide; DMA, N,N-dimethylacetamide; NMP, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone; DIO, 1,8-diiodooctane; 2BE, 2-butoxyethanol.…”

The use of nickel oxide as a hole transport material in perovskite solar cell configuration: Achieving a high performance and stable device

“…64 Yates et al explored the effects of deposition parameters on chemical vapor deposited NiO thin films by optimizing the film thickness. 65 Yin et al summarized the recent progress in the fabrication of nickel oxide films and opined that their optoelectronic properties depended strongly on the synthesis methods and post-treatment conditions. Other features like modifying the surface, doping strategies and device performance also aid in improving the efficiency of such a device.…”

“…Their research aimed at resolving PSC stability issues exhibited good hole transport abilities and performance with few interface traps 64 . Yates et al explored the effects of deposition parameters on chemical vapor deposited NiO thin films by optimizing the film thickness 65 . Yin et al summarized the recent progress in the fabrication of nickel oxide films and opined that their optoelectronic properties depended strongly on the synthesis methods and post‐treatment conditions.…”