High-efficiency perovskite solar cells improved with low-cost orthorhombic Cu2ZnSnS4 as the hole-transporting layer

Abstract

Quaternary copper chalcogenide Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized with the sol-gel technique and used as the hole-transporting layer (HTL), achieving a power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.41 %, which is the highest PCE for Cu-based inorganic HTLs. The effects of the CZTS HTL on the optical absorption, crystallinity, crystal plane orientation and hysteresis of the J-V curve for the devices with a perovskite film were investigated and compared with spiro-OMeTAD, revealing the role of CZTS in efficient hole transporting in perovskite solar cells. In addition to the traditional use of the light absorber, this study reveals a new role of CZTS in photovoltaics, acting as an HTL, providing a completely different insight into the CZTS development. Keywords: Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 , perovskite, solar cells, hole-transporting layer Avtorji prispevka so sintetizirali nanodelce (NPs; angl.: Nano-Particles) kvaternarnega bakrovega halkogenida Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) s sol-gel tehniko in jih uporabili kot transportno plast za praznine (HTL; angl.: hole transporting layer). S tem so dosegli 13,41 % u~inkovitost pretvorbe mo~i (PCE; angl.: Power Conversion Efficiency), kar je do sedaj najvi{ja dose`ena PCE z anorganskimi HTL-ji na osnovi Cu. Avtoriji so raziskali vpliv CZTS HTL na opti~no absorpcijo, kristalini~nost, orientacijo kristalne ravnine in histerezo J-V krivulje za naprave s perovskitnim filmom in ga primerjali s spiro-OMeTAD ter odkrili vlogo CZTS pri u~inkovitosti transporta praznin v perovskitnih son~nih celicah. Ta {tudija, dodatno k tradicionalni uporabi svetlobnih absorberjev, odkriva nov pomen CZTS v fotovoltaiki kot HTL, kar omogo~a popolnoma nov pogled v razvoju CZTS.

Evaluating Cu2SnS3 Nanoparticle Layers as Hole-Transporting Materials in Perovskite Solar Cells

“…They found a PCE of 13.41% with a V oc of 0.962 V, a J sc of 22.43 mA/cm 2 , and an FF of 62%. Kesterite CZTS exhibited a slightly poor performance compared to its wurtzite counterpart, which can be due to the lower carrier concentration and higher resistivity . Yuan et al performed an investigation on band-gap tuning of CZTS quantum dots by replacing sulfur with selenium and studied its influence on the performance of n-i-p PSCs.…”

“…Kesterite CZTS exhibited a slightly poor performance compared to its wurtzite counterpart, which can be due to the lower carrier concentration and higher resistivity. 27 Yuan et al performed an investigation on band-gap tuning of CZTS quantum dots by replacing sulfur with selenium and studied its influence on the performance of n-i-p PSCs. Although the S substitution with Se significantly reduces the film resistivity and improves the charge separation at the interface, J−V results confirm that CZTSe and CZTS have similar J sc values (∼19 mA/cm 2 ) and V oc is considerably reduced.…”

Solution-Based Synthesis and Characterization of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) Thin Films

“…So far, properties of micrometric and sub-micrometric (>0.5 μm) CZTS thin films fabricated using several different methods have been extensively studied [7,23,24,25,26] with the purpose of being the absorber layer in solar cell. There are also studies on CZTS thin films with <0.5 μm thickness, in which they are used as a transport layer in a perovskite solar cell [27,28,29]. However, their focus is on the application of the thin film in the solar cell, with limited information on properties.…”

Potential Role of Kesterites in Development of Earth‐Abundant Elements‐Based Next Generation Technology

“…[ 127 ] Kesterite CZTS/Se material has exhibited good potential as HTL for PSCs, as they exhibit suitable optoelectronic properties. [ 128 ] Wu et al [ 129 ] reported CZTS nanoparticles (NPs) as HTL for CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 PSCs using the spin‐coating method and achieved a PCE of 12.75%. They observed an increase in J sc (20.54 mA cm −2 ) due to enhanced light absorption in the visible (400–850 nm) region after applying CZTS as HTL.…”