Cooperative tin oxide fullerene electron selective layers for high-performance planar perovskite solar cells

Weijun Ke, Dewei Zhao, Chuanxiao Xiao, Changlei Wang, Alexander J. Cimaroli, Corey R. Grice, Mengjin Yang, Zhen Li, Chun Sheng Jiang, Mowafak Al-Jassim, Kai Zhu, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis, Guojia Fang*, Yanfa Yan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

213 Scopus citations

Abstract

Both tin oxide (SnO2) and fullerenes have been reported as electron selective layers (ESLs) for producing efficient lead halide perovskite solar cells. Here, we report that SnO2 and fullerenes can work cooperatively to further boost the performance of perovskite solar cells. We find that fullerenes can be redissolved during perovskite deposition, allowing ultra-thin fullerenes to be retained at the interface and some dissolved fullerenes infiltrate into perovskite grain boundaries. The SnO2 layer blocks holes effectively; whereas, the fullerenes promote electron transfer and passivate both the SnO2/perovskite interface and perovskite grain boundaries. With careful device optimization, the best-performing planar perovskite solar cell using a fullerene passivated SnO2 ESL has achieved a steady-state efficiency of 17.75% and a power conversion efficiency of 19.12% with an open circuit voltage of 1.12 V, a short-circuit current density of 22.61 mA cm-2, and a fill factor of 75.8% when measured under reverse voltage scanning. We find that the partial dissolving of fullerenes during perovskite deposition is the key for fabricating high-performance perovskite solar cells based on metal oxide/fullerene ESLs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)14276-14283
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry A
Volume4
Issue number37
DOIs
StatePublished - 2016

Funding

This work was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot Initiative under the Next Generation Photovoltaics 3 program (DE-FOA-0000990) and the Ohio Research Scholar Program. W. J. K. and G. J. F. acknowledge the support from the National High Technology Research and Development Program (2015AA050601), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61376013, 91433203, J1210061). M. J. Y. and Z. L. and K. Z. acknowledge the support from the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC36-08-GO28308

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • General Materials Science

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