3 research outputs found
Kesterite Cu<sub>2</sub>ZnSnS<sub>4</sub> as a Low-Cost Inorganic Hole-Transporting Material for High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells
Kesterite-structured
quaternary semiconductor Cu<sub>2</sub>ZnSnS<sub>4</sub> (CZTS) has
been commonly used as light absorber in thin film solar cells on the
basis of its optimal bandgap of 1.5 eV, high absorption coefficient,
and earth-abundant elemental constituents. Herein we applied CZTS
nanoparticles as a novel inorganic hole transporting material (HTM)
for organo-lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) for the first
time, achieving a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 12.75%, which
is the highest PCE for PSCs with Cu-based inorganic HTMs reported
up to now, and quite comparable to that obtained for PSCs based on
commonly used organic HTM such as 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis(<i>N,N</i>-di-<i>p</i>-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9′-spirobifluorene
(spiro-MeOTAD). The size of CZTS nanoparticles and its incorporation
condition as HTM were optimized, and the effects of CZTS HTM on the
optical absorption, crystallinity, morphology of the perovskite film
and the interface between the perovskite layer and the Au electrode
were investigated and compared with the case of spiro-MeOTAD HTM,
revealing the role of CZTS in efficient hole transporting from the
perovskite layer to the top Au electrode as confirmed by the prohibited
charge recombination at the perovskite/Au electrode interface. On
the basis of the effectiveness of CZTS as a low-cost HTM competitive
to spiro-MeOTAD in PSCs, we demonstrate the new role of CZTS in photovoltaics
as a hole conductor beyond the traditional light absorber
V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> as Hole Transporting Material for Efficient All Inorganic Sb<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> Solar Cells
This
research demonstrates that V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> is able
to serve as hole transporting material to substitute organic transporting
materials for Sb<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> solar cells, offering all
inorganic solar cells. The V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> thin film is
prepared by thermal decomposition of spin-coated vanadium(V) triisopropoxide
oxide solution. Mechanistic investigation shows that heat treatment
of V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> layer has crucial influence on the power
conversion efficiency of device. Low temperature annealing is unable
to remove the organic molecules that increases the charge transfer
resistance, while high temperature treatment leads to the increase
of work function of V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> that blocks hole transporting
from Sb<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> to V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>. Electrochemical
and compositional characterizations show that the interfacial contact
of V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub>/Sb<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> can be essentially
improved with appropriate annealing. The optimized power conversion
efficiency of device based on Sb<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub>/V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> heterojunction reaches 4.8%, which is the highest power
conversion efficiency in full inorganic Sb<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub>-based solar cells with planar heterojunction solar cells. Furthermore,
the employment of V<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> as hole transporting
material leads to significant improvement in moisture stability compared
with the device based organic hole transporting material. Our research
provides a material choice for the development of full inorganic solar
cells based on Sb<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub>, Sb<sub>2</sub>(S,Se)<sub>3</sub>, and Sb<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub>
Efficient In Situ Sulfuration Process in Hydrothermally Deposited Sb<sub>2</sub>S<sub>3</sub> Absorber Layers
Sulfuration plays a decisive role in enhancing crystal
growth and
passivate defects in the fabrication of high-efficiency metal-sulfide
solar cells. However, the traditional sulfuration process always suffers
from high-price professional equipment, tedious processes, low activity
of S, or high toxicity of H2S. Here, we develop a desired
in situ sulfuration by introducing tartaric acid additive into the
hydrothermal deposition process of Sb2S3. Tartaric
acid, sodium thiosulfate, and potassium antimony tartaric can form
Sb2Sx-contained (x > 3) as-prepared films. Encouragingly, the annealing becomes
an
inspiring in situ sulfuration process, which can obtain a more compact
absorber layer. In addition, the crystallinity and defect property
of the Sb2S3 film are also improved significantly.
Finally, we achieve a high-performance Sb2S3 solar cell with a power conversion efficiency of 6.31%, which shows
an encouraging enhancement of ∼15% compared with the traditional
hydrothermal process. This study provides an innovative way to prepare
high-efficiency Sb2S3 solar cells and provides
a desirable guide to realize the in situ sulfuration process