Employing PEDOT as the p‑Type Charge Collection Layer in Regular Organic–Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells

Organic–inorganic halide perovskite solar cells have recently emerged as high-performance photovoltaic devices with low cost, promising for affordable large-scale energy production, with laboratory cells already exceeding 20% power conversion efficiency (PCE). To date, a relatively expensive organic hole-conducting molecule with low conductivity, namely spiro-OMeTAD (2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis­(<i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-di-<i>p</i>-methoxyphenyl-amine) 9,9′- spirobifluorene), is employed widely to achieve highly efficient perovskite solar cells. Here, we report that by replacing spiro-OMeTAD with much cheaper and highly conductive poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) we can achieve PCE of up to 14.5%, with PEDOT cast from a toluene based ink. However, the stabilized power output of the PEDOT-based devices is only 6.6%, in comparison to 9.4% for the spiro-OMeTAD-based cells. We deduce that accelerated recombination is the cause for this lower stabilized power output and postulate that reduced levels of p-doping are required to match the stabilized performance of Spiro-OMeTAD. The entirely of the materials employed in the perovskite solar cell are now available at commodity scale and extremely inexpensive

Heterojunction Modification for Highly Efficient Organic–Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells

Organic–inorganic perovskites, such as CH₃NH₃PbX₃ (X = I, Br, Cl), have emerged as attractive absorber materials for the fabrication of low cost high efficiency solar cells. Over the last 3 years, there has been an exceptional rise in power conversion efficiencies (PCEs), demonstrating the outstanding potential of these perovskite materials. However, in most device architectures, including the simplest thin-film planar structure, a current–voltage response displays an “anomalous hysteresis”, whereby the power output of the cell varies with measurement time, direction and light exposure or bias history. Here we provide insight into the physical processes occurring at the interface between the n-type charge collection layer and the perovskite absorber. Through spectroscopic measurements, we find that electron transfer from the perovskite to the TiO₂ in the standard planar junction cells is very slow. By modifying the n-type contact with a self-assembled fullerene monolayer, electron transfer is “switched on”, and both the n-type and p-type heterojunctions with the perovskite are active in driving the photovoltaic operation. The fullerene-modified devices achieve up to 17.3% power conversion efficiency with significantly reduced hysteresis, and stabilized power output reaching 15.7% in the planar p–i–n heterojunction solar cells measured under simulated AM 1.5 sunlight

C₆₀ as an Efficient n‑Type Compact Layer in Perovskite Solar Cells

Organic–inorganic halide perovskite solar cells have rapidly evolved over the last 3 years. There are still a number of issues and open questions related to the perovskite material, such as the phenomenon of anomalous hysteresis in current–voltage characteristics and long-term stability of the devices. In this work, we focus on the electron selective contact in the perovskite solar cells and physical processes occurring at that heterojunction. We developed efficient devices by replacing the commonly employed TiO₂ compact layer with fullerene C₆₀ in a regular n–i–p architecture. Detailed spectroscopic characterization allows us to present further insight into the nature of photocurrent hysteresis and charge extraction limitations arising at the n-type contact in a standard device. Furthermore, we show preliminary stability data of perovskite solar cells under working conditions, suggesting that an n-type organic charge collection layer can increase the long-term performance

Perovskite Crystals for Tunable White Light Emission

A significant fraction of global electricity demand is for lighting. Enabled by the realization and development of efficient GaN blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs), phosphor-based solid-state white LEDs provide a much higher efficiency alternative to incandescent and fluorescent lighting, which are being broadly implemented. However, a key challenge for this industry is to achieve the right photometric ranges and application-specific emission spectra via cost-effective means. Here, we synthesize organic–inorganic lead halide-based perovskite crystals with broad spectral tuneability. By tailoring the composition of methyl and octlyammonium cations in the colloidal synthesis, meso- to nanoscale 3D crystals (5–50 nm) can be formed with enhanced photoluminescence efficiency. By increasing the octlyammonium cations content, we observe platelet formation of 2D layered perovskite sheets; however, these platelets appear to be less emissive than the 3D crystals. We further manipulate the halide composition of the perovskite crystals to achieve emission covering the entire visible spectrum. By blending perovskite crystals with different emission wavelengths in a polymer host, we demonstrate the potential to replace conventional phosphors and provide the means to replicate natural white light when excited by a blue GaN LED

Enhanced Amplified Spontaneous Emission in Perovskites Using a Flexible Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Reflector

Organic–inorganic perovskites are highly promising solar cell materials with laboratory-based power conversion efficiencies already matching those of established thin film technologies. Their exceptional photovoltaic performance is in part attributed to the presence of efficient radiative recombination pathways, thereby opening up the possibility of efficient light-emitting devices. Here, we demonstrate optically pumped amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) at 780 nm from a 50 nm-thick film of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ perovskite that is sandwiched within a cavity composed of a thin-film (∼7 μm) cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) reflector and a metal back-reflector. The threshold fluence for ASE in the perovskite film is reduced by at least two orders of magnitude in the presence of the CLC reflector, which results in a factor of two reduction in threshold fluence compared to previous reports. We consider this to be due to improved coupling of the oblique and out-of-plane modes that are reflected into the bulk in addition to any contributions from cavity modes. Furthermore, we also demonstrate enhanced ASE on flexible reflectors and discuss how improvements in the quality factor and reflectivity of the CLC layers could lead to single-mode lasing using CLC reflectors. Our work opens up the possibility of fabricating widely wavelength-tunable “mirror-less” single-mode lasers on flexible substrates, which could find use in applications such as flexible displays and friend or foe identification