Structural and Electrical Investigation of Cobalt-Doped NiOx/Perovskite Interface for Efficient Inverted Solar Cells

Inorganic hole-transporting materials (HTMs) for stable and cheap inverted perovskite-based solar cells are highly desired. In this context, NiOx, with low synthesis temperature, has been employed. However, the low conductivity and the large number of defects limit the boost of the efficiency. An approach to improve the conductivity is metal doping. In this work, we have synthesized cobalt-doped NiOx nanoparticles containing 0.75, 1, 1.25, 2.5, and 5 mol% cobalt (Co) ions to be used for the inverted planar perovskite solar cells. The best efficiency of the devices utilizing the low temperature-deposited Co-doped NiOx HTM obtained a champion photoconversion efficiency of 16.42%, with 0.75 mol% of doping. Interestingly, we demonstrated that the improvement is not from an increase of the conductivity of the NiOx film, but due to the improvement of the perovskite layer morphology. We observe that the Co-doping raises the interfacial recombination of the device but more importantly improves the perovskite morphology, enlarging grain size and reducing the density of bulk defects and the bulk recombination. In the case of 0.75 mol% of doping, the beneficial effects do not just compensate for the deleterious one but increase performance further. Therefore, 0.75 mol% Co doping results in a significant improvement in the performance of NiOx-based inverted planar perovskite solar cells, and represents a good compromise to synthesize, and deposit, the inorganic material at low temperature, without losing the performance, due to the strong impact on the structural properties of the perovskite. This work highlights the importance of the interface from two different points of view, electrical and structural, recognizing the role of a low doping Co concentration, as a key to improve the inverted perovskite-based solar cells’ performance

Study of magnetic and structural and optical properties of Zn doped Fe3O4 nanoparticles synthesized by co-precipitation method for biomedical application

Abstract Objective(s): This paper describes synthesizing of magnetic nanocomposite with co-precipitation method. Materials and Methods: Magnetic ZnxFe3-xO4 nanoparticles with 0-14% zinc doping (x=0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1 and 0.125) were successfully synthesized by co-precipitation method. The prepared zinc-doped Fe 3O4 nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Results: results obtained from X-ray diffraction pattern have revealed the formation of single phase nanoparticles with cubic inverse spinal structures which size varies from 11.13 to 12.81 nm. The prepared nanoparticles have also possessed superparamagnetic properties at room temperature and high level of saturation magnetization with the maximum level of 74.60 emu/g for x=0.075. Ms changing in pure magnetite nanoparticles after impurities addition were explained based on two factors of “particles size” and “exchange interactions”. Optical studies results revealed that band gaps in all Zn-doped NPs are higher than pure Fe 3O4. As doping percent increases, band gap value decreases from 1.26 eV to 0.43 eV. Conclusion: these magnetic nanocomposite structures since having superparamagnetic property offer a high potential for biosensing and biomedical application