Effect of Deposition Cycles on the Properties of ZnO Thin Films Deposited by Spin Coating Method for CZTS-based Solar Cells

Antisolvent quenching has shown to significantly enhance several perovskite films used in solar cells; however, no studies have been conducted on its impact on MASnI3. Here, we investigated the role that different antisolvents, i.e., diethyl ether, toluene, and chlorobenzene, have on the growth of MASnI3 films. The crystallinity, morphology, topography, and optical properties of the obtained thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) measurements, and UV–visible spectroscopy. The impact of the different antisolvent treatments was evaluated based on the surface homogeneity as well as the structure of the MASnI3 thin films. In addition, thermal annealing was optimized to control the crystallization process. The applied antisolvent was modified to better manage the supersaturation process. The obtained results support the use of chlorobenzene and toluene to reduce pinholes and increase the grain size. Toluene was found to further improve the morphology and stability of thin films, as it showed less degradation after four weeks under dark with 60% humidity. Furthermore, we performed a simulation using SCAPS-1D software to observe the effect of these antisolvents on the performance of MASnI3-based solar cells. We also produced the device FTO/TiO2/MASnI3/Spiro-OMeTAD/Au, obtaining a remarkable photoconversion efficiency (PCE) improvement of 5.11% when using the MASnI3 device treated with chlorobenzene. A PCE improvement of 9.44% was obtained for the MASnI3 device treated with toluene, which also showed better stability. Our results support antisolvent quenching as a reproducible method to improve perovskite devices under ambient conditions.

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Manufacture of High-Efficiency and Stable Lead-Free Solar Cells through Antisolvent Quenching Engineering

Mixed halide head perovskites thin films: Stability and growth investigation

The poisoning potential of lead, which is the main component of the absorber layer of lead halide (Pb) perovskites, as well as the stability problems of the manufactured devices, constitute a major obstacle to the industrialization of this technology. As a result, recent research is concentrating on lead-free metal halide perovskites. Unfortunately, current lead-free perovskites suffer from poor performance, hence the interest of our study. The research presented here shows that optimizing several variables related to the performance of each layer of a perovskite solar cell (PSC) constructed from lead-free inorganic materials provides an efficiency of 18.13%. We designed a structure with outstanding performance using the FTO/PC60BM/CsSn0.5Ge0.5I3/Spiro-OMeTAD/Au configuration. The impact of various relevant factors, such as the thickness and defect density of the absorber layer their doping densities, the back contact work, and the operating temperature, have been thoroughly investigated to boost the performance of the proposed device. The performance of cesium-tin-germanium triiodide (CsSn0.5Ge0.5I3) solar cells with different electron transport materials, including ZnO, TiO2, CdS, C60; Cd0.5Zn0.5S, IGZO, has also been examined. It has been demonstrated that using ZnO as an electron transport layer improves electron extraction and, therefore, performance. The best outcomes are obtained after optimizing all the factors mentioned above, namely: Jsc of 28.70 mA/cm2, Voc of 1.115 V, FF of 87.86%, and PCE of 18.13%. Additionally, the explored structure may be an excellent candidate for the future development of lead-free perovskite solar cells.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2053-1591/ac8d52/pdf

Design and efficiency enhancement of FTO/PC60BM/CsSn0.5Ge0.5I3/Spiro-OMeTAD/Au perovskite solar cell utilizing SCAPS-1D Simulator

InP/InGaAsP thin films based solar cells: Lattice mismatch impact on efficiency

This work reported the successive incorporation of tetrabutylammonium (TBA) into Methylammonium lead Iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite. The thin films were characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmittance electron microscopy (TEM), Atomic force microscopy (AFM), and UV-Visible spectroscopy. It was shown that introducing TBA increases the crystallinity, grain size, surface morphology without pin-hole, and roughness of the MAPbI3 thin films. Moreover, the MA(1-X)TBAX PbI3 thin film shows better stability in a relative humidity of ∼60% after 15 days than the pure MAPbI3 thin film. The obtained results are hoped to be helpful for stability and improvement of the performance of the MAPbI3 thin films by doping TBA cations under ambient conditions.

/pdf/tetrabutylammonium-tba-doped-methylammonium-lead-iodide-high-1u7jiuvs.pdf

Tetrabutylammonium (TBA)-Doped Methylammonium Lead Iodide: High Quality and Stable Perovskite Thin Films

Herein, we examine the impact of cations on the structural, morphological, optical properties and degradation of lead perovskite APbI3 (where A = MA, FA, Cs). Its structure, surface morphology and optical properties have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and UV-Visible spectrometer. The structure of perovskite thin films was found to be in the direction of (110) plane. It is seen from the XRD results that this kind of cation assumes a significant part in stabilising and improving the performance of APbI3 based solar cells. Here, the cesium lead iodide thin films show a smooth and homogenous surface and enormous grain size without pinhole perovskite film. An optical investigation uncovered that the band gap is in a range from 1.4 to 1.8 eV for the different cations. Additionally, in ~60% humidity under dark conditions for two weeks, the structural and optical properties of CsPbI3 films remained good. Furthermore, the efficiency of FTO/TIO2/CSPbI3/Spiro-Ometad/Au solar cells was calculated to be 21.48%.

/pdf/towards-manufacture-stable-lead-perovskite-apbi3-a-cs-ma-fa-1p3qfn64.pdf

Towards Manufacture Stable Lead Perovskite APbI3 (A = Cs, MA, FA) Based Solar Cells with Low-Cost Techniques

Delafossite as hole transport layer a new pathway for efficient perovskite-based solar sells: Insight from experimental, DFT and numerical analysis

Presently, we inquire about the organic/inorganic cation effect on different properties based on structure, morphology, and steadiness in preparing a one-step solution of APbI3 thin films, where A = MA, FA, Cs, using spin coating. This study was conducted to understand those properties well by incorporating device modeling using SCAPS-1D software and to upgrade their chemical composition. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to analyze the crystal structures. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were conducted to characterize the surface morphology; photoluminescence, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and a UV–Visible spectrometer helped us to study the optical properties. The (110) plane is where we found the perovskite’s crystalline structure. According to the XRD results and by changing the type of cation, we influence stabilization and the growth of the APbI3 absorber layer. Hither, a homogenous, smooth-surfaced, pinhole-free perovskite film and large grain size are results from the cesium cation. For the different cations, the band gap’s range, revealed by the optical analysis, is from 1.4 to 1.8 eV. Moreover, the stability of CsPbI3 remains excellent for two weeks and in a ~60% humid environment. Based on the UV–Visible spectrometer and photoluminescence characterization, a numerical analysis for fabricated samples was also performed for stability analysis by modeling standard solar-cell structures HTL/APbI3/ETL. Modeling findings are in good agreement with experimental results that CsPbI3 is more stable, showing a loss % in PCE of 14.28%, which is smaller in comparison to FAPbI3 (44.46%) and MAPbI3 (20.24%).

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Julia Marí-Guaita

Papers

Tetrabutylammonium (TBA)-Doped Methylammonium Lead Iodide: High Quality and Stable Perovskite Thin Films

Manufacture of High-Efficiency and Stable Lead-Free Solar Cells through Antisolvent Quenching Engineering

Towards Manufacture Stable Lead Perovskite APbI3 (A = Cs, MA, FA) Based Solar Cells with Low-Cost Techniques

Delafossite as hole transport layer a new pathway for efficient perovskite-based solar sells: Insight from experimental, DFT and numerical analysis

Investigation of the Surface Coating, Humidity Degradation, and Recovery of Perovskite Film Phase for Solar-Cell Applications