Harnessing solar energy with NH₄Cl-doped hole transport layers in inverted perovskite solar cells

Abstract

Inverted perovskite solar cells have received huge attention due to their exceptional photovoltaic performance, yet they are susceptible to hysteresis and low conductivity. Poly 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene: Poly 4-styrenesulfonate (PEDOT: PSS) is...

Improving the Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells with Sodium Stearate-Doped PEDOT:PSS as a Hole Transport Layer

“…13−17 Among them, PEDOT:PSS is a favorite hole transport material owing to its cost-effective aqueous preparation, excellent conductivity, and exceptional optical transparency. 18,19 However, the PE-DOT:PSS material also contains some drawbacks, such as its acidity to corrode the indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode, 7,20,21 its poor hydrophobicity resulting in moisture absorption, 22 and its inadequate energy level alignment with the perovskite layer leading to a decrease of charge transport capability, 23 that limit its practical applications in the field of inverted PSCs.…”

“…Recently, perovskite solar cells (PSCs), driven by their exceptional characteristics including high light absorption, high electron mobility, and outstanding optoelectronic properties, have been regarded as a global interesting topic in the academic community. − In general, PSCs contain two architectures, namely, inverted PSCs based on a p–i–n structure and regular PSCs stemmed from a n–i–p structure. , Although the inverted PSCs require further improvement of power conversion efficiency (PCE) when compared to regular PSCs, they still attract great attention due to their low-temperature fabrication ability and large-scale manufacturing process. − For inverted PSCs, a hole transport layer (HTL) is a critical component that can significantly affect charge transport, perovskite growth, as well as electrical properties. − Several materials, including poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly­(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), poly­[bis­(4-phenyl)­(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)­amine] (PTAA), and nickel oxide (NiO), have been selected as hole transport materials in inverted PSCs. − Among them, PEDOT:PSS is a favorite hole transport material owing to its cost-effective aqueous preparation, excellent conductivity, and exceptional optical transparency. , However, the PEDOT:PSS material also contains some drawbacks, such as its acidity to corrode the indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode, ,, its poor hydrophobicity resulting in moisture absorption, and its inadequate energy level alignment with the perovskite layer leading to a decrease of charge transport capability, that limit its practical applications in the field of inverted PSCs.…”