Perovskite Solar Cells Based on Low-Temperature Processed Indium Oxide Electron Selective Layers

Abstract

Indium oxide (In2O3) as a promising n-type semiconductor material has been widely employed in optoelectronic applications. In this work, we applied low-temperature solution-processed In2O3 nanocrystalline film as an electron selective layer (ESL) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) for the first time. By taking advantages of good optical and electrical properties of In2O3 such as high mobility, wide band gap, and high transmittance, we obtained In2O3-based PSCs with a good efficiency exceeding 13% after optimizing the concentration of the precursor solution and the annealing temperature. Furthermore, to enhance the performance of the In2O3-based PSCs, a phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) layer was introduced to modify the surface of the In2O3 film. The PCBM film could fill up the pinholes or cracks along In2O3 grain boundaries to passivate the defects and make the ESL extremely compact and uniform, which is conducive to suppressing the charge recombination. As a result, the efficiency of the In2O3-based PSC was improved to 14.83% accompanied with V(OC), J(SC), and FF being 1.08 V, 20.06 mA cm(-2), and 0.685, respectively.

Ball-milling combined calcination synthesis of In2O3/C3N4 for high photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation

“…In 2 O 3 powder was synthesized by heating In(OH) 3 in a muffle furnace. Typically, 3 g In(OH) 3 was put in an alumina crucible with a cover, and then heated to 500 °C (kept for 2h).…”

“…Typically, 3 g In(OH) 3 was put in an alumina crucible with a cover, and then heated to 500 °C (kept for 2h).…”

“…Synthesis of In 2 O 3 /C 3 N 4 composites was as follows: C 3 N 4 (1.000 g) and different amount of In(OH) 3 were added into a mortar and grounded for 5h with 5 ml alcohol. Then the mixed powder was dried at 65 °C for 5 h. Subsequently the mixed powder was placed in an alumina crucible with a cover, which was heated to 440 °C (kept for 2 h) and then kept at 390 °C for another 12 h. In 2 O 3 /C 3 N 4 photocatalysts with 0.100 g, 0.200 g and 0.300 g In(OH) 3 were synthesized and according to the results of TG, they were named as In 2 O 3 /C 3 N 4 (9.6%), In 2 O 3 /C 3 N 4 (17.3%) and In 2 O 3 /C 3 N 4 (41.2%), respectively.…”

“…It is an effective sensitizer and its absorption spectrum can extend from ultraviolet region to the visible region. It has been widely used in solar cells [3], flat panel display [4], gas sensor [5]. However, due to the high electron-hole recombination rate, the efficiency of In 2 O 3 is still limited.…”

Tuning of perovskite solar cell performance via low-temperature brookite scaffolds surface modifications

“…25 Thus ETL should have high quality pinhole-free films, good adhesion with adjacent layers, high charge extraction capacity, and suitable morphology. Apart from most studied TiO 2 , various other metal oxide materials, thin films, and nanoparticles such as ZnO, 26 SnO 2 , 27,28 In 2 O 3 , 29 SrTiO 3 , 30 and Zn 2 SnO 4 31 have been extensively used as an ETL in both planar and mesoporous PSCs, whereas a systematic interface modification/engineering of the TiO 2 ETL using amino acids, 32 carboxyl groups 33 graphene, 34,35 silane monolayers, 36 and thiols 37 has been employed to improve the charge selection and charge extraction at the TiO 2 /perovskite interface. Snaith and co-workers have observed an improvement in the device performance of low-temperature TiO 2 compact layer (ltc-TiO 2 ), modified with titanium diisopropoxidebis (acetylacetonate) for enhancing the interconnection of TiO 2 nanoparticles.…”