Improved efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells with molecular ameliorating of ZnO nanorod/perovskite interface and Mg-doping ZnO

Despite the advanced efficiency of perovskite solar cells(PSCs),electron transportation is still a pending issue.Here the polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone(PVP)is used to enhance the electron injection,which is thanks to the passivation of the defects at the interface between the ZnO electron transporting layer(ETL)and the perovskite.The application of the PVP layer inhibits the device degradation,and 80%of the primary efficiency is kept after 30 d storage in air condition.Additionally,the efficiency of the device is further enhanced by improving the conductivity and crystallinity of the ZnO ETL via Magnesium(Mg)doping in the ZnO nanorods(ZnO NRs).Moreover,the preparation parameters of the ZnO NRs are optimized.By employing the high-crystallinity ZnO ETL and the PVP layer,the power conversion efficiency(PCE)of the champion device is increased from 16.29%to 19.63%.These results demonstrate the advantages of combining mesoscale manipulation with interface modification and doping together.     

ZnO/Ag/ZnO multilayer transparent electrode for highly-efficient ITO-Free polymer solar cells

Ultrathin metal film (UTMF) with a ZnO/Ag/ZnO hybrid structure was used as transparent electrode in a high-efficiency bulk heterojunction system for the fabrication of ITO-free polymer solar cells. The performance of the devices was carefully tuned through optical simulation using transfer matrix method by varying the thickness of ZnO seed layer and thin absorber layer. By employing appropriate device architecture, polymer solar cells fabricated using this UTMF-based electrode show efficiency as high as 9.49%, which is slightly higher compared to that of ITO-based device. From good agreement between the external quantum efficiency and optical modeling, it was found that the optimized microcavity configuration formed in UTMF-based device can greatly enhance the absorbance of the BHJ layer at longer wavelength as well as the favored exciton distribution for better charge transport and collection.     

电纺ZnO纳米纤维电子传输层提高倒置PTB7∶PC70BM电池效率

研究利用静电纺丝制备的不同直径ZnO纳米纤维作为倒置结构有机太阳能电池的电子传输层对器件转化效率的影响。首先通过静电纺丝技术成功制备了半径在43～110 nm之间的ZnO纳米纤维,然后将ZnO纳米纤维作为电子传输层加入到倒置结构有机太阳能电池（ITO/ZnO∶ZnO nanofiber/PTB7∶PC₇₀BM/MoO₃/Al）。与平面结构的ZnO电子传输层相比,ZnO纳米纤维具有比表面积大等优点,增加了电子传输和抽取能力,提高了器件的光电转化效率。实验发现ZnO纳米纤维的直径越小,电池效率越大。当ZnO纳米纤维直径为(46±5)nm,接收时间为30 s时,作为电子传输层的电池效率提高了8%。     

Improved performance of a crystalline silicon solar cell based on ZnO/PS anti-reflection coating layers

A porous silicon (PS) layer was prepared by photoelectrochemical etching (PECE), and a zinc oxide (ZnO) film was deposited on a PS layer using a radio frequency (RF) sputtering system. The surface morphology of the PS and ZnO/PS layers was characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Nano-pores were produced in the PS layer with an average diameter of 5.7 nm, which increased the porosity to 91%. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the ZnO/PS layers shows that the ZnO film is highly oriented along the c-axis perpendicular to the PS layer. The average crystallite size of the PS and ZnO/PS layers are 17.06 and 17.94 nm, respectively. The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra of the ZnO/PS layers present three emission peaks, two peaks located at 387.5 and 605 nm due to the ZnO nanocrystalline film and a third located at 637.5 nm due to nanocrystalline PS. Raman measurements of the ZnO/PS layers were performed at room temperature (RT) and indicate that a high-quality ZnO nanocrystalline film was formed. Optical reflectance for all the layers was obtained using an optical reflectometer. The lowest effective reflectance was obtained for the ZnO/PS layers. The fabrication of crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells based on the ZnO/PS anti-reflection coating (ARC) layers was performed. The I–V characteristics of the solar cells were studied under 100 mW/cm² illumination conditions. The ZnO/PS layers were found to be an excellent ARC and to exhibit exceptional light-trapping at wavelengths ranging from 400 to 1000 nm, which led to a high efficiency of the c-Si solar cell of 18.15%. The ZnO/PS ARC layers enhance and increase the efficiency of the c-Si solar cell. In this paper, the fabrication processes of the c-Si solar cell with ZnO/PS ARC layers are an attractive and promising technique to produce high-efficiency and low-cost of c-Si solar cells.     

准二维钙钛矿太阳能电池的研究进展

目前,钙钛矿太阳能电池的光电转换效率已超过25%,飞速提升的效率使得人们越来越期待商业化的应用,但钙钛矿材料的稳定性问题却是其商业化所面临的最大挑战,准二维钙钛矿有望解决这一问题。利用大的有机间隔阳离子的疏水性和热稳定性,以及更高的晶体形成能和更加稳固的结构,准二维钙钛矿能够有效提高钙钛矿的稳定性。此外,准二维钙钛矿对钙钛矿薄膜的形态也具有明显的改善作用,可代替反溶剂工程,简化工艺,满足钙钛矿的工业化生产要求。然而,由于绝缘的有机间隔阳离子导致的相对大的带隙和低的载流子迁移率,阻碍了载流子传输,准二维钙钛矿太阳能电池的效率仍然与三维钙钛矿相差较大。因此,对于准二维钙钛矿,必须对其特性和器件应用等进行深入研究,以进一步优化器件性能。本文总结了准二维钙钛矿太阳能电池的研究进展,归纳了准二维钙钛矿的分子结构、准二维结构提升三维钙钛矿稳定性的方法和原理、准二维钙钛矿的相分布及其载流子传输特性,分析了准二维钙钛矿太阳能电池目前面临的问题并对其前景进行了展望,期望为制备高效稳定的准二维钙钛矿太阳能电池提供参考。     

肖特基钙钛矿太阳电池结构设计与优化

有机-无机杂化钙钛矿材料有高吸收系数、低廉的制作成本以及较为简单的制备工艺,在近年来表现出良好的发展前景.本文采用wx-AMPS模拟软件对平面结构钙钛矿太阳电池和肖特基钙钛矿太阳电池进行建模仿真对比,从理论上分析无载流子传输层的肖特基钙钛矿太阳电池的优势.结果显示,器件两侧电极功函数和吸收层的能带分布是提高太阳电池效率的关键.在对电极使用Au(功函数为5.1 eV)的前提下,透明导电电极功函数为3.8 eV,可以得到肖特基钙钛矿太阳电池转换效率为17.93%.对器件模型吸收层进行优化,通过寻找合适的掺杂浓度,抑制缺陷密度,确定合适的厚度,可以获得理想的转换效率(20.01%),是平面异质结结构(理论转换效率31%)的63.84%.肖特基钙钛矿太阳电池在简单的器件结构下可以获得优异的光电性能,具有较好的应用潜力.     

Improving power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells by cooperative LSPR of gold-silver dual nanoparticles

Enhancing optical and electrical performances is effective in improving power conversion efficiency of photovoltaic devices. Here, gold and silver dual nanoparticles were imported and embedded in the hole transport layer of perovskite solar cells. Due to the cooperative localized surface plasmon resonance of these two kinds of metal nanostructures, light harvest of perovskite material layer and the electrical performance of device were improved, which finally upgraded short circuit current density by 10.0%, and helped to increase power conversion efficiency from 10.4% to 11.6% under AM 1.5G illumination with intensity of 100 m W/cm~2. In addition, we explored the influence of silver and gold nanoparticles on charge carrier generation, dissociation, recombination, and transportation inside perovskite solar cells.     

Interfacial engineering of CuO nanorod/ZnO nanowire hybrid nanostructure photoanode in dye-sensitized solar cell

Developing efficient and cost-effective photoanode plays a vital role determining the photocurrent and photovoltage in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Here, we demonstrate DSSCs that achieve relatively high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) by using one-dimensional (1D) zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires and copper (II) oxide (CuO) nanorods hybrid nanostructures. CuO nanorod-based thin films were prepared by hydrothermal method and used as a blocking layer on top of the ZnO nanowires’ layer. The use of 1D ZnO nanowire/CuO nanorod hybrid nanostructures led to an exceptionally high photovoltaic performance of DSSCs with a remarkably high open-circuit voltage (0.764 V), short current density (14.76 mA/cm² under AM1.5G conditions), and relatively high solar to power conversion efficiency (6.18%) . The enhancement of the solar to power conversion efficiency can be explained in terms of the lag effect of the interfacial recombination dynamics of CuO nanorod-blocking layer on ZnO nanowires. This work shows more economically feasible method to bring down the cost of the nano-hybrid cells and promises for the growth of other important materials to further enhance the solar to power conversion efficiency.     

Pentacene as a hole transport material for high performance planar perovskite solar cells

A cost-effective and efficient organic semiconductor pentacene was developed as a hole transport layer (HTL) material to replace classical PEDOT:PSS for planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs). As expected, the pentacene based device exhibits power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.90% (J_sc of 19.44 mA/cm², V_oc of 1.07 V, and FF of 77%), comparable to the PEDOT:PSS based device (PCE of 15.65%, J_sc of 18.78 mA/cm², V_oc of 1.07 V, and FF of 77%) under the same experimental conditions. The excellent performance of vacuum deposited pentacene is mainly attributed to the high efficient charge extraction and transfer in device due to the high-quality perovskite film grown on the top of pentacene substrate and a favorable energy-level alignment together with a desired downward band bending formed at the perovskite/pentacene interface. Our research has confirmed that pentacene could be served as a promising HTL material to achieve effective and potentially economical planar type PSCs.     

Synergy study on charge transport dynamics in hybrid organic solar cell: Photocurrent mapping and performance analysis under local spectrum

Charge transport dynamics in ZnO based inverted organic solar cell (IOSC) has been characterized with transient photocurrent spectroscopy and localised photocurrent mapping-atomic force microscopy. The value of maximum exciton generation rate was found to vary from 2.6 × 10²⁷ m⁻³s⁻¹ (J_sat = 79.7 A m⁻²) to 2.9 × 10²⁷ m⁻³s⁻¹ (J_sat = 90.8 A m⁻²) for devices with power conversion efficiency ranging from 2.03 to 2.51%. These results suggest that nanorods served as an excellent electron transporting layer that provides efficient charge transport and enhances IOSC device performance. The photovoltaic performance of OSCs with various growth times of ZnO nanorods have been analysed for a comparison between AM1.5G spectrum and local solar spectrum. The simulated PCE of all devices operating under local spectrum exhibited extensive improvement with the gain of 13.3–13.7% in which the ZnO nanorods grown at 15 min possess the highest PCE under local solar with the value of 2.82%.     

Enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of ZnO photoanode with scattering hollow cavities

Abstract ZnO nanoparticles with average diameter of 12 nm were used to fabricate ZnO photoanodes by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) technique for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). To enhance the light scattering and conversion efficiency, the ZnO film with scattering hollow cavities (HCs) was realized by calcining polystyrene spheres (PSs) in the film. The films had strong light scattering ability and the overall light to electricity conversion efficiency (η) was improved and reached 5.5% under illumination of simulated solar light (AM-1.5, 100 mW/cm²).     

Enhance the performance and stability of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite solar cells with guanidinium thiocyanate additive

Employing additive to regulate the morphology of perovskite film is an effective method to enhance both the power conversion efficiency and long term stability of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells. Here, we demonstrate that guanidinium thiocyanate (GuSCN) is a suitable additive for methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI₃) perovskite materials. Addition of GuSCN into MAPbI₃ can simultaneously enhance the crystallinity, enlarge the crystal size, and reduce the trap density of the perovskite films. As a result, the MAPbI₃ perovskite with 10% GuSCN exhibits superior power conversion efficiency of 16.70% compared to the pristine MAPbI₃ perovskite solar cell (15.57%). At the same time, the MAPbI₃ perovskite solar cell with GuSCN additive shows better stability, power conversion efficiency retains ～90% of its initial value compared to only ～60% for pristine MAPbI₃ perovskite solar cells after being stored for 15 days without encapsulation.     

Charge transfer modification of inverted planar perovskite solar cells by NiOx/Sr:NiOx bilayer hole transport layer

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are the most promising commercial photoelectric conversion technology in the future. The planar p-i-n structure cells have advantages in negligible hysteresis, low temperature preparation and excellent stability. However, for inverted planar PSCs, the non-radiative recombination at the interface is an important reason that impedes the charge transfer and improvement of power conversion efficiency. Having a homogeneous, compact, and energy-level-matched charge transport layer is the key to reducing non-radiative recombination. In our study, NiO$_{x}$/Sr:NiO$_{x}$ bilayer hole transport layer (HTL) improves the holes transmission of NiO$_{x}$ based HTL, reduces the recombination in the interface between perovskite and HTL layer and improves the device performance. The bilayer HTL enhances the hole transfer by forming a driving force of an electric field and further improves $J_{\rm sc}$. As a result, the device has a power conversion efficiency of 18.44%, a short circuit current density of 22.81 mA$\cdot$cm$^{-2}$ and a fill factor of 0.80. Compared to the pristine PSCs, there are certain improvements of optical parameters. This method provides a new idea for the future design of novel hole transport layers and the development of high-performance solar cells.     

新型碳材料在钙钛矿太阳电池中的应用研究进展

新型碳材料如石墨烯及其氧化物、碳纳米管、富勒烯及石墨炔等因其优异的热学、力学、电学、光学性能成为了钙钛矿太阳电池研究的又一亮点. 本文总结了新型碳材料在钙钛矿太阳电池对电极、电子传输材料及空穴传输材料中的研究进展, 新型碳材料的引入有效地提高了钙钛矿电池的性能, 为下一步新型碳材料的应用开发以及钙钛矿电池器件的研究提供了新的思路.     

Optical management in high‐efficiency thin‐film silicon micromorph solar cells with a silicon oxide based intermediate reflector

In the effort to increase the stable efficiency of thin film silicon micromorph solar cells, a silicon oxide based intermediate reflector (SOIR) layer is deposited in situ between the component cells of the tandem device. The effectiveness of the SOIR layer in increasing the photo‐carrier generation in the a‐Si:H top absorber is compared for p–i–n devices deposited on different rough, highly transparent, front ZnO layers. High haze and low doping level for the front ZnO strongly enhance the current density (J_sc) in the μc‐Si:H bottom cell whereas J_sc in the top cell is influenced by the angular distribution of the transmitted light and by the reflectivity of the SOIR related to different surface roughness. A total J_sc of 26.8 mA/cm² and an initial conversion efficiency of 12.6% are achieved for 1.2 cm² cells with top and bottom cell thicknesses of 300 nm and 3 μm, and without any anti‐reflective coating on the glass. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Ag-ZnO混合薄膜在聚合物太阳能电池中的应用

采用旋涂法研制了Ag浆SC100-ZnO混合薄膜,系统研究了不同混合比例SC100∶ZnO薄膜作为电子传输层或光散射层对聚合物太阳能电池器件性能的影响,并讨论了其中存在的物理机制。研究发现,采用少量SC100(1%和2.5%)混合的薄膜作为光散射层,可以提高器件的性能参数(短路电流密度和填充因子),器件的光电转换效率分别提高了4.4%和5%。     

Micromorph tandem solar cells: optimization of the microcrystalline silicon bottom cell in a single chamber system

We report on the development of single chamber deposition of microcrystalline and micromorph tandem solar cells directly onto low-cost glass substrates. The cells have pin single-junction or pin/pin double-junction structures on glass substrates coated with a transparent conductive oxide layer such as SnO₂ or ZnO. By controlling boron and phosphorus contaminations, a single-junction microcrystalline silicon cell with a conversion efficiency of 7.47% is achieved with an i-layer thickness of 1.2 μm. In tandem devices, by thickness optimization of the microcrystalline silicon bottom solar cell, we obtained an initial conversion efficiency of 9.91% with an aluminum (Al) back reflector without a dielectric layer. In order to enhance the performance of the tandem solar cells, an improved light trapping structure with a ZnO/Al back reflector is used. As a result, a tandem solar cell with 11.04% of initial conversion efficiency has been obtained.     

MoO_3阳极缓冲层对有机太阳电池性能的影响

研究了MoO3阳极缓冲层对基于CuPc/C60异质结的有机小分子太阳电池器件性能的影响。发现:MoO3阳极缓冲层略微降低了器件的短路电流、开路电压及能量转换效率;MoO3阳极缓冲层提高了器件的整流比;具有MoO3阳极缓冲层的器件在持续光照条件下连续工作20min,其主要性能参数(如短路电流、开路电压、填充因子及能量转换效率)无明显衰减,而没有MoO3阳极缓冲层的对比器件在相同条件下连续工作20min,其能量转换效率衰减了大约45%。研究结果表明:MoO3阳极缓冲层明显提高了基于CuPc/C60异质结的有机小分子太阳电池器件的稳定性,可能的原因主要是MoO3阳极缓冲层改善了ITO阳极和CuPc界面,抑制了因持续光照连续工作引起的界面老化,从而提高了器件的稳定性。     

Low-temperature-processed ZnO thin films as electron transporting layer to achieve stable perovskite solar cells

Morphology and surface property of ZnO thin films as electron transporting layer in perovskite solar cells are crucial for obtaining high-efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. In this work, two different preparation methods of ZnO thin films were carried out and the photovoltaic performances of the subsequent perovskite solar cells were investigated. ZnO thin film prepared by sol–gel method was homogenous but provided high series resistance in solar cells, leading to low short circuit current density. Lower series resistance of solar cell was obtained from homogeneous ZnO thin film from spin-coating of colloidal ZnO nanoparticles (synthesized by hydrolysis–condensation) in a mixture of 1-butanol, chloroform and methanol. The perovskite solar cells using this film achieved the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.79% when poly(3-hexylthiophene) was used as a hole transporting layer. In addition, the stability of perovskite solar cells was also examined by measuring the photovoltaic characteristic for six consecutive weeks with the interval of 2 weeks. It was found that using double layers of the sol–gel ZnO and ZnO nanoparticles provided better stability with no degradation of PCE in 10 weeks. Therefore, this work provides a simple method for preparing homogeneous ZnO thin films in order to achieve stable perovskite solar cells, also for controlling their surface properties which help better understand the characteristics of perovskite solar cells.     

Influence of P<Superscript>+</Superscript>-ZnTe back surface contact on photovoltaic performance of ZnTe based solar cells

In order to improve photovoltaic performance of solar cells based on ZnTe thin films two device structures have been proposed and its photovoltaic parameters have been numerically simulated using Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator software. The first one is the ZnO/CdS/ZnTe conventional structure and the second one is the ZnO/CdS/ZnTe/P⁺-ZnTe structure with a P⁺-ZnTe layer inserted at the back surface of ZnTe active layer to produce a back surface field effect which could reduce back carrier recombination and thus increase the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of cells. The effect of ZnO, CdS and ZnTe layer thicknesses and the P⁺-ZnTe added layer and its thickness have been optimized for producing maximum working parameters such as: open-circuit voltage V_oc, short-circuit current density J_sc, fill factor FF, photovoltaic conversion efficiency η. The solar cell with ZnTe/P⁺-ZnTe junction showed remarkably higher conversion efficiency over the conventional solar cell based on ZnTe layer and the conversion efficiency of the ZnO/CdS/ZnTe/P⁺-ZnTe solar cell was found to be dependent on ZnTe and P⁺-ZnTe layer thicknesses. The optimization of ZnTe, CdS and ZnTe layers and the inserting of P⁺-ZnTe back surface layer results in an enhancement of the energy conversion efficiency since its maximum has increased from 10% for ZnO, CdS and ZnTe layer thicknesses of 0.05, 0.08 and 2 µm, respectively to 13.37% when ZnO, CdS, ZnTe and P⁺-ZnTe layer thicknesses are closed to 0.03, 0.03, 0.5 and 0.1 µm, respectively. Furthermore, the highest calculated output parameters have been J_sc?=?9.35 mA/cm², V_oc?=?1.81 V, η?=?13.37% and FF?=?79.05% achieved with ZnO, CdS, ZnTe, and P⁺-ZnTe layer thicknesses about 0.03, 0.03, 0.5 and 0.1 µm, respectively. Finally, the spectral response in the long-wavelength region for ZnO/CdS/ZnTe solar cells has decreased at the increase of back surface recombination velocity. However, it has exhibited a red shift and showed no dependence of back surface recombination velocity for ZnO/CdS/ZnTe/P?+?-ZnTe solar cells.