Low Temperature Solution-Processed Sb:SnO₂ Nanocrystals for Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

Authors

Yang Bai, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Yanjun Fang, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Yehao Deng, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Qi Wang, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jingjing Zhao, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Xiaopeng Zheng, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Yang Zhang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jinsong Huang, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2016

Citation

Published in ChemSusChem 9 (2016), pp 2686–2691. doi 10.1002/cssc.201600944

Comments

Copyright © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. Used by permission.

Abstract

Inorganic metal oxide electron-transport layers (ETLs) have the potential to yield perovskite solar cells with improved stability, but generally need high temperature to form conductive and defect-less forms, which is not compatible with the fabrication of flexible and tandem solar cells. Here, we demonstrate a facile strategy for developing efficient inorganic ETLs by doping SnO₂ nanocrystals (NCs) with a small amount of Sb using a low-temperature solution-processed method. The electrical conductivity was remarkably enhanced by Sb-doping, which increased the carrier concentration in Sb:SnO₂ NCs. Moreover, the upward shift of the Fermi level owing to doping results in improved energy level alignment, which led to reduced charge recombination, and thus longer electron recombination lifetime and improved open-circuit voltage (VOC). Therefore, Sb-doping of SnO₂ significantly enhanced the photovoltaic performance of planar perovskite devices by increasing the fill factor and VOC, and reducing photocurrent hysteresis, extending the potential application of low-temperature-processed ETLs in future flexible and tandem solar cells.