ZrO2/TiO2 Electron Collection Layer for Efficient Meso-Superstructured Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 2342 - 2349
• Main Authors: Mejía Escobar, Mario Alejandro, Pathak, Sandeep, Liu, Jiewei, Snaith, Henry J, Jaramillo, Franklin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 25-01-2017
• Subjects: pinholes; anomalous hysteresis; perovskite solar cell; electron collection layer; atomic force microscopy
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b12509

Since the first reports of efficient organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells in 2012, an explosion of research activity has emerged around the world, which has led to a rise in the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) to over 20%. Despite the impressive efficiency, a key area of the device which remains suboptimal is the electron extraction layer and its interface with the photoactive perovskite. Here, we implement an electron collection “bilayer” composed of a thin layer of zirconia coated with titania, sitting upon the transparent conductive oxide fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO). With this double collection layer we have reached up to 17.9% power conversion efficiency, delivering a stabilized power output (SPO) of 17.0%, measured under simulated AM 1.5 sunlight of 100 mW cm–2 irradiance. Finally, we propose a mechanism of the charge transfer processes within the fabricated architectures in order to explain the obtained performance of the devices.