cPCN-Regulated SnO2 Composites Enables Perovskite Solar Cell with Efficiency Beyond 23

doi:10.1007/s40820-021-00636-0

. 2021 Apr 1;13(1):101.

doi: 10.1007/s40820-021-00636-0.

cPCN-Regulated SnO₂ Composites Enables Perovskite Solar Cell with Efficiency Beyond 23

Zicheng Li^{1

2

3}, Yifeng Gao^{1

3}, Zhihao Zhang^{1

2

3}, Qiu Xiong^{1

3}, Longhui Deng^{1

3}, Xiaochun Li², Qin Zhou^{1

3}, Yuanxing Fang², Peng Gao^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
² College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350116, People's Republic of China.
³ Laboratory for Advanced Functional Materials, Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, People's Republic of China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, People's Republic of China. peng.gao@fjirsm.ac.cn.
⁵ Laboratory for Advanced Functional Materials, Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, People's Republic of China. peng.gao@fjirsm.ac.cn.

PMID: 34138376
PMCID: PMC8017043
DOI: 10.1007/s40820-021-00636-0

cPCN-Regulated SnO₂ Composites Enables Perovskite Solar Cell with Efficiency Beyond 23

Zicheng Li et al. Nanomicro Lett. 2021.

. 2021 Apr 1;13(1):101.

doi: 10.1007/s40820-021-00636-0.

Authors

Zicheng Li^{1

2

3}, Yifeng Gao^{1

3}, Zhihao Zhang^{1

2

3}, Qiu Xiong^{1

3}, Longhui Deng^{1

3}, Xiaochun Li², Qin Zhou^{1

3}, Yuanxing Fang², Peng Gao^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
² College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350116, People's Republic of China.
³ Laboratory for Advanced Functional Materials, Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, People's Republic of China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, People's Republic of China. peng.gao@fjirsm.ac.cn.
⁵ Laboratory for Advanced Functional Materials, Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, People's Republic of China. peng.gao@fjirsm.ac.cn.

PMID: 34138376
PMCID: PMC8017043
DOI: 10.1007/s40820-021-00636-0

Abstract

Efficient electron transport layers (ETLs) not only play a crucial role in promoting carrier separation and electron extraction in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) but also significantly affect the process of nucleation and growth of the perovskite layer. Herein, crystalline polymeric carbon nitrides (cPCN) are introduced to regulate the electronic properties of SnO₂ nanocrystals, resulting in cPCN-composited SnO₂ (SnO₂-cPCN) ETLs with enhanced charge transport and perovskite layers with decreased grain boundaries. Firstly, SnO₂-cPCN ETLs show three times higher electron mobility than pristine SnO₂ while offering better energy level alignment with the perovskite layer. The SnO₂-cPCN ETLs with decreased wettability endow the perovskite films with higher crystallinity by retarding the crystallization rate. In the end, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of planar PSCs can be boosted to 23.17% with negligible hysteresis and a steady-state efficiency output of 21.98%, which is one of the highest PCEs for PSCs with modified SnO₂ ETLs. SnO₂-cPCN based devices also showed higher stability than pristine SnO₂, maintaining 88% of the initial PCE after 2000 h of storage in the ambient environment (with controlled RH of 30% ± 5%) without encapsulation.

Keywords: Carbon nitride; Electron transport layer; Perovskite solar cell; SnO2.

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Figures

**Fig. 1**
a, b XRD patterns and FTIR spectra of cPCN and g-CN. c SEM images and d TEM images of cPCN. **e, f** HRTEM images for cPCN

**Fig. 2**
Characterization of SnO₂ and SnO₂-cPCN ETLs. a XPS spectra of films deposited on quartz substrates. b Electron mobility calculation using the SCLC model with the device structure of FTO/ETL/PCBM/Ag. c Optical transmission spectra on quartz substrates. d Possible band alignment of the ETLs and perovskite layer according to the UPS measurements. e, f AFM topographical images of SnO₂, and SnO₂-cPCN films

**Fig. 3**
Top view SEM images of perovskite films coated on a SnO₂ and b SnO₂-cPCN substrates. c XRD patterns and d UV–Vis spectra of the perovskite films on SnO₂ and SnO₂-cPCN

**Fig. 4**
a *J–V* characteristics for champion PSCs based on the SnO₂ and SnO₂-cPCN ETLs under the illumination of 1 sun (AM 1.5 G). b Corresponding EQE curves and integrated current density of the two champion PSCs. c The stabilized power output of the fabricated PSCs on the SnO₂-cPCN and SnO₂ ETL at the maximum power point (MPP) at 0.99 and 0.96 V. d *J–V* curves of both champion devices for both forward and reverse scans. e Distribution of photovoltaic parameters of the two kinds of solar cells (20 devices for each case)

**Fig. 5**
a Frequency-capacitance measured from perovskite devices on the SnO₂-cPCN and SnO₂ ETL. b Trap density of states (tDOS) for devices with SnO₂-cPCN and SnO₂ ETL. c Steady-state PL and d TRPL spectra of perovskite films deposited on different substrates

**Fig. 6**
a EIS of planar-type PSCs with SnO₂ and SnO₂-cPCN ETL, the insert picture is the fitting model. b *J–V* characteristics of the SnO₂-cPCN and SnO₂ based devices with a 1 cm² area (active area) in forward and reverse scan; the inset is a picture of real 1 cm² area devices. c Long-term stability measurements of devices without any encapsulation under N₂ glovebox, and d Humidity and oxygen stability under an ambient condition (relative humidity: 30% ± 5%)

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References

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1. Kojima A, Teshima K, Shirai Y, Miyasaka T. Organometal halide perovskites as visible-light sensitizers for photovoltaic cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009;131(17):6050–6051. doi: 10.1021/ja809598r. - DOI - PubMed
1. <best-research-cell-efficiencies.20200104.Pdf>

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[1] Gao P, Grätzel M, Nazeeruddin M. Organohalide lead perovskites for photovoltaic applications. Energy Environ. Sci. 2014;7(8):2448–2463. doi: 10.1039/c4ee00942h. - DOI

[2] Gao P, Grätzel M, Nazeeruddin M. Organohalide lead perovskites for photovoltaic applications. Energy Environ. Sci. 2014;7(8):2448–2463. doi: 10.1039/c4ee00942h. - DOI

[3] Dunlap-Shohl WA, Zhou Y, Padture NP, Mitzi DB. Synthetic approaches for halide perovskite thin films. Chem. Rev. 2019;119(5):3193–3295. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00318. - DOI - PubMed

[4] Dunlap-Shohl WA, Zhou Y, Padture NP, Mitzi DB. Synthetic approaches for halide perovskite thin films. Chem. Rev. 2019;119(5):3193–3295. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.8b00318. - DOI - PubMed

[5] Zhang Z, Li Z, Meng L, Lien SY, Gao P. Perovskite-based tandem solar cells: get the most out of the sun. Adv. Func. Mater. 2020;30(38):2001904. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202001904. - DOI

[6] Zhang Z, Li Z, Meng L, Lien SY, Gao P. Perovskite-based tandem solar cells: get the most out of the sun. Adv. Func. Mater. 2020;30(38):2001904. doi: 10.1002/adfm.202001904. - DOI

[7] Kojima A, Teshima K, Shirai Y, Miyasaka T. Organometal halide perovskites as visible-light sensitizers for photovoltaic cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009;131(17):6050–6051. doi: 10.1021/ja809598r. - DOI - PubMed

[8] Kojima A, Teshima K, Shirai Y, Miyasaka T. Organometal halide perovskites as visible-light sensitizers for photovoltaic cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009;131(17):6050–6051. doi: 10.1021/ja809598r. - DOI - PubMed

[9] <best-research-cell-efficiencies.20200104.Pdf>

[10] <best-research-cell-efficiencies.20200104.Pdf>

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cPCN-Regulated SnO₂ Composites Enables Perovskite Solar Cell with Efficiency Beyond 23

Affiliations

cPCN-Regulated SnO₂ Composites Enables Perovskite Solar Cell with Efficiency Beyond 23

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