Synthesis and characterization of ambient-processed FTO/ZnO/CsPbBr2Cl/C perovskite solar cell deposited by SILAR method

• Published in: Optical materials Vol. 130; p. 112575
• Main Authors: Chauhan, Asha, Shrivastav, A.K., Oudhia, Anjali
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.08.2022
• Subjects: CsPbBr2Cl; HTL free PSC; Perovskite; SILAR method; ZnO; SILAR method; Perovskite; ZnO; CsPbBr2Cl; HTL free PSC
• ISSN: 0925-3467; 1873-1252
• DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2022.112575

In the present study, for the very first time, an HTL-free perovskite solar cell (PSC) FTO/ZnO/CsPbBr2Cl/C was fabricated via successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction methods (SILAR) under an ambient atmosphere. Each layer of synthesized PSC was characterized by various sophisticated techniques like UV–Visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Field emission electron microscopy (FESEM). We explored the optical, morphological, and electrical behavior of the ZnO and CsPbBr2Cl layer of PSC. The p-type conductivity with charge carrier concentration of 1.1E+17 cm−3 and carrier mobility of 9.0 cm2V−1s−1 of CsPbBr2Cl has been observed. To reduce the cost of the device, the counter carbon electrode was prepared by an extremely cost-effective method by reusing the carbon from a used battery and converting it into a conducting carbon ink. The ambient processed cell-FTO/ZnO/CsPbBr2Cl/C achieved an average efficiency of 0.41%. Further, a theoretical study was performed to find a mechanism for enhancing the efficiency of fabricated PSC. It was observed that an optimized device can exhibit an enhanced efficiency of 4.53% by controlling the defect density and series resistance of the device. This study demonstrates a low-cost fabrication of HTL-free CsPbBr2Cl-based PSC processed under ambient air for their potential in the field of optoelectronic devices. [Display omitted] •The present findings highlighted the potential of ambient processed and low-cost fabrication of HTL-free PSC.•The reported cell based on CsPbBr2Cl exhibited an experimental efficiency of 0.41%.•The optimization of fabricated PSC pushed the efficiency to 4.53%.