Cost effective perovskite solar cells with a high efficiency and open-circuit voltage based on a perovskite-friendly carbon electrode

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 6; no. 18; pp. 8271 - 8279
• Main Authors: Chu, Qian-Qian, Ding, Bin, Qiu, Qi, Liu, Yan, Li, Cheng-Xin, Li, Chang-Jiu, Yang, Guan-Jun, Fang, Baizeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 2018
• Subjects: acetates; Acetic acid; Carbon; carbon electrodes; chemistry; cost effectiveness; Efficiency; electric potential difference; Electrical conductivity; Electrical resistivity; Electrodes; Energy conversion efficiency; Fabrication; Low temperature; Open circuit voltage; Photoelectric effect; Photoelectric properties; Photoelectricity; Photovoltaic cells; Propylene; Propylene glycol; Solar cells; solar energy; solvents; Stability; temperature; Voltage
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/c7ta10871k

For low-temperature paintable carbon based perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the commercial carbon paste utilized to prepare carbon electrodes damages the well-fabricated perovskite films, resulting in bad photoelectric properties. Herein, we have successfully prepared a low temperature perovskite-friendly and environmentally benign carbon paste using propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate as a solvent, which has shown a high electrical conductivity. More importantly, with the exclusive carbon paste, the perovskite film keeps a dense and uniform morphology. The as-developed PSCs do not involve the fabrication of organic hole transport materials (HTMs) which are generally expensive and air-sensitive, greatly limiting the long-term stability. The cost-effective HTM-free carbon-based PSCs demonstrate a champion power conversion efficiency of up to 13.5% and a champion open-circuit voltage of up to 1.07 V with an active area of 0.1 cm 2 , the highest value reported so far for carbon-based PSCs with MAPbI 3 as the light harvester. Furthermore, a long-time stability test shows that the solar cells with the as-prepared carbon electrode retain more than 90% of their initial power conversion efficiency after 960 h. The dissolution of perovskite films with perovskite-friendly carbon paste was avoided, resulting in high efficiency of perovskite solar cells.