Perovskite Solar Cells with ZnO Electron-Transporting Materials

Peng Zhang; Jiang Wu; Ting Zhang; Yafei Wang; Detao Liu; Hao Chen; Long Ji; Chunhua Liu; Waseem Ahmad; Zhi David Chen; Shibin Li

doi:10.1002/adma.201703737

Perovskite Solar Cells with ZnO Electron-Transporting Materials

Adv Mater. 2018 Jan;30(3). doi: 10.1002/adma.201703737. Epub 2017 Nov 6.

Authors

Peng Zhang¹, Jiang Wu², Ting Zhang¹, Yafei Wang¹, Detao Liu¹, Hao Chen¹, Long Ji¹, Chunhua Liu¹, Waseem Ahmad¹, Zhi David Chen³, Shibin Li¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Optoelectronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610054, China.
² Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London, WC1E7JE, UK.
³ Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Center for Nanoscale Science & Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA.

PMID: 29105851
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201703737

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have developed rapidly over the past few years, and the power conversion efficiency of PSCs has exceeded 20%. Such high performance can be attributed to the unique properties of perovskite materials, such as high absorption over the visible range and long diffusion length. Due to the different diffusion lengths of holes and electrons, electron transporting materials (ETMs) used in PSCs play a critical role in PSCs performance. As an alternative to TiO₂ ETM, ZnO materials have similar physical properties to TiO₂ but with much higher electron mobility. In addition, there are many simple and facile methods to fabricate ZnO nanomaterials with low cost and energy consumption. This review focuses on recent developments in the use of ZnO ETM for PSCs. The fabrication methods of ZnO materials are briefly introduced. The influence of different ZnO ETMs on performance of PSCs is then reviewed. The limitations of ZnO ETM-based PSCs and some solutions to these challenges are also discussed. The review provides a systematic and comprehensive understanding of the influence of different ZnO ETMs on PSCs performance and potentially motivates further development of PSCs by extending the knowledge of ZnO-based PSCs to TiO₂ -based PSCs.

Keywords: electron transport materials; nanostructures; perovskite solar cells; photovoltaics; zinc oxide.

Publication types

Review