High efficiency planar-type perovskite solar cells with negligible hysteresis using EDTA-complexed SnO2

Dong Yang; Ruixia Yang; Kai Wang; Congcong Wu; Xuejie Zhu; Jiangshan Feng; Xiaodong Ren; Guojia Fang; Shashank Priya; Shengzhong Frank Liu

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-05760-x

High efficiency planar-type perovskite solar cells with negligible hysteresis using EDTA-complexed SnO₂

Nat Commun. 2018 Aug 13;9(1):3239. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-05760-x.

Authors

Dong Yang^{1

2}, Ruixia Yang³, Kai Wang⁴, Congcong Wu⁴, Xuejie Zhu³, Jiangshan Feng³, Xiaodong Ren³, Guojia Fang⁵, Shashank Priya⁶, Shengzhong Frank Liu^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education; Shaanxi Engineering Lab for Advanced Energy Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China. dongyang@vt.edu.
² Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and System (CEHMS), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA. dongyang@vt.edu.
³ Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education; Shaanxi Engineering Lab for Advanced Energy Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China.
⁴ Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and System (CEHMS), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- and Nano-structures of Ministry of Education of China, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
⁶ Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and System (CEHMS), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA. spriya@vt.edu.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry, Ministry of Education; Shaanxi Engineering Lab for Advanced Energy Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, 710119, China. szliu@dicp.ac.cn.
⁸ Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy, iChEM, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China. szliu@dicp.ac.cn.

Abstract

Even though the mesoporous-type perovskite solar cell (PSC) is known for high efficiency, its planar-type counterpart exhibits lower efficiency and hysteretic response. Herein, we report success in suppressing hysteresis and record efficiency for planar-type devices using EDTA-complexed tin oxide (SnO₂) electron-transport layer. The Fermi level of EDTA-complexed SnO₂ is better matched with the conduction band of perovskite, leading to high open-circuit voltage. Its electron mobility is about three times larger than that of the SnO₂. The record power conversion efficiency of planar-type PSCs with EDTA-complexed SnO₂ increases to 21.60% (certified at 21.52% by Newport) with negligible hysteresis. Meanwhile, the low-temperature processed EDTA-complexed SnO₂ enables 18.28% efficiency for a flexible device. Moreover, the unsealed PSCs with EDTA-complexed SnO₂ degrade only by 8% exposed in an ambient atmosphere after 2880 h, and only by 14% after 120 h under irradiation at 100 mW cm^-2.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't