Oblique Electrostatic Inkjet-Deposited TiO2 Electron Transport Layers for Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

Md Shahiduzzaman; Toshiharu Sakuma; Tetsuya Kaneko; Koji Tomita; Masao Isomura; Tetsuya Taima; Shinjiro Umezu; Satoru Iwamori

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-56164-w

Oblique Electrostatic Inkjet-Deposited TiO₂ Electron Transport Layers for Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 20;9(1):19494. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-56164-w.

Authors

Md Shahiduzzaman^{1

2}, Toshiharu Sakuma³, Tetsuya Kaneko³, Koji Tomita⁴, Masao Isomura³, Tetsuya Taima⁵, Shinjiro Umezu⁶, Satoru Iwamori^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Nanomaterials Research Institute (NanoMaRi), Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan. shahiduzzaman@se.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
² Research Institute of Science and Technology (RIST), Tokai University, Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, 259-1292, Japan. shahiduzzaman@se.kanazawa-u.ac.jp.
³ Graduate School of Engineering, Tokai University, Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, 259-1292, Japan.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tokai University, Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, 259-1292, Japan.
⁵ Nanomaterials Research Institute (NanoMaRi), Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan.
⁶ Department of Modern Mechanical Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Ookubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 269-8555, Japan. umeshin@waseda.jp.
⁷ Research Institute of Science and Technology (RIST), Tokai University, Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, 259-1292, Japan. is107522@tsc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
⁸ Graduate School of Engineering, Tokai University, Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, 259-1292, Japan. is107522@tsc.u-tokai.ac.jp.

Abstract

In this study, a new, simple, and novel oblique electrostatic inkjet (OEI) technique is developed to deposit a titanium oxide (TiO₂) compact layer (CL) on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate without the need for a vacuum environment for the first time. The TiO₂ is used as electron transport layers (ETL) in planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This bottom-up OEI technique enables the control of the surface morphology and thickness of the TiO₂ CL by simply manipulating the coating time. The OEI-fabricated TiO₂ is characterized tested and the results are compared with that of TiO₂ CLs produced by spin-coating and spray pyrolysis. The OEI-deposited TiO₂ CL exhibits satisfactory surface coverage and smooth morphology, conducive for the ETLs in PSCs. The power-conversion efficiencies of PSCs with OEI-deposited TiO₂ CL as the ETL were as high as 13.19%. Therefore, the present study provides an important advance in the effort to develop simple, low-cost, and easily scaled-up techniques. OEI may be a new candidate for depositing TiO₂ CL ETLs for highly efficient planar PSCs, thus potentially contributing to future mass production.