Effects of bendable P3CT polymers layer on the photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells

Anjali Chandel; Shou-En Chiang; Wen-Hsin Chang; Jia-Ren Wu; Chi-Tsu Yuan; Sheng Hsiung Chang

doi:10.1088/1361-6528/ace367

Effects of bendable P3CT polymers layer on the photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells

Nanotechnology. 2023 Jul 18;34(40). doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/ace367.

Authors

Anjali Chandel^{1

2

3}, Shou-En Chiang^{1

2

3}, Wen-Hsin Chang¹, Jia-Ren Wu^{1

2}, Chi-Tsu Yuan^{1

2}, Sheng Hsiung Chang^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 320314, Taiwan ROC.
² Research Center for Semiconductor Materials and Advanced Optics, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 320314, Taiwan ROC.
³ R&D Center for Membrane Technology and Center for Nanotechnology, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 320314, Taiwan ROC.

PMID: 37399801
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ace367

Abstract

We report on the formation of bendable and edge-on poly[3-(4-carboxybutyl)thiophene-2,5-diyl] (P3CT) polymers thin layer used as a hole modification layer (HML) in the inverted perovskite solar cell. The aggregations of 2D layer-like P3CT polymers in dimethylformamide (DMF) solution can be formed via aromaticπ-πstacking interactions and/or hydrogen-bonding interactions with the different concentration from 0.01 to 0.02 wt%, which highly influences the photovoltaic performance of the inverted perovskite solar cells. The atomic-force microscopic images and water droplet contact angle images show that the P3CT polymers modify the surface properties of the transparent conductive substrate and thereby dominating the formation of perovskite crystalline thin films, which play important roles in the highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. It is noted that theV_OC(J_SC) of the encapsulated solar cells values are maintained to be higher than 1.115 V (22 mA cm^-2) after 104 d when an optimizedπ-πstacked and hydrogen-bonded P3CT polymer is used as the HML. On the other hand, the solar cell showed a high long-term stability by maintaining 85% of the initial power conversion efficiency in the ambient air for 103 d.

Keywords: 2D-like polymer aggregations; hole transport layer; perovskite solar cells; surface properties.