The Effect of Aspect Ratio and Density of Electron Transport Layer SnO2 Nanorods on the Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells

Assylan Akhanuly^a, Iliyas T. Dossyaev^b, Erik O. Shalenov^c, Constantinos Valagiannopoulos^a, Karlygash N. Dzhumagulova^d, Annie Ng^e, Askhat N. Jumabekova^a

^aDepartment of Physics, School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhsta

^bDepartment of Mathematics, School of Sciences and Humanities, Nazarbayev University, Astana, 010000, Kazakhsta

^cDepartment of General Physics, Satbayev University, Almaty, 050013, Kazakhstan

^dInstitute of Experimental and Theoretical Physics, al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan

^eDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV23)

London, United Kingdom, 2023 June 12th - 14th

Organizers: Tracey Clarke, James Durrant and Trystan Watson

Poster, Askhat N. Jumabekova, 136
Publication date: 30th March 2023

Metal oxide nanorods such as TiO₂, ZnO, and SnO₂ have been actively investigated for their application in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) as the electron transport layer (ETL). This is due to their remarkable morphological, optical, and electronic properties, which makes them suitable for extracting charge carriers from the perovskite layer. Among them, SnO₂-based ETLs have attracted a significant attention in recent years due to its advantageous properties such as high carrier conductivity, good chemical stability, and suitable work function for electron injection [1]. Comparative performance analysis of PSCs with planar and nanorod-based SnO₂ ETLs indicate that PSCs with the latter type of ETLs can have improved performance owing to an accelerated electron transport in SnO₂ and a decreased recombination rate at the SnO₂/perovskite interface [2,3]. Additionally, it is reported that employing nanorod-based SnO₂ ETLs can afford a longstanding stability in PSCs [4].

However, surveying the literature for the best performing PSCs with SnO₂ ETLs show that the highest power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) are usually obtained using planar ETLs [5]. This suggests that the use of nanorod-based SnO₂ ETLs for boosting the PCE of devices requires more research. Therefore, we used the computer simulation methods to investigate and analyze the properties and behavior of PSCs with SnO₂ nanorod-based ETLs by varying the aspect ratio and density of SnO₂ nanorods. We found that the light harvesting properties of PSCs improves with implementation of SnO₂ nanorod-based ETLs. However, we revealed that under the optimum conditions, PSCs with thin planar SnO₂ ETLs outperform those with nanorod-based SnO₂ ETLs. The underlying reason for this is explained through a detailed analysis of electric field, current density, and carrier recombination in devices. The results of this work provides with an insight into the device physics of PSCs with nanorod-based SnO₂ ETLs and can be useful in designing ETLs for high-performance devices.

References:

[1] Chen, Y.; Meng, Q.; Zhang, L.; Han, C.; Gao, H.; Zhang, Y.; Yan, H. SnO2-based electron transporting layer materials for perovskite solar cells: A review of recent progress. J. Energy Chem. 2019, 35, 144-167.

[2] Zhang, X.; Rui, Y.; Wang, Y.; Xu, J.; Wang, H.; Zhang, Q.; Müller-Buschbaum, P.; SnO2 nanorod arrays with tailored area density as efficient electron transport layers for perovskite solar cells. J. Power Sources. 2018, 402, 460-467.

[3] Xu, Y.; Rui, Y.; Wang, X.; Li, B.; Jin, Z.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, Q. Boosted charge extraction of SnO2 nanorod arrays via nanostructural and surface chemical engineering for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. Appl. Surface Sci. 2023, 607, 154986.

[4] Zhang, C.; Deng, X.; Zheng, J.; Zhou, X.; Shi, J.; Chen, X.; Sun, Z.; Huang, S. Solution-synthesized SnO2 nanorod arrays for highly stable and efficient perovskite solar cells. Electrochim. Acta. 2018, 283, 1134-1145.

[5] Yoo, J.J.; Seo, G.; Chua, M.R.; Park, T.G.; Lu, Y.; Rotermund, F.; Kim, Y.-K.; Moon, C.S.; Jeon, N. J.; Correa-Baena, J.-P.; Bulović, V.; Shin, S.S.; Bawendi, M.G.; Seo, J. Efficient perovskite solar cells via improved carrier management. Nature. 2021, 590, 587-593.

Acknowledgements:

This work is supported by Scientific Research Grants from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (grant numbers: AP14869871, AP08052412, and AP08856931), Nazarbayev University Faculty Development Competitive Research Grant (grant number: 110119FD4512), and Nazarbayev University Collaborative Research Grant (grant number: 021220CRP1922).

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