Enhanced Performance of Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells via Interface Engineering with Self-Assembled Monolayers

Ugur Deneb Yilmazer Menda^a, Edgar Coimbra^a, Daniel Camilo^a, Tiago Mateus^a, Jonas Deuermeier^a, Daniela Nunes^a, Tomás Calmeiro^a, Manuel J. Mendes^a, Elvira Fortunato^a, Rodrigo Martins^a, Hugo Águas^a

^aCENIMAT|i3N, Department of Materials Science, School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon and CEMOP/UNINOVA, Caparica, Portugal

Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV25)

Roma, Italy, 2025 May 12th - 14th

Organizers: Filippo De Angelis, Francesca Brunetti and Claudia Barolo

Poster, Ugur Deneb Yilmazer Menda, 225
Publication date: 17th February 2025

Inverted perovskite solar cells (iPSCs) have been extensively studied in recent years due to their broad material compatibility, suitability for tandem applications, and excellent performance with minimal hysteresis [1]. Significant advancements have been achieved through improvements in material quality, thin-film deposition techniques, and interface engineering, leading to enhanced passivation of the perovskite absorber layer. These advancements have contributed to higher efficiency and extended device stability.

Nickel oxide (NiOₓ) is widely used as a hole transport layer (HTL) or electron-blocking layer (EBL) in planar iPSCs, playing a crucial role in improving power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability [2]. Physical vapor deposition methods of NiOₓ layer assist conformal and low-temperature depositions and serve for large and highly efficient single and multi-junction device applications. On the other hand, self-assembled molecules (SAMs) gained extensive interest in the past years with outstanding hole-transporting properties in iPSCs [3]. In this study, we develop NiOₓ-based HTLs using a room-temperature RF-sputtering technique and further modify the HTL surface with a SAM, Me2PACZ that has not been applied on sputtered NiOₓ before. We performed conductive AFM and XPS-UPS measurements alongside electrical characterizations to gain deeper insight into the charge extraction mechanisms enhanced by the molecules. We also observed that oxygen plasma treatment before the SAM deposition significantly improves interfacial passivation, leading to a power conversion efficiency of 18.8% on glass substrates and exceeding 15% on flexible substrates. These results demonstrate the potential of interface engineering for high-performance and stable flexible PSCs.

References:

[1] Luo X.; Liu, X.; Lin, X.; Wu, T.; Wang, Y.; Han Q.; Wu, Y.; Segawa, H.; Han, L. Recent Advances of Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells. ACS Energy Lett. 2024, 9, 1487−1506.

[2] Akalin, S.A.; Erol, M.; Uzunbayir, B.; Oguzlar, S.; Yildirim, S.; Gokdemir Choi, F. P.; Gunes, S.; Yilmazer Menda, U. D.; Mendes, M. J. Physically-Deposited Hole Transporters in Perovskite PV: NiOx Improved with Li/Mg Doping. Adv Mater Technol, 2024 vol. 9, no. 7.

[3] Kim, S. Y.; Cho S. J.; Byeo S. E.; He, H. Yoom H. J.; Self-Assembled Monolayers as Interface EngineeringNanomaterials in Perovskite Solar Cells. Adv. Energy Mater. 2020, 10, 2002606.

Acknowledgements:

This work received funding from FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P.) under the projects LA/P/0037/2020, UIDP/50025/2020 and UIDB/50025/2020 of the Associate Laboratory Institute of Nanostructures, Nanomodelling and Nanofabrication—i3N, and by the projects SuperSolar (PTDC/NAN-OPT/28430/2017) and FlexSolar (PTDC/CTM-REF/1008/2020. The authors also acknowledge funding from the European Union via the project JUMP INTO SPACE (HORIZON-EIC-2023-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01, No. 101162377. Edgar Coimbra also acknowledges funding by FCT, I.P. through the grant 2024.02266.BD.

nanoGe is a prestigious brand of successful science conferences that are developed along the year in different areas of the world since 2009. Our worldwide conferences cover cutting-edge materials topics like perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, solar fuel conversion, surface science, catalysis and two-dimensional materials, among many others.

MATSUS

Previously nanoGe Spring Meeting (NSM) and nanoGe Fall Meeting (NFM), MATSUS is a multiple symposia conference focused on a broad set of topics of advanced materials preparation, their fundamental properties, and their applications, in fields such as renewable energy, photovoltaics, lighting, semiconductor quantum dots, 2-D materials synthesis, charge carriers dynamics, microscopy and spectroscopy semiconductors fundamentals, etc.

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) is celebrated yearly in May. The main topics are the development, function and modeling of materials and devices for hybrid and organic solar cells. The field is now dominated by perovskite solar cells but also other hybrid technologies, as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells and their integration into devices for photoelectrochemical solar fuel production.

Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics

The main topics of the Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP) are discussed every year in Asia-Pacific for gathering the recent advances in the fields of material preparation, modeling and fabrication of perovskite and hybrid and organic materials. Photovoltaic devices are analyzed from fundamental physics and materials properties to a broad set of applications. The conference also covers the developments of perovskite optoelectronics, including light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.

International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics

The International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics (NIPHO) is the best place to hear the latest developments in perovskite solar cells as well as on recent advances in the fields of perovskite light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.