Publication date: 17th February 2025
Currently, inorganic electron transporting materials, such as SnO2, have become the standard choice for the formation of the selective layer in high-performance n-i-p perovskite solar cells (PSCs). On the other hand, use of organic ETMs has been limited due to the dissolution of the layers during wet deposition of the perovskite absorber layer. Taking inspiration from p-i-n devices, in which self-assembling monolayers (SAMs), with relatively simple structures, have been successfully applied as stand-alone hole-transporting layers, we want to test the potential of SAMs in n-i-p PSCs [1].
The goal of our work was to synthesize novel yet structurally simple organic compounds containing a 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole fragment, which in theory has the qualities of a great ETM: low redox potential, high solubility and fast electrochemical kinetics [2]. We have synthesized two ETM candidates which contain a phosphonic acid anchoring group, separated from the 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole chromophore by butylene and pentylene carbon chains. Commercially available 2,1,3-benzothiadiazol-5-ol was used as a starting material. The synthesized SAMs were structurally and electrochemically characterised and used as ETLs in n-i-p devices. The best pixels have achieved power conversion efficiencies of 13.4% and 12.5% respectively. While the JSC and VOC were comparable with the SnO2 reference device, the FF stood out as the biggest limiting factor, only reaching highs of ≈58% for both ETMs. In addition, increased hysteresis was observed. Overall, the simplistic synthesized SAMs have demonstrated ability to work as ETMs in a standard PSC device, yet further modifications are needed to demonstrate the full potential of such approach.
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