[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester/cerium oxide bilayer structure as efficient and stable electron transport layer for inverted perovskite solar cells

Rui Fang, Shaohang Wu, Weitao Chen, Zonghao Liu, Shasha Zhang, Rui Chen, Youfeng Yue, Linlong Deng, Yi Bing Cheng, Liyuan Han, Wei Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

92 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Stability issues and high material cost constitute the biggest obstacles of a perovskite solar cell (PVSC), hampering its sustainable development. Herein, we demonstrate that, after suitable surface modification, the low-cost cerium oxide (CeOx) nanocrystals can be well dispersed in both polar and nonpolar solvents and easily processed into high-quality electron transport layers (ETLs). The inverted PVSC with the configuration of "NiMgLiO/MAPbI3/[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)/CeOx" has achieved a high efficiency up to 18.7%. Especially, the corresponding devices without encapsulation can almost keep their initial PCEs in 30% humidity-controlled air in the dark for 30 days and also show no sign of degradation after continuous light soaking and maximum power point tracking for 200 h in a N2 atmosphere. These results have been proved to be associated with the dual functions achieved by the PCBM/CeOx bilayer ETLs in both efficient electron extraction and good chemical shielding. Furthermore, an all inorganic interfacial layer based PVSC with the configuration of "NiMgLiO/MAPbI3/CeOx" has also achieved a promising efficiency of 16.7%, reflecting the potential to fabricate efficient PVSCs with extremely low cost.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2403-2414
Number of pages12
JournalACS Nano
Volume12
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Mar 2018

Keywords

  • CeOnanoink
  • Electron transport layer
  • Long-term stability
  • Perovskite solar cells
  • Surface modification

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