Optimization of the interface between the electron transport layer (ETL) and the hybrid perovskite is crucial to achieve high-performance perovskite solar cell (PSC) devices. Fullerene-based compounds have attracted attention as modifiers on the surface properties of TiO, the archetypal ETL in regular n-i-p PSCs. However, the partial solubility of fullerenes in the aprotic solvents used for perovskite deposition hinders its application to low-temperature solution-processed PSCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEffective control of the interface between the metal cathode and the electron transport layer (ETL) is critical for achieving high performance p-i-n planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Several organic molecules have been explored as interlayers between the silver (Ag) electrode and the ETL for the improvement in the photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE) of p-i-n planar PSCs. However, the role of these organic molecules in the charge transfer at the metal/ETL interface and the chemical degradation processes of PSCs has not yet been fully understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFabrication of solution-processed perovskite solar cells (PSCs) requires the deposition of high quality films from precursor inks. Frequently, buffer layers of PSCs are formed from dispersions of metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs). Therefore, the development of trustable methods for the preparation of stable colloidal NPs dispersions is crucial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExperimental results obtained over the last three decades on photoinduced oxygen isotopic exchange (POIE) of TiO₂ oxygen atoms with those of adsorbed water molecules and gaseous O₂ are analyzed in the light of recent information from the literature on the interaction of water and O₂ species with the TiO₂ surface (obtained by application of surface spectroscopy techniques in combination with high-resolution scanning tunnelling microscopy). The analysis emphasizes the singular role that bridging oxygen ions and bridging oxygen vacancies play in TiO₂ surface chemistry and interfacial electron transfer at the gas phase-TiO₂ interface in the absence and presence of water. The observed competition between POIE and the photo-oxidation (PO) of organic compounds is analyzed in terms of the recently developed direct-indirect (D-I) kinetic model for heterogeneous photocatalysis (D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF