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Nano Research 2024, 17(4): 2704-2711 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6115-y
Research Article | Issue | Published: 12 September 2023

Efficient flexible perovskite solar cells and modules using a stable SnO2-nanocrystal isopropanol dispersion

Show Author's Information Zhiwei Su1,§,  Jing Li1,§,  Ruixuan Jiang1,  Shujie Zhang1,  Chengkai Jin1,  Feng Ye1,  Bingcan Ke1,  Mengjun Zhou1,2( ),  Jinhui Tong1,  Hyesung Park3( ),  Fuzhi Huang1,4,  Yi-Bing Cheng1,4,  Tongle Bu1( )
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
School of Material Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Semiconductor Materials and Devices Engineering, Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality, Low Dimensional Carbon Materials Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
Xianhu Laboratory of the Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Foshan 528200, China

§ Zhiwei Su and Jing Li contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:
tin oxide, flexible perovskite solar cells, isopropanol dispersion, colloid stability
Topics:
Perovskite solar cells
An erratum to this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6327-1
Cite this article:
Su Z, Li J, Jiang R, et al. Efficient flexible perovskite solar cells and modules using a stable SnO2-nanocrystal isopropanol dispersion. Nano Research, 2024, 17(4): 2704-2711. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6115-y
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

The outstanding advantages of lightweight and flexibility enable flexible perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to have great application potential in mobile energy devices. Due to the low cost, low-temperature processibility, and high electron mobility, SnO2 nanocrystals have been widely employed as the electron transport layer in flexible PSCs. To prepare high-quality SnO2 layers, a monodispersed nanocrystal solution is normally used. However, the SnO2 nanocrystals can easily aggregate, especially after long periods of storage. Herein, we develop a green and cost-effective strategy for the synthesis of high-quality SnO2 nanocrystals at low temperatures by introducing small molecules of glycerol, obtaining a stable and well-dispersed SnO2-nanocrystal isopropanol dispersion successfully. Due to the enhanced dispersity and super wettability of this alcohol-based SnO2-nanocrystal solution, large-area smooth and dense SnO2 films are easily deposited on the plastic conductive substrate. Furthermore, this contributes to effective charge transfer and suppressed non-radiative recombination at the interface between the SnO2 and perovskite layers. As a result, a greatly enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.8% from 19.2% is achieved for small-area flexible PSCs. A large-area 5 cm × 5 cm flexible perovskite solar mini-module with a champion PCE of 16.5% and good stability is also demonstrated via this glycerol-modified SnO2-nanocrystal isopropanol dispersion approach.


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Abstract
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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Efficient flexible perovskite solar cells and modules using a stable SnO2-nanocrystal isopropanol dispersion

Show Author's information Zhiwei Su1,§, Jing Li1,§, Ruixuan Jiang1, Shujie Zhang1, Chengkai Jin1, Feng Ye1, Bingcan Ke1, Mengjun Zhou1,2( ), Jinhui Tong1, Hyesung Park3( ), Fuzhi Huang1,4, Yi-Bing Cheng1,4, Tongle Bu1( )
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
School of Material Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Semiconductor Materials and Devices Engineering, Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality, Low Dimensional Carbon Materials Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
Xianhu Laboratory of the Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Foshan 528200, China

§ Zhiwei Su and Jing Li contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

The outstanding advantages of lightweight and flexibility enable flexible perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to have great application potential in mobile energy devices. Due to the low cost, low-temperature processibility, and high electron mobility, SnO2 nanocrystals have been widely employed as the electron transport layer in flexible PSCs. To prepare high-quality SnO2 layers, a monodispersed nanocrystal solution is normally used. However, the SnO2 nanocrystals can easily aggregate, especially after long periods of storage. Herein, we develop a green and cost-effective strategy for the synthesis of high-quality SnO2 nanocrystals at low temperatures by introducing small molecules of glycerol, obtaining a stable and well-dispersed SnO2-nanocrystal isopropanol dispersion successfully. Due to the enhanced dispersity and super wettability of this alcohol-based SnO2-nanocrystal solution, large-area smooth and dense SnO2 films are easily deposited on the plastic conductive substrate. Furthermore, this contributes to effective charge transfer and suppressed non-radiative recombination at the interface between the SnO2 and perovskite layers. As a result, a greatly enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.8% from 19.2% is achieved for small-area flexible PSCs. A large-area 5 cm × 5 cm flexible perovskite solar mini-module with a champion PCE of 16.5% and good stability is also demonstrated via this glycerol-modified SnO2-nanocrystal isopropanol dispersion approach.

Keywords: tin oxide, flexible perovskite solar cells, isopropanol dispersion, colloid stability

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 07 July 2023
Revised: 13 August 2023
Accepted: 18 August 2023
Published: 12 September 2023
Issue date: April 2024

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2023, corrected publication 2023

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Plan (No. 2019YFE0107200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22279099, 52202292, and 52172230), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Fund (No. 2021B1515120003), the NSF of Hubei Province (No. 2021CFB051), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. WUT: 2023IVA074), and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (No. 2019K1A3A1A61091345).

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