Optimization of Interfacial Engineering of Perovskite Solar Cells

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted global attention as one of the most promising photovoltaic materials due to their high efficiency, low energy consumption and low cost. However, non-radiative recombination caused by interface defects severely inhibits the performance of PSCs. To solve this critical issue, the particle size of nickel oxide (NiOx) hole transport layer was reduced to improve the particle size uniformity and achieve efficient hole transport. Furthermore, the antisolvent acting time of the perovskite film was optimized to reduce the interfacial non-radiative recombination and interfacial defect. As a result, the crystalline quality is improved and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the perovskite solar cells increase from 10.11% to 18.37%. Kelvin probe atomic force microscopy (KPFM) study shows that the contact potential difference (CPD) of the optimized perovskite film in the illumination condition increases by 120.39 mV compared with that under the dark condition. Analysis by piezoelectric atomic force microscopy (PFM) reveals that the ferroelectric polarization of the optimized interfacial perovskite films hardly changes from illumination to dark states, indicating that reducing interfacial defects can decrease the hysteresis effect of the PSCs. It is concluded that optimizing the NiOx hole transport layer and improving the quality of perovskite film can reduce the interface defects, the non-radiative recombination and the hysteresis effect, and improve PCE of perovskite solar cells.