Solution processable oxides for inverted and carbon-based perovskite solar cells

Resumen

This thesis is dedicated to the enhancement of the photovoltaic response of Perovskite Solar Cells (PSCs) with the use of semiconductor oxides as electronic transport materials. Semiconductor oxides of the type REOx, where RE stands for rare earth, can serve as charge transporting materials, due to their good transparency and charge transfer. The selected hole transport materials (HTMs) and electron transport material (ETMs) have been characterized using experimental techniques such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Photoelectron Spectroscopies (XPS-UPS) in order to better understand the degree of crystallinity and the electronic properties of these semiconductor oxides. Two architectures have been used, in order to improve efficiency, stability and reduce manufacturing costs: inverted and carbon-based architectures. C-based PSCs are fully printable and provide a rather simple fabrication. We have also found that the use of NiOx as a HTM in an inverted architecture can improve the photovoltaic parameters of PSC devices. Microscopy techniques, such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Focused Ion Beam (FIB) were also employed to determine the morphology of the layers and to understand the degradation mechanisms that occur at the interface level with the final aim of enhancing the photovoltaic performance and stability of solar cell devices. Finally, the functionalization of metal-oxide interlayers (TiO2/ZrO2) in C-based PSCs using organic molecules such as 5 aminovaleric acid iodide (5-AVAI) has been increased the performance of these kind of solar cells. We experimentally fabricated a C-based PSC with a PCE as high as 11.5 % under AM 1.5G illumination at 100 mW/cm2 after several optimization of the complete working device. Also, the CPSCs show good long-term stability under irradiation conditions as has been reported for more than 1000 h. This work addresses the technological issues stated above and proposes suitable concepts for the improvement in terms of efficiency and stability employing semiconductor oxides in PSCs.