Perovskite sensitized erbium doped TiO2 photoanode solar cells with enhanced photovoltaic performance

The strategy of ion doping in metal oxide is generally used to enhance the photoanode film feature, attain a suitable energy band and enhance carrier mobility. Here, a rare earth element erbium was doped into TiO2 electron transport layer (ETL) by adding erbium trinitrate into the titanium precursor solution. In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to fabricate perovskite sensitized erbium doped TiO2 nanoparticle (Er3+@TNPs) photoanode solar cell with different hole transport materials (HTMs) and graphite coated counter electrode. The perovskite sensitized solar cell (PSSC) built with CH3NH3SnI3 sensitized Er3+@TNPs photoanode and spiro-MeOTAD HTM shows an impressive photovoltaic performance had the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 11.54% when compared to the undoped TiO2 photoanode PSSC. The results of this investigation indicate that the rare earth ion doping could be a promising method for producing effective ETL and enhanced performance PSSCs.