Studying VOC in lead free inorganic perovskite photovoltaics by tuning energy bandgap and defect density

In hybrid perovskite photovoltaics (hPPV) highest reported efficiency is similar to 25.2%. However, stability and toxicity are major concern towards commercialization. To improve stability, various approaches were made by research communities. Utilizing inorganic perovskite photoactive materials is one such approach to improve stability. Toxic element 'Pb' can be substituted with suitable non-toxic elements such as 'Sn' without sacrificing efficiency and stability. In CsPbI3, replacing Sn in place of Pb results in the PCE of similar to 13%. However, efficiency of this PV is lagging 12% as compared with hybrid perovskite PV. This difference should be overcome to compete with hPPV. To improve the efficiency of inorganic PPV various experimental strategies were adopted. In this study, SCAPS simulation was carried out on FTO/TiO2/CsSnI3/spiro-OMeTAD/Au by altering E-g, energetic position of conduction and valence band, defect density, and thickness of semiconductor. Obtained results were analyzed and reported in this work.

Automated summary

Researchers have made efforts to improve the stability of hybrid perovskite photovoltaics by substituting toxic element Pb with non-toxic element Sn, while also adopting various experimental strategies, including SCAPS simulation, to improve efficiency.