High Performing Inverted Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells via Solution Phase Deposition of Yttrium-Doped SnO2 Directly on Perovskite

Solution processing of flexible perovskite solar cells (f-PSCs) provides an avenue for scalable, high-throughput printing of lightweight, scalable, and cost-effective flexible solar cells. However, the deposition of fully solution-processed metal oxide charge transport layers on perovskites has been limited by solvent incompatibilities and high processing temperatures for metal oxide nanoparticles. In this study, we present high-performance, inverted f-PSCs from the direct deposition of yttrium doped SnO2 nanoparticles functionalized with acetate on top of perovskite as an ink in anhydrous ethanol via blade coating. Yttrium doping improved device performance by improving the charge extraction with a decreased series resistance leading to improvements in the open-circuit voltage and fill factor. The champion power conversion efficiency for 0.1 cm2 devices increased from 14.3% for undoped SnO2 to 16.5% with 2% Y:SnO2 doping, which is unprecedented for f-PSCs on ITO-PET substrates employing SnO2 as an ETL.

Automated summary

Solution processing of flexible perovskite solar cells enables scalable, high-throughput printing of lightweight and cost-effective solar cells. However, the deposition of metal oxide charge transport layers has been limited by solvent incompatibilities and high processing temperatures. In this study, we achieve high-performance, inverted flexible perovskite solar cells by directly depositing yttrium-doped SnO2 nanoparticles functionalized with acetate on top of perovskite using blade coating. Yttrium doping improves charge extraction and reduces series resistance, leading to increased efficiency.