Deciphering the role of (Er3+/Nd3+) co-doping effect on TiO2 as an improved electron transport layer in perovskite solar cells

• Published in: Solar energy 2023-09, Vol.262, p.111801, Article 111801
• Main Authors: Katta, Venkata Seshaiah, Dileep, Reshma K., Ramasamy, Easwaramoorthi, Veerappan, Ganapathy, Raavi, Sai Santosh Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Erbium; Neodymium; Oxygen vacancy; Perovskite solar cell; Rare earth co-doping; TiO2 photoanode
• ISSN: 0038-092X; 1471-1257
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2023.111801

[Display omitted] •A series of Er3+/Nd3+-codoped TiO2 compositions were synthesized using a solid-state grinding technique and used as photoanodes to build PSC devices.•The phase transition deterioration (anatase to rutile) is discovered upon RE-doping, as indicated by Rietveld refinement analysis.•Changes in energy level shifting are identified using UPS. Changing TiO2 defect sites creates a favorable environment for charge dynamics by tuning the band structure.•The PL quenching effects and shorter TrPL decays of CsMAFAPbIBr coated Er/Nd-TiO2 showed improved charge transfer and injection.•Compared to the test device, the ideal Er0.002Nd0.002Ti0.996O2 composite photoanode-based PSC exhiting the higher PCE% compared with other compositions. Charge injection and transport at the interface of the electron transport layer (ETL) and perovskite interface are crucial for the perovskite solar cell (PSC) device performance. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is well established as a photoanode in numerous solar energy conversion and storage. The bandgap engineering of TiO2 by Rare-Earth (RE)-doping has become a significant way to improve the optoelectronic device performance. This study demonstrates the improved performance of Rare-Earth doped TiO2 (RETO) photoanode based solar cells under the doping of Er3+, Nd3+ and following codoping of the (Er3+/Nd3+) effect. It is note that the Er, and Nd dopants are responsible for producing Ti3+ states and the oxygen vacancies near the surface, which drives the charge transportation much more effectively. With the (Er/Nd) codoping into TiO2, the band structure of TiO2 is modified better to make a quasi-Ohmic contact with the perovskites, by fermi level shifting as well changes in the conduction band minima (ECBM) energy states. This results evidence the preliminary conformation for the improvement of Jsc and Voc. Furthermore, the photoluminescence (PL) emission quenching effects of perovskite-deposited RETO attributes the suppression in the charge recombination. By insight into all these favourable results in the(Er3+/Nd3+) codoped TiO2, the RETO photoanode-based perovskite solar cell (PSC) devices were constructed and exhibited improved photovoltaic properties. The composition of (Er0.002Nd0.002Ti0.996O2) ETL employed PSC reported with a better photoconversion efficiency (PCE %) among all the compositions.