Cost-effective thiophene-assisted novel dopant-free hole transport materials for efficient perovskite solar cell performance

• Published in: Sustainable energy & fuels 2020-09, Vol.4 (9), p.4754-4767
• Main Authors: SasiKumar, M, Maddala, Gurulakshmi, Ambapuram, Meenakshamma, Subburu, Mahesh, Vaidya, Jayathirtha Rao, Babu, S. Narendra, Chetti, Prabhakar, Mitty, Raghavender, Pola, Someshwar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cost effectiveness; Dopants; Energy conversion efficiency; Perovskites; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaics; Short circuits; Solar cells
• ISSN: 2398-4902; 2398-4902
• DOI: 10.1039/d0se00549e

Hole transport material (HTM)-assisted halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have demonstrated excellent performances in photovoltaic technology within a short period of time. Herein, cost-effective hole transport materials (HTMs), namely BTBDT and BTDTP , were successfully synthesized using thiophene, and engineered into perovskite devices, exhibiting a higher photovoltaic performance than that of the commercially available Spiro-OMeTAD. The PSCs with BTBDT and BTDTP HTMs exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.96% and 17.60%, respectively. Under the exact conditions, the test device employing Spiro-OMeTAD demonstrated a PCE of 13.16%. The champion short-circuit density of 25.73 mA cm −2 was achieved in the present study for the BTDTP -assisted PSC. Furthermore, the device stability was examined after 60 days, demonstrating a PCE of 16.08% for BTDTP , which was much more stable than the Spiro-OMeTAD device (5.89%). Besides the unique device performance, the significant features such as simple synthetic process, dopant-free conditions and cost effectiveness of BTBDT and BTDTP make them plausible alternatives to Spiro-OMeTAD as the hole transport material in PSCs. Cost-effective, novel dopant-free hole transport material-assisted perovskite solar cells exhibit a champion short-circuit density 25.73 mA cm −2 and power conversion efficiency of 17.60%.