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Managing interfacial properties of planar perovskite solar cells using Y3N@C80 endohedral metallofullerene

通过Y3N@C80内嵌金属富勒烯修饰调节钙钛矿太阳能电池的界面性质

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Abstract

Fullerene derivatives have a wide range of applications in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), such as electron transport layers (ETLs), interfacial modifiers, and additives. However, there have been few studies of the use of endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs) to improve the performance of PSCs. Here, a novel EMF (Y3N@C80) was synthesized and used as an interfacial modifier in PSC devices based on a SnO2 ETL. Energy level mismatches and detrimental carrier recombination have been observed in devices with a pristine SnO2 ETL, but these issues are alleviated with the assistance of Y3N@C80. A significant increase in open-circuit voltage from 1.106 V (SnO2) to 1.14 V (SnO2-Y3N@C80), an increase in power conversion efficiency from 20.59% to 21.66%, and a marked reduction in hysteresis were observed, which were attributed to the more suitable conduction band energy levels and more effective electron extraction at the SnO2-Y3N@C80/perovskite interface. In addition, the stability of the target devices was improved, which may be due to the hydrophobicity of Y3N@C80 and a reduction in trap states.

摘要

富勒烯衍生物在钙钛矿太阳能电池(PSC)中具有广泛的应用, 例如作为电子传输层(ETL)、 界面改性剂或添加剂. 然而, 很少有研究报道利用内嵌金属富勒烯(EMF)来改善PSC的性能. 在此, 本文报道了一种新颖的Y3N@C80 EMFs的合成, 并将其用作SnO2 ETL基PSCs的界面改性剂. 结果表明, 在SnO2 ETL器件中观察到的能级不匹配和载流子复合严重等问题, 在Y3N@C80分子的修饰下得以改善. 与SnO2 ETL相比, 由于SnO2-Y3N@C80/钙钛矿界面之间更合适的能级排列和更快的电子提取, 器件开路电压(VOC)从1.10 V (SnO2)显著提高到1.14 V (SnO2-Y3N@C80), 能量转换效率由20.59%提高到21.66%, 并大大降低了电池的滞后效应. 此外, Y3N@C80的疏水性和晶界减少导致缺陷态密度降低, 使得目标器件的稳定性也有所提高.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Sichuan Science and Technology Program(2022YFSY0040) and the Science Project of Southwest Petroleum University (2021JBGS08).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Photovoltaic, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, 610500, China

    **angqing Zhou  (周祥青), Wenfeng Zhang  (章文峰), Fang Wen  (文芳), Qian Chen  (陈谦), **aolong Shen  (申小龙), **n Hu  (胡鑫), Changtao Peng  (彭长涛), Zhu Ma  (马柱), Meng Zhang  (张萌) & Yuelong Huang  (黄跃龙)

  2. College of Environment and Resources, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing, 400067, China

    Song Wang  (汪松)

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Shangfeng Yang  (杨上峰)

  4. Yunnan Key Laboratory of Carbon Neutrality and Green Low-carbon Technologies, School of Materials and Energy, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China

    Wenhua Zhang  (张文华)

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  1. **angqing Zhou  (周祥青)
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  2. Wenfeng Zhang  (章文峰)
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  3. Song Wang  (汪松)
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  4. Fang Wen  (文芳)
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  5. Qian Chen  (陈谦)
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  7. **n Hu  (胡鑫)
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  11. Yuelong Huang  (黄跃龙)
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Contributions

Author contributions Zhou X carried out the main experiments and wrote the draft; Zhang WF proposed and designed the project; Wang S synthesized the Y3N@C80; Wen F and Chen Q carried out the data analysis; Shen X and Hu X helped to fabricate the devices; Peng C, Ma Z, Zhang M, and Huang Y advised on the discussion of results; Yang S and Zhang WH directed the project.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Wenfeng Zhang  (章文峰), Song Wang  (汪松) or Wenhua Zhang  (张文华).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Supplementary information Supporting data are available in the online version of the paper.

**angqing Zhou received her Bachelor’s degree in materials chemistry from Civil Aviation University of China, in 2019. She is now a graduate student at the Southwest Petroleum University (SWPU) supervised by Dr. Wenfeng Zhang. Her research interests focus on the preparation of nanomaterials and interface engineering for perovskite solar cells.

Wenfeng Zhang received his PhD degree from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2013. He is now an associate professor at SWPU. His current research interests include nano-engineered devices and nanomaterials’ application in organic/perovskite solar cells.

Song Wang received his Bachelor’s degree in applied chemistry from Chongqing University in 2011 and PhD degree in materials science from USTC in 2016. He is now a lecturer at Chongqing Technology and Business University. His main interests focus on the synthesis and derivatization of (endohedral) fullerenes and their applications in perovskite solar cells.

Wenhua Zhang is a professor at Yunnan University. He received his PhD degree from Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2000. His research interests mainly focus on energy chemistry and optoelectronic devices, in particular on the fields of perovskite solar cells and photovoltaic electrolysis of water for hydrogen production.

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Zhou, X., Zhang, W., Wang, S. et al. Managing interfacial properties of planar perovskite solar cells using Y3N@C80 endohedral metallofullerene. Sci. China Mater. 65, 2325–2334 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-021-1983-3

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