Superiority of Strontium-Doped Barium Titanate as an Electron Transport for Perovskite Solar Cells for Enhanced Efficiency and Thermal Stability
摘要
This study presents a detailed comparative analysis of three electron transport layer (ETL) materials for perovskite solar cells (PSCs), namely titanium dioxide (TiO2), barium titanate (BaTiO3 or BTO), and strontium-doped barium titanate (Ba1−xSrxTiO3 or BST), and their impact on the quantum efficiency (QE) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) PSCs. The optimized structure demonstrates that devices utilizing BST as an ETL achieved the highest PCE of 29.85%, exhibiting superior thermal stability with the lowest temperature coefficient of − 0.43%/K. This temperature-induced degradation is comparable to that of commercially available silicon cells. Furthermore, BST-based ETLs show 29.50% and 26.48% higher PCE than those of TiO2-based and BTO-based ETLs. The enhanced internal QE and favorable current density–voltage (J–V) characteristics of BST compared with those of TiO2 and BTO are attributed to its improved charge carrier separation, reduced recombination rates, and robust electrical characteristics under varied environmental conditions. Furthermore, the electric field and generation rate of the BST-based ETLs show a more favorable distribution than those of the TiO2-based and BTO-based ETLs. These findings provide significant insights into the role of different ETLs in enhancing QE, indicating that BST is a superior ETL that enhances both the efficiency and stability of PSCs. This study contributes to the understanding of how perovskite-structured ETLs can be used to design and optimize highly efficient and stable photovoltaic devices.