Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

High fill factor over 82% enabled by a biguanide doping electron transporting layer in planar perovskite solar cells

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Frontiers of Optoelectronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

N-type doping in electron transport materials is an effective way to improve the electron collection and enhance the performance of the perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, for the first time, an antibiotic and antimicrobial compound of 1-(o-Tolyl) biguanide (oTb) is used to dope the electron transport material of phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The oTb doping into the PCBM can increase the conductivity and reduce the work function of the PCBM. The oTb doping can significantly enhance the fill factor (FF) of the perovskite solar cells with the structure of glass/ITO/NiOx/MAPbI3/(oTb)PCBM/(PEIE)/Ag. For the cells without PEIE (polyethylenimine ethoxylated) coating, the oTb doping increases the FF from 0.57 to 0.73. S-shaped of the current density-voltage (J-V) characteristic under illumination is removed after the oTb doping. For the cells with PEIE coating between the (oTb)PCBM and Ag, the oTb doping increases the FF from 0.70 to 0.82. These results show the potential of the oTb as an n-dopant in the applications of perovskite solar cells.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. https://doi.org/www.nrel.gov/ncpv/images/efficiency_chart.jpg

  2. Polman A, Knight M, Garnett E C, Ehrler B, Sinke W C. Photovoltaic materials: present efficiencies and future challenges. Science, 2016, 352(6283): aad4424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Correa-Baena J P, Saliba M, Buonassisi T, Grätzel M, Abate A, Tress W, Hagfeldt A. Promises and challenges of perovskite solar cells. Science, 2017, 358(6364): 739–744

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Rajagopal A, Yao K, Jen A K. Toward perovskite solar cell commercialization: a perspective and research roadmap based on interfacial engineering. Advanced Materials, 2018, 30(32): e1800455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Jiang Y, Luo B, Jiang F, Jiang F, Fuentes-Hernandez C, Liu T, Mao L, Xiong S, Li Z, Wang T, Kippelen B, Zhou Y. Efficient colorful perovskite solar cells using a top polymer electrode simultaneously as spectrally selective antireflection coating. Nano Letters, 2016, 16 (12): 7829–7835

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Qin F, Tong J H, Ge R, Luo BW, Jiang F Y, Liu T F, Jiang Y Y, Xu Z Y, Mao L, Meng W, Xiong S X, Li Z F, Li L Q, Zhou Y H. Indium tin oxide (ITO)-free, top-illuminated, flexible perovskite solar cells. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2016, 4(36): 14017–14024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bai Y, Meng X, Yang S. Interface engineering for highly efficient and stable planar p-i-n perovskite solar cells. Advanced Energy Materials, 2018, 8(5): 1701883

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Luo D, Yang W, Wang Z, Sadhanala A, Hu Q, Su R, Shivanna R, Trindade G F, Watts J F, Xu Z, Liu T, Chen K, Ye F, Wu P, Zhao L, Wu J, Tu Y, Zhang Y, Yang X, Zhang W, Friend R H, Gong Q, Snaith H J, Zhu R. Enhanced photovoltage for inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells. Science, 2018, 360(6396): 1442–1446

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Gu P Y, Wang N, Wang C Y, Zhou Y C, Long G K, TianMM, Chen W Q, Sun X W, Kanatzidis M G, Zhang Q C. Pushing up the efficiency of planar perovskite solar cells to 18.2% with organic small molecules as the electron transport layer. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2017, 5(16): 7339–7344

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Li M, Zhao C, Wang Z K, Zhang C C, Lee H K H, Pockett A, Barbé J, Tsoi W C, Yang Y G, Carnie M J, Gao X Y, Yang W X, Durrant J R, Liao L S, Jain S M. Interface modification by ionic liquid: a promising candidate for indoor light harvesting and stability improvement of planar perovskite solar cells. Advanced Energy Materials, 2018, 8(24): 1801509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Mali S S, Hong C K. p-i-n/n-i-p type planar hybrid structure of highly efficient perovskite solar cells towards improved air stability: synthetic strategies and the role of p-type hole transport layer (HTL) and n-type electron transport layer (ETL) metal oxides. Nanoscale, 2016, 8(20): 10528–10540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Wang Z K, Liao L S. Doped charge-transporting layers in planar perovskite solar cells. Advanced Optical Materials, 2018, 6(17): 1800276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Zhao T, Chueh C C, Chen Q, Rajagopal A, Jen A K Y. Defect passivation of organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites by diammonium iodide toward high-performance photovoltaic devices. ACS Energy Letters, 2016, 1(4): 757–763

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Liang P W, Chueh C C, Williams S T, Jen A K Y. Roles of fullerenebased interlayers in enhancing the performance of organometal perovskite thin-film solar cells. Advanced Energy Materials, 2015, 5 (10): 1402321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Kuang C, Tang G, Jiu T, Yang H, Liu H, Li B, Luo W, Li X, Zhang W, Lu F, Fang J, Li Y. Highly efficient electron transport obtained by doping PCBM with graphdiyne in planar-heterojunction perovskite solar cells. Nano Letters, 2015, 15(4): 2756–2762

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Tang C G, Ang M C, Choo K K, Keerthi V, Tan J K, Syafiqah M N, Kugler T, Burroughes J H, Png R Q, Chua L L, Ho P K. Doped polymer semiconductors with ultrahigh and ultralow work functions for ohmic contacts. Nature, 2016, 539(7630): 536–540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Chang C Y, Huang W K, Chang Y C, Lee K T, Chen C T. A solution-processed n-doped fullerene cathode interfacial layer for efficient and stable large-area perovskite solar cells. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2016, 4(2): 640–648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Zhou H, Chen Q, Li G, Luo S, Song T B, Duan H S, Hong Z, You J, Liu Y, Yang Y. Interface engineering of highly efficient perovskite solar cells. Science, 2014, 345(6196): 542–546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Yuan D X, Yuan X D, Xu Q Y, Xu M F, Shi X B, Wang Z K, Liao L S. A solution-processed bathocuproine cathode interfacial layer for high-performance bromine-iodine perovskite solar cells. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2015, 17(40): 26653–26658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Lin Y, Shen L, Dai J, Deng Y, Wu Y, Bai Y, Zheng X, Wang J, Fang Y, Wei H, Ma W, Zeng X C, Zhan X, Huang J. p-conjugated lewis base: efficient trap-passivation and charge-extraction for hybrid perovskite solar cells. Advanced Materials, 2017, 29(7): 1604545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Hu L, Liu T, Sun L, Xiong S, Qin F, Jiang X, Jiang Y, Zhou Y. Suppressing generation of iodine impurity via an amidine additive in perovskite solar cells. Chemical Communications, 2018, 54(37): 4704–4707

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Jiang Y Y, Li J, Xiong S X, Jiang F Y, Liu T F, Qin F, Hu L, Zhou Y H. Dual functions of interface passivation and n-doping using 2,6-dimethoxypyridine for enhanced reproducibility and performance of planar perovskite solar cells. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2017, 5(33): 17632–17639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Ye Q Q, Wang Z K, Li M, Zhang C C, Hu K H, Liao L S. N-type doping of fullerenes for planar perovskite solar cells. ACS Energy Letters, 2018, 3(4): 875–882

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Li M, Wang Z K, Kang T, Yang Y, Gao X, Hsu C S, Li Y, Liao L S. Graphdiyne-modified cross-linkable fullerene as an efficient electron-transporting layer in organometal halide perovskite solar cells. Nano Energy, 2018, 43: 47–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Hu L, Liu T, Duan J, Ma X, Ge C, Jiang Y, Qin F, Xiong S, Jiang F, Hu B, Gao X, Yi Y, Zhou Y. An amidine-type n-dopant for solutionprocessed field-effect transistors and perovskite solar cells. Advanced Functional Materials, 2017, 27(41): 1703254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Bin Z Y, Li J W, Wang L D, Duan L. Efficient n-type dopants with extremely low doping ratios for high performance inverted perovskite solar cells. Energy & Environmental Science, 2016, 9 (11): 3424–3428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Wang Z, McMeekin D P, Sakai N, van Reenen S, Wojciechowski K, Patel J B, Johnston M B, Snaith H J. Efficient and air-stable mixedcation lead mixed-halide perovskite solar cells with n-doped organic electron extraction layers. Advanced Materials, 2017, 29(5): 1604186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Beaula T J, Muthuraja P, Sethuram M, Dhandapani M, Rastogi V K, Jothy V B. Biological and spectral studies of O-tolyl biguanide: experimental and theoretical approach. Journal of Molecular Structure, 2017, 1128: 290–299

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Zhou Y, Fuentes-Hernandez C, Shim J, Meyer J, Giordano A J, Li H, Winget P, Papadopoulos T, Cheun H, Kim J, Fenoll M, Dindar A, Haske W, Najafabadi E, Khan T M, Sojoudi H, Barlow S, Graham S, Brédas J L, Marder S R, Kahn A, Kippelen B. A universal method to produce low-work function electrodes for organic electronics. Science, 2012, 336(6079): 327–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Jiang F Y, Liu T F, Luo B W, Tong J H, Qin F, Xiong S X, Li Z F, Zhou Y H. A two-terminal perovskite/perovskite tandem solar cell. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2016, 4(4): 1208–1213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Liu T, Jiang F, Qin F, Meng W, Jiang Y, Xiong S, Tong J, Li Z, Liu Y, Zhou Y. Nonreduction-active hole-transporting layers enhancing open-circuit voltage and efficiency of planar perovskite solar cells. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016, 8(49): 33899–33906

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 21474035 and 51773072), the Recruitment Program of Global Youth Experts, the Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) Innovation Research Fund (Nos. 2016JCTD111 and 2017KFKJXX012), the Science and Technology Program of Hubei Province (No. 2017AHB040) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project (No. 2016M602289).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Ru Ge, Fei Qin, Lin Hu, Sixing Xiong & Yinhua Zhou

Authors
  1. Ru Ge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fei Qin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lin Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sixing Xiong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yinhua Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yinhua Zhou.

Additional information

Ru Ge received her B.S. degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in 2016. She is now a M.S. student in Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, HUST, Wuhan. Her current research interests focus on conducting polymers and interface engineering in organic photovoltaics.

Fei Qin received his B.S. degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) in 2015. He is now a Ph.D. candidate in Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, HUST,Wuhan. His Ph. D. research includes interface engineering and flexible, stretchable solar cells.

Lin Hu received his B.S. (2013) and M.S. (2016) degrees at Nanchang University, China. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Yinhua Zhou in Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan. His current research interests focus on materials development and device engineering in organic and perovskite solar cells.

Sixing Xiong received his B.S. degree from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in 2014. He is now a Ph.D. candidate in Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan. His research includes device engineering in flexible solar cells and printed electronics.

Prof. Yinhua Zhou received his bachelor (2003) and Ph.D. (2008) degrees both from Jilin University, China. During his Ph.D. study, he spent one year in Prof. Olle Inganäs group as a visiting Ph.D. student in 2007–2008. After that, he worked as postdoctoral fellow in the Georgia Institute of Technology from 2009 to 2013 with Prof. Bernard Kippelen. Since October of 2013, he started the current position as a faculty member in Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. His research interest includes conducting polymers, organic photovoltaics and printed electronics.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ge, R., Qin, F., Hu, L. et al. High fill factor over 82% enabled by a biguanide doping electron transporting layer in planar perovskite solar cells. Front. Optoelectron. 11, 360–366 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-018-0847-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-018-0847-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation