Design and Synthesis of Crystalline Al-Doped TiO<sub>2</sub> Buffer Layers for Enhancing Energy Conversion Efficiency of New Photovoltaic Devices
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) characterized by high energy conversion efficiency (ECE) and low manufacturing costs, exhibit promising potential for commercialization in the near term. For commercialization, it is very important to prevent the decomposition of perovskite by ultraviolet (UV) radiation...
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2025-01-01
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| author | Dongin Kim Jiwon Lee Rakhyun Jeong Ki-Hwan Hwang Jin-Hyo Boo |
| author_facet | Dongin Kim Jiwon Lee Rakhyun Jeong Ki-Hwan Hwang Jin-Hyo Boo |
| author_sort | Dongin Kim |
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| description | Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) characterized by high energy conversion efficiency (ECE) and low manufacturing costs, exhibit promising potential for commercialization in the near term. For commercialization, it is very important to prevent the decomposition of perovskite by ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the air environment. Also, the mesoscopic architecture of PSCs presents considerable opportunities for the solar cell industry, offering potential for recycling of spent photocatalytic materials such as TiO<sub>2</sub>, and exploration of new energy resources. To solve these problems, therefore, this study introduces a strategy to mitigate these challenges using a crystalline Al-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> buffer layer as the electron transport layer (ETL) in conjunction with a mesoporous TiO<sub>2</sub> layer in the fabrication of PSCs. Among various Al concentrations in the crystalline Al-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> buffer layer fabricated via spin-coating, an optimum concentration of 7 mol% Al yielded the highest cell performance in the specific perovskite solar cell structure. These solar cells exhibited an impressive ECE of 11.87%, representing a substantial enhancement of nearly double the ECE (6.37%) achieved with the conventional ETL. This remarkable improvement can be attributed to the passivation effect of the newly developed ETL, which combines a crystalline Al-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> buffer layer with a mesoporousTiO<sub>2</sub> layer. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis was performed in conjunction with theoretical calculations of charge transport parameters to substantiate this claim. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-22df7d76eed143e0a94d6d391f8186e3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2073-4352 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-22df7d76eed143e0a94d6d391f8186e32025-01-24T13:28:13ZengMDPI AGCrystals2073-43522025-01-011517610.3390/cryst15010076Design and Synthesis of Crystalline Al-Doped TiO<sub>2</sub> Buffer Layers for Enhancing Energy Conversion Efficiency of New Photovoltaic DevicesDongin Kim0Jiwon Lee1Rakhyun Jeong2Ki-Hwan Hwang3Jin-Hyo Boo4Department of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of KoreaPerovskite solar cells (PSCs) characterized by high energy conversion efficiency (ECE) and low manufacturing costs, exhibit promising potential for commercialization in the near term. For commercialization, it is very important to prevent the decomposition of perovskite by ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the air environment. Also, the mesoscopic architecture of PSCs presents considerable opportunities for the solar cell industry, offering potential for recycling of spent photocatalytic materials such as TiO<sub>2</sub>, and exploration of new energy resources. To solve these problems, therefore, this study introduces a strategy to mitigate these challenges using a crystalline Al-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> buffer layer as the electron transport layer (ETL) in conjunction with a mesoporous TiO<sub>2</sub> layer in the fabrication of PSCs. Among various Al concentrations in the crystalline Al-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> buffer layer fabricated via spin-coating, an optimum concentration of 7 mol% Al yielded the highest cell performance in the specific perovskite solar cell structure. These solar cells exhibited an impressive ECE of 11.87%, representing a substantial enhancement of nearly double the ECE (6.37%) achieved with the conventional ETL. This remarkable improvement can be attributed to the passivation effect of the newly developed ETL, which combines a crystalline Al-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> buffer layer with a mesoporousTiO<sub>2</sub> layer. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis was performed in conjunction with theoretical calculations of charge transport parameters to substantiate this claim.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/15/1/76perovskite solar cellcrystalline Al-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> buffer layerenergy conversion efficiencyelectron transport layerpassivation effect |
| spellingShingle | Dongin Kim Jiwon Lee Rakhyun Jeong Ki-Hwan Hwang Jin-Hyo Boo Design and Synthesis of Crystalline Al-Doped TiO<sub>2</sub> Buffer Layers for Enhancing Energy Conversion Efficiency of New Photovoltaic Devices Crystals perovskite solar cell crystalline Al-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> buffer layer energy conversion efficiency electron transport layer passivation effect |
| title | Design and Synthesis of Crystalline Al-Doped TiO<sub>2</sub> Buffer Layers for Enhancing Energy Conversion Efficiency of New Photovoltaic Devices |
| title_full | Design and Synthesis of Crystalline Al-Doped TiO<sub>2</sub> Buffer Layers for Enhancing Energy Conversion Efficiency of New Photovoltaic Devices |
| title_fullStr | Design and Synthesis of Crystalline Al-Doped TiO<sub>2</sub> Buffer Layers for Enhancing Energy Conversion Efficiency of New Photovoltaic Devices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design and Synthesis of Crystalline Al-Doped TiO<sub>2</sub> Buffer Layers for Enhancing Energy Conversion Efficiency of New Photovoltaic Devices |
| title_short | Design and Synthesis of Crystalline Al-Doped TiO<sub>2</sub> Buffer Layers for Enhancing Energy Conversion Efficiency of New Photovoltaic Devices |
| title_sort | design and synthesis of crystalline al doped tio sub 2 sub buffer layers for enhancing energy conversion efficiency of new photovoltaic devices |
| topic | perovskite solar cell crystalline Al-doped TiO<sub>2</sub> buffer layer energy conversion efficiency electron transport layer passivation effect |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/15/1/76 |
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