Enhancing the efficiency of planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells via interfacial engineering with 3-aminopropyl trimethoxy silane hydrolysate

• Main Authors: Ya-Qiong Wang, Shou-Bin Xu, Jian-Guo Deng, Li-Zhen Gao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2017-01-01
• Series: Royal Society Open Science
• Subjects: 3-aminopropyl trimethoxy silane; interfacial engineering; perovskite solar cells
• Online Access: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.170980
• ISSN: 2054-5703

The interfacial compatibility between compact TiO2 and perovskite layers is critical for the performance of planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs). A compact TiO2 film employed as an electron-transport layer (ETL) was modified using 3-aminopropyl trimethoxy silane (APMS) hydrolysate. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs composed of an APMS-hydrolysate-modified TiO2 layer increased from 13.45 to 15.79%, which was associated with a significant enhancement in the fill factor (FF) from 62.23 to 68.04%. The results indicate that APMS hydrolysate can enhance the wettability of γ-butyrolactone (GBL) on the TiO2 surface, form a perfect CH3NH3PbI3 film, and increase the recombination resistance at the interface. This work demonstrates a simple but efficient method to improve the TiO2/perovskite interface that can be greatly beneficial for developing high-performance PSCs.