Advancements in the photovoltaic optimization of a high performance perovskite solar cell based on graphene oxide (GO) hole transport layer

Abstract

The increasing demand for efficient and sustainable green energy solutions has intensified the search for high-performance photovoltaic technologies. Herein, solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS-1D) is employed to simulate a novel solar cell design of the configuration, ITO/PC61BM/CH3NH3SnI3/GO/Fe. Various HTLs and electron transport layers (ETLs) are tested for comparison where graphene oxide (GO) HTL and PC61BM ETL exhibited exceptional electrical outcomes. The optimized PSC achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 36.27% with Voc of 1.3462 V, Jsc of 34.84 mA/cm², and FF of 77.32%. The built-in voltage (Vbi) of 0.31 V was derived from the band diagram at 300 K. Further exploration of the Mott-Schottky capacitance characteristics revealed that both donor and acceptor densities influence device performance. Notably, the Vbi remained stable at 0.32 V despite varying donor densities from 10¹⁰ cm⁻³ to 10¹⁹ cm⁻³, while increasing the acceptor density improved the Vbi from 0.2 to 0.72 V, suggesting remarkable operational performance at higher acceptor concentrations. This model device achieves maximum quantum efficiency of 100% between 360 and 700 nm, therefore it exhibits a good photon capture for enhanced power conversion. Although the present study is based on numerical analysis, the findings inspire the promise of fabricating a physical cell of robust operational performance that can be injected into the production workflow for commercial scalability.