Highly Improved Sb2S3 Sensitized‐Inorganic–Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells and Quantification of Traps by Deep‐Level Transient Spectroscopy

Abstract

The light‐harvesting Sb2S3 surface on mesoporous‐TiO2 in inorganic–organic heterojunction solar cells is sulfurized with thioacetamide (TA). The photovoltaic performances are compared before and after TA treatment, and the state of the Sb2S3 is investigated by X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and deep‐level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). Although there are no differences in crystallinity and composition, the TA‐treated solar cells exhibit significantly enhanced performance compared to pristine Sb2S3‐sensitized solar cells. From DLTS analysis, the performance enhancement is mainly attributed to the extinction of trap sites, which are present at a density of (2–5) × 1014 cm−3 in Sb2S3, by TA treatment. Through such a simple treatment, the cell records an overall power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.5% through a metal mask under simulated illumination (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm–2) with a very high open circuit voltage of 711.0 mV. This PCE is, thus far, the highest reported for fully solid‐state chalcogenide‐sensitized solar cells.