Abstract
Halide perovskite indoor photovoltaics (PV) are a viable solution to autonomously power the billions of sensors in the huge technology field of the Internet of Things. However, there exists a knowledge gap in the hysteresis behaviour of these photovoltaic devices under indoor lighting conditions. The present work is the first experimental study dedicated to exploring the degree of hysteresis in halide perovskite indoor photovoltaic devices by carrying out both transient J–V scan and steady state maximum power point tracking (MPPT) measurements. Dependence of hysteresis on device architecture, selection of electron transporting layers and the composition of the perovskite photoactive layers were investigated. Under indoor illumination, the p-i-n MAPbI3-based devices show consistently high power conversion efficiency (PCE) (stabilized PCE) of greater than 30% and negligible hysteresis behaviour, whereas the n-i-p MAPbI3 devices show poor performance (stabilized PCE ∼ 15%) with pronounced hysteresis effect. Our study also reveals that the n-i-p triple cation perovskite devices are more promising (stabilized PCE ∼ 25%) for indoor PV compared to n-i-p MAPbI3 due to their suppressed ion migration effects. It was observed that the divergence of the PCE values estimated from the J–V scan measurements, and the maximum power point tracking method is higher under indoor illumination compared to 1 Sun, and hence for halide perovskite-based indoor PV, the PCE from the MPPT measurements should be prioritized over the J–V scan measurements. The results from our study suggest the following approaches for maximizing the steady state PCE from halide perovskite indoor PV: (i) select perovskite active layer composition with suppressed ion migration effects (such as Cs-containing triple cation perovskites) and (ii) for the perovskite composition such as MAPbI3, where the ion migration is very active, p-i-n architecture with organic charge transport layers is beneficial over the n-i-p architecture with conventional metal oxides (such as TiO2, SnO2) as charge transport layers.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Developing resilient energy systems’.
Highlights
The Internet of Things (IoT)—connecting everyday electrical objects to the Internet—has the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing industry, transport and building sectors through real-time process monitoring and enhancing energy security
To further verify the enhanced hysteresis of n-i-p architecture under indoor lighting conditions, the hysteresis effect was compared for n-i-p MAPbI3 devices using three different electron transport layers (ETLs) based on modified TiO2, planar TiO2 (p-TiO2), mesoporous TiO2 and lithium-doped TiO2 (Li-TiO2)
Our investigation of the hysteresis behaviour of halide perovskites indoor photovoltaic devices using the methods of J–V scan and steady state maximum power point tracking (MPPT) revealed that p-i-n MAPbI3 devices using all-organic transport layers are highly promising for indoor light harvesting with consistently high power conversion efficiency (PCE) and negligible hysteresis effect
Summary
The Internet of Things (IoT)—connecting everyday electrical objects to the Internet—has the potential to revolutionize the manufacturing industry, transport and building sectors through real-time process monitoring and enhancing energy security. The J–V hysteresis behaviour of the most widely studied halide perovskite, CH3NH3PbI3 in p-i-n and n-i-p device architectures (as shown in figure 1b,c, respectively) was compared under indoor LED lighting and 1 Sun illumination. To further verify the enhanced hysteresis of n-i-p architecture under indoor lighting conditions, the hysteresis effect was compared for n-i-p MAPbI3 devices using three different ETLs based on modified TiO2, planar TiO2 (p-TiO2), mesoporous TiO2 (mp-TiO2) and lithium-doped TiO2 (Li-TiO2) (schematic of device structures shown in figure 2a–c) These ETLs were selected because these are the most commonly used electron transporting layers in perovskite solar cells other than SnO2 [37–39]. The TCA devices showed significantly reduced hysteresis under indoor lighting compared to 1 Sun, and for both illuminations, the effect was reduced with slower scan rates resulting in better overlap of the PCE values for the forward and reverse scans. 8 4 0 16 12 8 4 0 16 12 8 4 0 p-TiO2 versus mp-TiO2 versus Li-TiO2: 1 Sun p-TiO2 mp-TiO2
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