Abstract
The synthesis and characterization of low‐temperature solution‐processable monodispersed nickel cobaltite (NiCo2O4) nanoparticles (NPs) via a combustion synthesis is reported using tartaric acid as fuel and the performance as a hole transport layer (HTL) for perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) is demonstrated. NiCo2O4 is a p‐type semiconductor consisting of environmentally friendly, abundant elements and higher conductivity compared to NiO. It is shown that the combustion synthesis of spinel NiCo2O4 using tartaric acid as fuel can be used to control the NPs size and provide smooth, compact, and homogeneous functional HTLs processed by blade coating. Study of PVSCs with different NiCo2O4 thickness as HTL reveals a difference on hole extraction efficiency, and for 15 nm, optimized thickness enhanced hole carrier collection is achieved. As a result, p‐i‐n structure of PVSCs with 15 nm NiCo2O4 HTLs shows reliable performance and power conversion efficiency values in the range of 15.5% with negligible hysteresis.
Highlights
Up to now, sol–gel method is the most commonly used technique for the fabrication of the p-type metal oxides
Solution combustion synthesis has the advantage of rapidly producing homogeneous metal oxide materials with fine grain size, and most significantly at much lower temperature compared with the conventional solid-state reaction processes and co-precipitation methods
Thin films of NiCo2O4 NPs were produced on top of quartz and indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates using the doctor-blading technique, the processing parameters are described within the Experimental Section.Figure 3 demonstrates the surface topography of a 15 nm thick NiCo2O4 film fabricated on top of glass/ ITO and quartz substrates, as obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) scans
Summary
Sol–gel method is the most commonly used technique for the fabrication of the p-type metal oxides. NiCo2O4 NPs with an average size of ≈4 nm and narrow particle-size distribution were prepared using a cost-effective, low-temperature combustion synthesis method calcinated at 250 °C for 1 h Those ultrafine NPs enable the formation of compact, very smooth, high electrically conductive, and relatively optically transparent. The results demonstrate the great potentials of applying the low-temperature combustion synthesis for fabrication of highly reproducible and reliable metal oxide NPs which can be used for the formation of HTLs in variety of solution-processed printed electronic devices
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