Optimization of the Anti-Solvent Method for the Fabrication of Cu Electrode-Based High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cell

Abstract

Organic–inorganic lead halide perovskite is promising photovoltaic energy harvesting material to fabricate high-efficiency solar cells. To enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of the fabricated device, a high-quality, pinhole-free, and larger grain size perovskite film is essential. Anti-solvent-assisted crystallization is a popular technique to deposit perovskite thin film. With the help of this technique, perovskite layer can be deposited with smooth surface morphology, low surface defect density, and excellent carrier transport. However, choosing a proper anti-solvent is essential for highly efficient perovskite solar cells (PvSCs). Here, we qualitatively evaluate the impacts of different anti-solvent on methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> ) perovskite film. We used chlorobenzene (CB), diethyl ether (Eth), toluene (TL), and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) as an anti-solvent. Our result demonstrates that the anti-solvent with a relatively higher boiling point and lower polarity contributes to superior efficiency, low hysteresis, and better reproducibility of MAPbI <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> active layer-based PvSCs. The device fabricated with CB anti-solvent exhibits the best PCE of 8.16% with a Cu-based electrode. This work provides a promising approach to controlling the growth and morphology of perovskite films and paves the way for further optimizing the fabrication process of large-area low-cost electrode-based high-efficiency devices.