Photovoltaic energy conversion in multiferroic perovskite absorber-based devices via experiment and theoretical calculations

Abstract

Initially, La and Ti-doped BiFeO3 (BLFTO) was prepared through the solid-state method, and the formation of perovskite structure was confirmed through powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. SEM-EDX analysis confirms the merging of grains for the increasing concentration of Ti ion doping and the presence of all elements in the samples. The bandgap tuning in BLFTO (2.05 eV–2.11 eV) was analyzed through UV–vis spectroscopy and confirming the change in bandgap for Ti-doped BLFO samples. The observed energy bandgap range of the doped BFO absorber suggested its potential applications in solar cell devices. Therefore, we have designed lead-free FTO/TiO2/absorber/Spiro-OMeTAD/Au heterostructure device and achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of ∼5.61% with an open-circuit voltage (VOC) of ∼0.91 V, fill factor (FF) of 55.55%, and current density (JSC) of 10.87 mA/cm2 for lead-free doped Bi0.80La0.20Fe1−xTixO3 (x = 0.0) based perovskite solar cells with proper optimization of thickness of absorber and operating temperature.