Stannite Quaternary Cu 2 M(M = Ni, Co)SnS 4 as Low Cost Inorganic Hole Transport Materials in Perovskite Solar Cells

Zohreh Shadrokh, Shima Sousani, Somayeh Gholipour, Zahra Dehghani, Yaser Abdi and Bart Roose
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Zohreh Shadrokh: Nanophysics Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Tehran, Tehran 1439955961, Iran
Shima Sousani: Nanophysics Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Tehran, Tehran 1439955961, Iran
Somayeh Gholipour: Nanophysics Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Tehran, Tehran 1439955961, Iran
Zahra Dehghani: Department of Physics, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur 9319774400, Iran
Yaser Abdi: Nanophysics Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Tehran, Tehran 1439955961, Iran
Bart Roose: Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, 19 J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-11

Abstract: In this study, inorganic stannite quaternary Cu 2 M(M = Ni, Co)SnS 4 (CMTS) is explored as a low-cost, earth abundant, environmentally friendly and chemically stable hole transport material (HTM). CMTS nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile and mild solvothermal method and processed into aggregated nanoparticle inks, which were applied in n-i-p perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The results show that Cu 2 NiSnS 4 (CNiTS) is more promising as an HTM than Cu 2 CoSnS 4 (CCoTS), showing efficient charge injection as evidenced by considerable photoluminescence quenching and lower series resistance from Nyquist plots, as well as higher power conversion efficiency (PCE). Moreover, the perovskite layer coated by the CMTS HTM showed superior environmental stability after 200 h light soaking in 50% relative humidity, while organic HTMs suffer from a severe drop in perovskite absorption. Although the obtained PCEs are modest, this study shows that the cost effective and stable inorganic CMTSs are promising HTMs, which can contribute towards PSC commercialization, if the field can further optimize CMTS energy levels through compositional engineering.

Keywords: perovskite solar cell; quaternary chalcogenide semiconductor; inorganic hole transport material (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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