Controllable synthesis of single crystalline Sn-based oxides and their application in perovskite solar cells

Eun Joo Yeom, Seong Sik Shin, Woon Seok Yang, Seon Joo Lee, Wenping Yin, Dasom Kim, Jun Hong Noh, Tae Kyu Ahn, Sang Il Seok

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41 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We synthesized single-crystalline Sn-based oxides for use as electron-transporting layers (ETLs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The control of the Zn-to-Sn cation ratio (Zn/Sn = 0-2) in a fixed concentration of hydrazine solution leads to the formation of various types of Sn-based oxides, i.e., spherical SnO2 and Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles (NPs), SnO2 nanorods, and Zn2SnO4 nanocubes. In particular, a ratio of Zn/Sn = 1 results in nanocomposites of single-crystalline SnO2 nanorods and Zn2SnO4 nanocubes. This is related to the concentration of free hydrazine unreacted with Zn and Sn ions in the reaction solution, because the resulting OH concentration affects the growth rate of intermediate phases such as ZnSn(OH)6, Zn(OH)42− and Sn(OH)62−. Additionally, we propose plausible pathways for the formation of Sn-based oxides in hydrazine solution. The Sn-based oxides are applied as ETLs and annealed at a low temperature below 150 °C in PSCs. The PSCs fabricated by using the nanocomposite ETLs consisting of single-crystalline SnO2 nanorods and Zn2SnO4 nanocubes exhibit superior device performance to TiO2-based PSCs due to their excellent charge collection ability and optical properties, achieving a power conversion efficiency of ≥17%.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)79-86
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry A
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP) of Korea under contract number. NRF-2011-0031565 (Global Frontier R&D Program for Multiscale Energy System), and NRF-2015M1A2A2056542 (climate change program), and NRF-2016R1A5A1009926 (Wearable platform Materials Technology Center: ERC program). This work was also supported by the KRICT-SKKU DRC program.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Royal Society of Chemistry.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Chemistry(all)
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Materials Science(all)

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