Q-1 WHAT IS PEROVSKITE?
ANS: A perovskite is any material with a gem structure
following the equation ABX3, which was first found as the
mineral called perovskite, which comprises of calcium titanium
oxide (CaTiO3) [ref-1]
With swift advancements in achieving a power conversion
efficiency (PCE) of up to 25%, solar cells based on metal
halide perovskites have emerged as transformative players
in the competitive landscape of photovoltaic performance.
The inception of solid-state perovskite solar cells in 2012
sparked a wave of extensive research in structural design,
materials chemistry, process engineering, and device
physics. This collective effort has propelled the solid-state
perovskite solar cell to the forefront as a promising
contender for the next generation of solar energy
harvesters.
The compelling features of these cells lie in their high
efficiency, coupled with the cost-effectiveness of materials
and processes, distinguishing them from commercial
silicon as well as other organic and inorganic solar cells.
The unique characteristics of perovskite materials suggest
the potential for pushing the PCE beyond the limits set by
silicon solar cells, inching closer to the Shockley−Queisser
limit. This review provides an overview of the foundational
principles underlying the optoelectronic properties of
perovskite materials, along with key methodologies for
fabricating high-efficiency perovskite solar cells.
Moreover, the discussion extends to potential strategies
for the next generation, exploring avenues to surpass the
Shockley−Queisser limit and further enhance the power
conversion efficiency.
Q-2 PEROVSKITE STRUCTURE?
ANS: The [ideal perovskite] has a very simple arrangement of ions that
is illustrated in Fig. 2. The cubic (isometric) structure is typified not by
CaTiO3 but by SrTiO3 with a=3.905 Å, Z=1, and space group O1 h–Pm3m.
The Ti atoms are located at the corners, and the Sr atoms at the center
of the cube. The oxygen is placed at the centers of the twelve cube
edges, giving corner-shared strings of TiO6 octahedra, which extend
infinitely in three dimensions. The TiO6 octahedra are perfect with 90 °
angles and six equal Ti-O bonds at 1.952 Å. Each Sr atom is surrounded
by twelve equidistant oxygen at 2.761 Å. The structural formula written
explicitly with coordination number of each ion and local symmetry is as
follows:
SrXIITiVI O3VI{SrXIITiVIO(II)} [ref-2]
The [ideal perovskite] can also be regarded as a cubic close-packed
structure in which the oxygen and the Sr atoms are stacked in cubic
close-packed layers along the cubic [111] direction. Some of the
resulting octahedral holes are occupied by Ti atoms. Some other ways
of presenting the structure are shown in Fig. 2(b) and 2(c).
Fig. 2 (a) The [ideal perovskite] structure, illustrated for SrTiO3 [2–4]. Note the corner-shared octahedra
extending in three dimensions. (b) and (c) Some other ways of presenting perovskite structure
Figure 3. (a) Perovskite crystal structure. For photovoltaically interesting perovskites, the large cation (A)
is usually the methylammonium ion (CH3NH3), the small cation (B) is Pb, and the X anion is a halogen ion
(usually I, although both Cl and Br are also receiving attention). For CH3NH3PbI3, the cubic phase forms
only at temperatures above 330 K. Reproduced with permission from ref 3. Copyright 2015 Elsevier.
Schematic structural representation of MAPbI3, where MA = methylammonium in the (b) pseudo cubic
and (c) tetragonal phases. The thick dashed lines indicate the unit cell, which contains C (black), N
(green), H (white), I (violet), and Pb (light gray) atoms; the highest symmetry phase for MAPbI3 and its
related materials is the cubic ((Pm3̅m) lattice phase, with sequential transitions lowering the symmetry
typically through octahedral tilting. The tilting collectively leads to the transition from the cubic to
tetragonal phase. Reproduced with permission from ref 4. Copyright 2013 American Chemical Society.
Q-3: HTL and ETL materials?
HTL means hole transport layer and ETL means electron
transport layer.
Perovskite solar cell (PSC) has gained lots of attention in the scientific
community because of achieving high efficiency in a short period of
time. The basic structure of PSC is the active layer sandwiched between
the electron transport layer (ETL) and hole transport layer (HTL). Overall
device performance depends on the materials of ETL and HTL. This
research studied the effect of different ETL and HTL materials and the
variation of active layer thickness on the PSC performance with the
Sentaurus TCAD simulator.
Q-4: DIFFERENT TYPES HTL and ELT MATERIALS?
ANS:For HTL and ETL, two types of materials were used: organic and
inorganic. Organic HTL material was spiro-OMeTAD, inorganic HTL
material was NiOx, Organic ETL was PCBM, and inorganic ETL was SnO2.
It was observed that inorganic ETL and organic HTL showed the best
result for the specific active layer thickness, and the best result was PCE
of 21.61%, Voc of 1.23 V, JSC of 19.31 mA/cm2 and FF of 90% [ref-5]
1. Wenk, Hans-Rudolf; Bulakh, Andrei (2004). Minerals: Their Constitution and Origin. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-52958-7.
2. Muller O, Roy R (1974) The Major Ternary Structural Families, Springer, Berlin Heidelberg N
3. Park, N.-G. Perovskite Solar Cells: An Emerging Photovoltaic Technology. Mater. Mater. Today
2015, 18, 65−72.
4. Egger, D. A.; Kronik, L. Role of Dispersive Interactions in Determining Structural Properties of
Organic−Inorganic Halide Perovskites: Insights from First-Principles Calculations. J. Phys. Chem.
Lett. 2014, 5, 2728−2733.
5. DOI-10.1016/[Link].2023.06.161