First demonstration of perovskite solar cell technology on paper substrate

Key developments have been a top MoOx/Au/MoOx transparent electrode, a bottom Au/Sno2 electrode, and a low temperature UV-irradiated mesoporous TiO2 scaffold

29 Aug 2017 | Editor

Researchers at the Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE), Department of Electronic Engineering University of Rome has recently published their results for a perovskite solar cell on a paper substrate. The findings have been published in IEEE Electron Device Letters.

According to the researchers perovksite solar cells have mainly been built on glass or PET substrates with ITO electrode. Paper offers the benefit being light weight, flexible, inexpensive, ubiquitous and environmentally friendly. Solar cells on paper substrates bring the idea of disposable electronics one step closer to with a disposable power source.

The researchers reported that the first perovskite solar cell on paper substrate incorporating a bottom opaque Au/SnO2 electron collecting electrode and a top transparent MoOx/Au/MoOx hole collecting electrode has delivered a The PCE of 2.7% representing state-of-the-art performance for solar cells directly manufactured on opaque cellulose paper.

By comparing the results with those of devices made on glass and on PET with different electrodes, it is shown that the photovoltaic performance depends on the transmittance vs resistivity properties of the contact through which light is shone, the quality of the bottom electron-extracting contact and that of the underlying substrate.

The researchers have identified that future work will focus on improving these issues highlighted in the research paper, including enhancing rectification behaviour, and the performance of top transparent electrode as well as stability.

Finally, the current approach to manufacturing relies only on evaporation and solution processing making the perovskite technology easy to integrate with other electronic components based on organic and hybrid semiconductors on the same paper substrate. This sets the stage for powering paper-based electronics in the future.

"The efficiency was 2.7% which we believe is the highest reported for a solar cell directly deposited on a flexible opaque paper substrate. We also highlight the steps that can lead to 10% efficiency or more in the future by analysing performance of cells on different substrates and with different electrodes.

"All deposition processes are scalable and compatible with large area printing or evaporation technologies. Paper represents a lightweight, flexible, inexpensive, ubiquitous, and environmentally friendly cellulosic material, paving the way for integrating perovskite technology with other electronic components on paper as well as for the development of independent light-harvesting photovoltaic devices on recyclable and low-cost cellulose paper substrates."

Prof. Thomas M. Brown, Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE), Department of Electronic Engineering University of Rome

Perovskite solar cells on paper and the role of substrates and electrodes on performance

Sergio Castro-Hermosa | Janardan Dagar | Andrea Marsella | Thomas M. Brown

Abstract

The first perovskite solar cell (PSC) fabricated directly on a paper substrate is here reported delivering a maximum power conversion efficiency of 2.7%. The paper PSCs (PPSC) were developed with a low-temperature paper/Au/SnO2/meso-TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/Spiro-OMeTAD/MoOx/ Au/MoOx architectureutilizingAu/SnO2 and MoOx/Au/MoOx stacks as electron- and hole- extracting electrodes respectively. The transparent MoOx/Au/MoOx electrode had a favourable combination of transmittance (62.5%) and sheet resistance ( 9 Ω/□ ). By comparing performance of cells on paper with those fabricated on glass and plastic films with different electrodes, we identify avenues to guide future improvements. All deposition processes are scalable and compatible with large area printing or evaporation technologies. Paper represents a lightweight, flexible, inexpensive, ubiquitous, and environmentally friendly cellulosic material, paving the way for integrating perovskite technology with other electronic components as well as for the development of independent light-harvesting photovoltaic devices on recyclable and low-cost cellulose paper substrates.

About Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE)

The Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE) was founded in 2006 from the will of the Lazio Region and the University of Rome Tor Vergata to create a center of excellence in the field of next-generation photovoltaics. CHOSE is distributed across several laboratories, both within the University Campus of Tor Vergata and the Technopole Tiburtino.

The latter consists of a 400 square meter laboratory that houses equipment for the fabrication and characterization of organic, hybrid, dye sensitized and perovskite photovoltaic cells, modules and panels and 150 square meters of office space for the incubation of spin-offs generated from research at CHOSE. The other laboratories, totalling roughly 300 square meters in extension, are located within different departments of Tor Vergata. At CHOSE there work more than 30 researchers including graduate students, postdocs and staff. CHOSE has also many collaborations at the regional, national and international levels.

The main objectives of CHOSE consist in the development of fabrication processes for organic and hybrid organic / inorganic solar devices, the definition of a process for the industrialization of these innovative photovoltaic technologies, the technological transfer of these and the development of photovoltaic applications in collaboration with companies at both the domestic and international level.

Source: Centre for Hybrid and Organic Solar Energy (CHOSE)