Low-Temperature Graphene-Based Paste for Large-Area Carbon Perovskite Solar Cells

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) face stability challenges, hindering commercialization.
• Carbon-based counter electrodes (C-CEs) offer a promising solution for cost-effective and stable PSCs.
• Current high-efficiency PSCs often rely on expensive or unstable materials like gold electrodes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and characterize efficient, paintable carbon perovskite solar cells (C-PSCs) using graphene-based C-CEs.
• To evaluate the performance and stability of these C-PSCs across different device architectures and areas.
• To demonstrate the scalability and compatibility of graphene C-CEs with large-area and metallized PSCs.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of C-PSCs with low-temperature-processed graphene-based carbon paste as C-CEs.
• Characterization of small-area (0.09 cm²) and large-area (1 cm²) mesoscopic and planar n-i-p C-PSCs.
• Assessment of thermal stability using the ISOS-D-2 protocol and evaluation of metallization compatibility on miniwafer-like areas.

Main Results:

• Small-area mesoscopic C-PSCs achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.81% with enhanced thermal stability.
• Large-area mesoscopic and planar C-PSCs reached PCEs of 13.85% and 14.06%, respectively, without complex fabrication steps.
• Record PCEs of 13.86% (active area) and 12.10% (aperture area) were achieved for metallized miniwafer-like C-PSCs, demonstrating scalability.

Conclusions:

• Graphene-based C-CEs enable efficient and stable C-PSCs through a simple, low-temperature, solution-processed method.
• The developed C-PSCs offer a viable, cost-effective, and scalable alternative to traditional PSCs, particularly for large-area applications.
• Monolithic, all-solution-processed C-PSCs are a reliable configuration, mitigating issues associated with traditional perovskite solar modules.