Design of Dopant and Lead-Free Novel Perovskite Solar Cell for 16.85% Efficiency

Halide based perovskite offers numerous advantages such as high-efficiency, low-cost, and simple fabrication for flexible solar cells. However, long-term stability as well as environmentally green lead-free applications are the real challenges for their commercialization. Generally, the best reported perovskite solar cells are composed of toxic lead (Pb) and unstable polymer as the absorber and electron/hole-transport layer, respectively. Therefore, in this study, we proposed and simulated the photovoltaic responses of lead-free absorber such as cesium titanium (IV) bromide, Cs₂TiBr₆ with dopant free electron phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), and dopant free hole transport layer N,N'-Di(1-naphthyl)-N,N'-diphenyl-(1,1'-biphenyl)-4,4'-diamine (NPB) for the Ag/BCP/PCBM/Cs₂TiBr₆/NPB/ITO based perovskite solar cell. After comprehensive optimization of each layer through vigorous simulations with the help of software SCAPS 1D, it is observed that the proposed solar cell can yield maximum power-conversion efficiency up to 16.85%. This efficiency is slightly better than the previously reported power-conversion efficiency of a similar type of perovskite solar cell. We believe that the outcome of this study will not only improve our knowledge, but also triggers further investigation for the dopant and lead-free perovskite solar cell.