Formamidinium-based planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells with alkali carbonate-doped zinc oxide layer

We herein demonstrate n-i-p-type planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells employing spin-coated ZnO nanoparticles modified with various alkali metal carbonates including Li₂CO₃, Na₂CO₃, K₂CO₃ and Cs₂CO₃, which can tune the energy band structure of ZnO ETLs. Since these metal carbonates doped on ZnO ETLs lead to deeper conduction bands in the ZnO ETLs, electrons are easily transported from the perovskite active layer to the cathode electrode. The power conversion efficiency of about 27% is improved due to the incorporation of alkali carbonates in ETLs. As alternatives to TiO₂ and n-type metal oxides, electron transport materials consisting of doped ZnO nanoparticles are viable ETLs for efficient n-i-p planar heterojunction solar cells, and they can be used on flexible substrates via roll-to-roll processing.