Synthesis of nickel oxide (NiO) quantum dots as a hole transport layer for solar cell application

Wan Mohd Nasir, Wan Irne Aida (2022) Synthesis of nickel oxide (NiO) quantum dots as a hole transport layer for solar cell application. Project Report. Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Melaka, Malaysia. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with high efficiency and stability remain challenging, despite tremendous progress since its first publication in 2009. The efficiency of this rapidly evolving solar technology has increased from 3.8% in 2009 to over 25% in recent years. Moreover, the introduction of an interfacial layer between perovskite and hole transport material is one technique for successfully improving both performance. Poly (2,3-dihydrothieno-1, 4-dioxin)-poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) is typically used as a hole transport layer in PSCs. However, PEDOT: PSS has some disadvantages, including inconsistent quality from distributors, a poor electron blocker, and a water-absorbing tendency. Nevertheless, Nickel Oxide (NiO) has been observed to have high stability and carrier mobility. Moreover, it is transparent as a thin film and has bandgap alignment between 3.6 to 3.2 eV also has a comparable work function in PSCs. NiO has been employed to replace PEDOT: PSS as a hole transport layer with satisfactory referring from previous findings. In this work, nickel acetate precursors were used in combination with the sol-gel spin coating method to synthesize NiO. The effects of different pH value during synthesized were also examined with the pH values of 9 and 10. After that, the films were annealed at temperatures of 500°C, 600°C, and 700°C. It was found that, the synthesized NiO solutions were separated into two layers which are, top layer (supernatant) and the bottom layer (precipitate). Next, the morphological, structural, and optical features of both layers were studied using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. As a results, the XRD data shows that the crystalline quality of NiO was enhanced by increasing the annealing temperature. Thus, the PSCs that synthesised using NiO thin film exhibit unique material features, such as a long lifespan degradation, a low rate of degradation and subsequently indicating great promise in low cost solar cells technology.

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