| Description |
Perovskite solar cells have gained popularity in recent years due to their simplicity in manufacturing. The aim of this work is to provide a direct means to increase perovskite solar cell efficiency by increasing the contact surface area between the perovskite and the electron-transfer material (ETM). The first stage of the project is a study on the creation of a mesoporous layer of TiO2 to serve as the electron transfer layer of a solar cell. Lead halide perovskites are the materials to be added onto this layer as the light harvesting component of the cell. The layer of TiO2 is made porous in order to increase the contact area with the perovskite, which increases the device's electron transfer. Pores in the TiO2 are created by mixing TiO2 paste with block-copolymers of different molecular weights, that when annealed at high temperatures, will etch away leaving nanopores behind. The second half consists of the microscopic characterization of these TiO2 surfaces, and correlation of changes in the device manufacturing process that to ETM porosity. We were able to successfully and consistently decrease the average pore radius by 84%. |
