Improving dopant-free polymeric hole transport materials for perovskite quantum dot solar cells

• Solar cells are thought about to be an eco-friendly resource of power generation that can successfully minimize the effect of air pollution on the atmosphere. In particular, perovskite quantum dot solar cells have attracted considerable attention from the academia due to their reduced production expense as well as their ability to be related to flexible materials, which standard silicon solar cells lack.

The efficiency of perovskite quantum dot solar cells is mostly dependent on the performance of hole transport materials that are accountable for charge transportation. Nevertheless, the use of conventional hole transport materials in perovskite cells can cause quick destruction because of dopants. Because of this, there has been a requirement to research study option hole transport materials that do not require dopants.

The study team led by Professor Taiho Park as well as Ph.D. candidates Dae Hwan Lee and Seyeong Lim from the Department of Chemical Engineering at POSTECH has actually produced a new design of polymeric hole transport materials that constitute a vital element in perovskite quantum dot solar cells, resulting in considerable boost in their efficiency. The research searchings for have actually been published in ACS Energy Letters.

The team designed hole transport materials that include polymers based upon sulfur as well as selenium compounds. These polymers exhibit structural attributes, such as planarization and locking of intermolecular arrangements, which enhance charge mobility. Moreover, asymmetric alkyl substituents of the polymers assist in molecular interactions, therefore matching the electric properties of cells.

The efficiency of the freshly made polymers was examined through tests utilizing a control group. The outcomes indicate that solar cells employing hole transport materials containing selenium compounds achieved 15.2% of power conversion performance (PCE), keeping 80% of their initial PCE even after 40 days.

The searchings for of this research demonstrate that the recently created hole transport materials can effectively increase charge mobility without using dopants, leading to the highest possible PCE and increased stability in dopant-free perovskite quantum dot solar cells.

Professor Taiho Park that led the research explained, "The research searchings for stand for a paradigm change from conventional charge transport materials and also are anticipated to be utilized in future research study on solar cell devices."