Conductive glass free carbon nanotube micro yarn based perovskite solar cells.

Abstract Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a promising photovoltaic technology on the lab scale due to their high power conversion efficiency, simple device fabrication, all solid-state structure and the possibility to integrate traditional devices into fiber format. In this work, a three-dimensional (3D) perovskite solar cell is demonstrated using functionalized carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn as both the cathode and anode material. TiO 2 and 2,2,7,-7-tetrakis(N , N -di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD) are used as the electron transporting and hole transporting material respectively. The TiO 2 oxide layer is deposited on the top of the twisted carbon nanotube yarn and annealed with TiCl 4 to generate the uniform electron transport layer. A dip coating process is employed to produce a uniform perovskite layer on top of the TiO 2 oxide layer. Platinized carbon nanotube yarn is wrapped around on the top of the hole transporting layer and serves as the counter electrode. The photovoltaic characterization of the prepared cells was carried out at different cell lengths. Under AM 1.5 (100 mW cm−2) illumination it shows an enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) with a high open current voltage (V OC) of 0.825 V. This three-dimensional all solid-state perovskite solar cell shows a promising prospect in portable and wearable textile electronics. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • An all solid state carbon nanotube yarn based perovskite solar cell has been developed. • Three-dimensional perovskite solar cells based on CNT yarn exhibit high open current voltage. • Carbon nanotube yarn based cells are flexible and capable of harvesting incident photons from any direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]