A Design Based on a Charge-Transfer Bilayer as an Electron Transport Layer for Improving the Performance and Stability in Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

A highly efficient electron transport layer (ETL) is an essential constituent for good performance and stability in planar perovskite solar cells. Among n-type metal oxide materials, zinc oxide (ZnO) is a promising candidate for an electron transport layer due to its relatively high electron mobility, high transparency, and versatile nanostructures. However, it was found that several disadvantages could occur at the ZnO/perovskite interface, such as decomposition of CH3NH3PbI3 and poorly aligned energy levels. To overcome these issues, we present a design based on staircase band alignment of a low-temperature solution-processed ZnO/Al-doped ZnO (AZO) bilayer thin film as electron transport layers in planar perovskite solar cells. Experimental results revealed that the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells was significantly increased from 12.3% to 16.1% by employing the AZO thin film as the buffer layer. Meanwhile, the short-circuit current density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), a...