Find in Library

In this study, inorganic stannite quaternary Cu₂M(M = Ni, Co)SnS₄ (CMTS) is explored as a low-cost, earth abundant, environmentally friendly and chemically stable hole transport material (HTM). CMTS nanoparticles were synthesized via a facile and mild solvothermal method and processed into aggregated nanoparticle inks, which were applied in n-i-p perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The results show that Cu₂NiSnS₄ (CNiTS) is more promising as an HTM than Cu₂CoSnS₄ (CCoTS), showing efficient charge injection as evidenced by considerable photoluminescence quenching and lower series resistance from Nyquist plots, as well as higher power conversion efficiency (PCE). Moreover, the perovskite layer coated by the CMTS HTM showed superior environmental stability after 200 h light soaking in 50% relative humidity, while organic HTMs suffer from a severe drop in perovskite absorption. Although the obtained PCEs are modest, this study shows that the cost effective and stable inorganic CMTSs are promising HTMs, which can contribute towards PSC commercialization, if the field can further optimize CMTS energy levels through compositional engineering.