Performance Analysis of Calcium-Doped Titania (TiO<sub>2</sub>) as an Effective Electron Transport Layer (ETL) for Perovskite Solar Cells
Zafar Arshad,
Sehar Shakir,
Asif Hussain Khoja,
Ahad Hussain Javed,
Mustafa Anwar,
Abdur Rehman,
Rahat Javaid,
Umair Yaqub Qazi,
Sarah Farrukh
Affiliations
Zafar Arshad
School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Sehar Shakir
U.S.-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Asif Hussain Khoja
U.S.-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Ahad Hussain Javed
U.S.-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Mustafa Anwar
U.S.-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy (USPCAS-E), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Abdur Rehman
School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Rahat Javaid
Renewable Energy Research Center, Fukushima Renewable Energy Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, AIST, 2-2-9 Machiikedai, Koriyama 963-0298, Japan
Umair Yaqub Qazi
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Hafr Al Batin, P.O. Box 1803, Hafr Al Batin 39524, Saudi Arabia
Sarah Farrukh
School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
Ca-doped TiO2 films were synthesized by the modified sol-gel method and employed as the electron transport material of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Morphological, optoelectronic, thermal, and electrical studies of thin films were investigated through XRD, RAMAN, SEM, AFM, UV-Vis, FTIR, and IV characteristics. Ca doping was detected with the help of structural properties while morphological analysis revealed that thin films based on Ca-doped titania are crack-free, homogenous, and uniformly distributed. Further optoelectronic properties have shown a promising conversion efficiency of 9.79% for 2% Ca-doped titania followed by 1% Ca-doped titania, while 3% have shown the lowest conversion efficiency among these prepared samples. The 2% an optimized doping of Ca has shown an almost two-fold increase in conversion efficiency in comparison to pristine TiO2, along with an increase in current density from 15 mA⋅cm−2 to 19.3 mA⋅cm−2. Improved energy efficiency and higher current density are attributed to faster electron transportation; moreover, the optimized percentage of Ca doping seems to be an effective approach to improve the PSCs’ performance.
