Perovskite solar cells with CuI inorganic hole conductor

An organic material, 2,2\u27,7,7\u27-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)9,9\u27-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD), is generally used as a hole conductor of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), but spiro-OMeTAD is much more expensive than other materials used in PSCs. In this study, we have prepared PSCs with a cost-effective CuI hole transport layer by spin coating. The merit of using spin coating for CuI is good compatibility with other steps, such as spin coating of a TiO2 electron transport layer and a perovskite active layer. The CuI-based PSC recorded power conversion efficiencies of η = 2.22% (max) on the day of production and η = 6.52% (max) after the 20 days of production. Moreover, the CuI-based PSC had a smaller hysteresis than the spiro-based PSC, suggesting that CuI is a highly promising alternative hole conductor for PSCs