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Ultrafast Flame Annealing of TiO 2 Paste for Fabricating Dye‐Sensitized and Perovskite Solar Cells with Enhanced Efficiency
Author(s) -
Kim Jung Kyu,
Chai Sung Uk,
Cho Yoonjun,
Cai Lili,
Kim Sung June,
Park Sangwook,
Park Jong Hyeok,
Zheng Xiaolin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201702260
Subject(s) - materials science , dye sensitized solar cell , annealing (glass) , mesoporous material , tin oxide , chemical engineering , energy conversion efficiency , nanotechnology , nanoparticle , oxide , electrode , optoelectronics , composite material , metallurgy , catalysis , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering , electrolyte
Mesoporous TiO 2 nanoparticle (NP) films are broadly used as electrodes in photoelectrochemical cells, dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), and perovskite solar cells (PSCs). State‐of‐the‐art mesoporous TiO 2 NP films for these solar cells are fabricated by annealing TiO 2 paste‐coated fluorine‐doped tin oxide glass in a box furnace at 500 °C for ≈30 min. Here, the use of a nontraditional reactor, i.e., flame, is reported for the high throughput and ultrafast annealing of TiO 2 paste (≈1 min). This flame‐annealing method, compared to conventional furnace annealing, exhibits three distinct benefits. First, flame removes polymeric binders in the initial TiO 2 paste more completely because of its high temperature (≈1000 °C). Second, flame induces strong interconnections between TiO 2 nanoparticles without affecting the underlying transparent conducting oxide substrate. Third, the flame‐induced carbothermic reduction on the TiO 2 surface facilitates charge injection from the dye/perovskite to TiO 2 . Consequently, when the flame‐annealed mesoporous TiO 2 film is used to fabricate DSSCs and PSCs, both exhibit enhanced charge transport and higher power conversion efficiencies than those fabricated using furnace‐annealed TiO 2 films. Finally, when the ultrafast flame‐annealing method is combined with a fast dye‐coating method to fabricate DSSC devices, its total fabrication time is reduced from over 3 h to ≈10 min.