Development of Superior Nickel Oxide Layer for Boosted Hole‐Transport Performance in Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Although revolutionary power conversion efficiency progress has been realized for inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the selection and optimization of the hole‐transporting materials (HTMs) are still crucial for fabricating high‐efficiency, stable, and low‐cost PSCs. Nickel oxide (NiOx) is widely used in the PSCs community for material design and modification. However, various NiOx synthesis processes lead to kinds of NiOx, and it is difficult to determine which NiOx is suitable for application in PSCs. Herein, two kinds of NiOx HTMs are synthesized using sol–gel processed and chemical‐calcination‐processed (CCP) routes for the preparation of PSCs. Based on the physical properties of two kinds of NiOx HTMs as well as the corresponding photovoltaic parameters of PSCs, it is demonstrated that superior NiOx HTMs is obtained by the CCP method with the following properties: high transmittance to ensure sufficient sunlight capture of perovskite, appropriate energy levels to promote hole extraction and transfer, high conductivity to support charge transfer, and a good wetting surface to boost perovskite spreading and film formation. Thus, in this study, the direction for the reasonable selection of HTMs is pointed out to prepare efficient PSCs.