Citation

Eldjilali, Cheikh Zakaria and Low, Pei Ling and Thien, Gregory Soon How and Sin, Yew Keong and Yap, Boon Kar and Tan, Kar Ban and Chan, Kah Yoong (2026) The Influence of the TiO2 Compact Layer on the Performance of Carbon-Based Ambient-Synthesized CH3NH3PbI3 Solar Cells. Energies, 19 (8). p. 1935. ISSN 1996-1073

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Abstract

Since their discovery in 2009, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have demonstrated rapid progress. Ambient-processed, carbon-based PSCs utilizing a pre-heating step offer a costeffective fabrication route. Nevertheless, the role of the compact titanium dioxide (TiO2-c) layer in ambient conditions has remained under-explored and inconsistently reported in the literature. This study then investigated the impact of TiO2-c layer thickness, ranging from 70 nm to 155 nm, on the performance of PSCs fabricated entirely in ambient air with high relative humidity (RH > 70%). The layers were deposited via the sol-gel spin-coating method. Experimental results then revealed that the thinnest layer (70 nm) yielded the lowest average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.05% due to diminished Jsc and Voc values. The optimized TiO2-c thickness was also identified at 95 nm, achieving an average PCE of 2.95% and a peak efficiency of 4.5%. Structural analysis via XRD confirmed the presence of both anatase and brookite phases. Notably, increasing the thickness from 70 nm to 155 nm resulted in a slight reduction in the anatase peak and a corresponding increase in the brookite peak. The superior performance at 95 nm could be attributed to a balanced crystal intensity between these two phases. Furthermore, TiO2-c thickness was found to correlate with larger aggregate formation, better uniform shape grains, and reduced surface roughness, significantly influencing the morphology of the subsequent mesoporous TiO2-m layer. These findings then provided critical insights into how thickness variation in the TiO2-c layer could influence the performance of ambient-processed carbon-based PSCs.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Carbon-based solar cells; electron transport layer effect
Subjects:	T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering > TK4001-4102 Applications of electric power
Divisions:	Faculty of Artificial Intelligence & Engineering (FAIE)
Depositing User:	Ms Rosnani Abd Wahab
Date Deposited:	05 Jun 2026 04:10
Last Modified:	05 Jun 2026 04:10
URII:	http://shdl.mmu.edu.my/id/eprint/16007

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