Effects of Antisolvent Treatment on Copper(I) Thiocyanate Hole Transport Layer in n-i-p Perovskite Solar Cells

Copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) is considered an efficient HTL of low cost and with high stability in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the diethyl sulfide solvent used for CuSCN preparation is known to cause damage to the underlying perovskite layer in n-i-p PSCs. Antisolvent treatment of CuSCN during spin-coating can effectively minimize interfacial interactions. However, the effects of antisolvent treatment are not sufficiently understood. In this study, the effects of five different antisolvents were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the antisolvent treatment improved the crystallinity of the CuSCN layer on the perovskite layer and reduced damage to the perovskite layer. However, X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy analyses showed that antisolvent treatment did not affect the chemical bonds or electronic structures of CuSCN. As a result, the power conversion efficiency of the PSCs was increased from 14.72% for untreated CuSCN to 15.86% for ethyl-acetate-treated CuSCN.