Low‐Temperature Remote Plasma Synthesis of Highly Porous TiO <sub>2</sub> as Electron Transport Layers in Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract Halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) offer high efficiency at low production costs, making them a promising solution for future photovoltaic technologies. Optimizing charge transport layers is crucial, with porous TiO 2 widely used as electron transport layers (ETLs) due to their suitable energy band alignment, transparency, and abundance. However, their performance depends strongly on crystallinity, requiring high‐temperature processing (&gt;450 °C), which increases costs and limits their applicability on flexible substrates. Low‐temperature wet‐chemical methods face scalability issues due to material waste and hazardous solvents. Therefore, plasma‐based technologies provide a scalable, eco‐friendly alternative for fabricating oxide‐based ETLs. This study presents a plasma‐based synthesis of TiO 2 layers using remote plasma‐assisted vacuum deposition (RPAVD) and soft plasma etching (SPE) at temperatures below 200 °C, enabling precise control over microstructure and porosity. The resulting nanocolumnar and aerogel‐like TiO 2 films are antireflective and enhance optical and electronic properties, leading to improved PSC efficiency (champion PCE = 14.6%) comparable to high‐temperature processed devices. The devices are based on a 3D organometal perovskite with mixed cations (MA, FA, Cs, Rb) and halides (I, Br), with a nominal composition of (Rb 0.03 Cs 0.03 FA 0.69 MA 0.25 )(PbI 3 ) 0.83 (PbBr 3 ) 0.17 . Our results highlight the potential of RPAVD+SPE for producing low‐temperature ETLs, offering a feasible, industrially scalable solution for flexible, high‐performance photovoltaics.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials Interfaces
Published
2025-10-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202500241
Primary Topic
Perovskite Materials and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Low‐Temperature Remote Plasma Synthesis of Highly Porous TiO 2 as Electron Transport Layers in Perovskite Solar Cells

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Low‐Temperature Remote Plasma Synthesis of Highly Porous TiO 2 as Electron Transport Layers in Perovskite Solar Cells

T.C. Rojas, Jose Obrero‐Perez, F. J. Ferrer, Ana Borrás, Francisco J. Aparicio, Ángel Barranco, Juan R. Sánchez‐Valencia, Fernando Nuñez‐Galvez, Javier Castillo‐Seoane, Lidia Contreras‐Bernal, Triana Czermak, Gloria P. Moreno
article en

Abstract

Abstract Halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) offer high efficiency at low production costs, making them a promising solution for future photovoltaic technologies. Optimizing charge transport layers is crucial, with porous TiO 2 widely used as electron transport layers (ETLs) due to their suitable energy band alignment, transparency, and abundance. However, their performance depends strongly on crystallinity, requiring high‐temperature processing (&gt;450 °C), which increases costs and limits their applicability on flexible substrates. Low‐temperature wet‐chemical methods face scalability issues due to material waste and hazardous solvents. Therefore, plasma‐based technologies provide a scalable, eco‐friendly alternative for fabricating oxide‐based ETLs. This study presents a plasma‐based synthesis of TiO 2 layers using remote plasma‐assisted vacuum deposition (RPAVD) and soft plasma etching (SPE) at temperatures below 200 °C, enabling precise control over microstructure and porosity. The resulting nanocolumnar and aerogel‐like TiO 2 films are antireflective and enhance optical and electronic properties, leading to improved PSC efficiency (champion PCE = 14.6%) comparable to high‐temperature processed devices. The devices are based on a 3D organometal perovskite with mixed cations (MA, FA, Cs, Rb) and halides (I, Br), with a nominal composition of (Rb 0.03 Cs 0.03 FA 0.69 MA 0.25 )(PbI 3 ) 0.83 (PbBr 3 ) 0.17 . Our results highlight the potential of RPAVD+SPE for producing low‐temperature ETLs, offering a feasible, industrially scalable solution for flexible, high‐performance photovoltaics.

Advanced Materials InterfacesVol. 12(21)
Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Sevilla (ES), Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (ES), Universidad de Sevilla (ES)
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Openalex Percentile: Top 70%
Perovskite Materials and Applications
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