• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 2024

To improve charge transfer and surface contact between NiO and perovskite, sol-gel derived NiO is modified with [2-(9H-car-bazol-9-yl)ethyl] phosphonic acid (2PACz) in p-i-n structured perovskite solar cells (PeSCs). The phosphonic acid head group in the 2PACz can bind to the hydroxyl groups on the surface of NiO by a condensation reaction, which results in a better-matched energy level with the valence band of perovskite layers, reducing nonradiative recombination and energy loss. Furthermore, the formation of pin-hole free perovskite films is observed in the 2PACz modified NiO system. Consequently, the combination of sol-gel processed NiO with optimal 2PACz exhibits a higher efficiency of 17.08% and superior stability under ambient air conditions without any encapsulation, compared to a bare NiO based device showing 13.69%.