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A facile method to obtain colloidal dispersions of nickel hydroxide: Improving the processing of nickel oxide and facilitating its upscaling for perovskite-type solar devices
,
Eurig Jones,
Suzanne Thomas,
Matthew Davies ,
Peter Holliman ,
Jenny Baker,
Cecile Charbonneau
Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, Volume: 698, Start page: 134524
Swansea University Authors:
Rafa Marti Valls, Rodrigo Garcia Rodriguez, Diana Meza Rojas, Tom Dunlop , Eurig Jones, Suzanne Thomas, Matthew Davies , Peter Holliman , Jenny Baker, Cecile Charbonneau
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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2024.134524
Abstract
Nickel hydroxide has been successfully employed as a precursor to the widely used, inorganic hole transport material (HTM) nickel oxide (NiOx). However, manufacturing NiOx HTM layers from nickel hydroxide is more complicated than those involving organometallic precursors due to its poor solubility/d...
| Published in: | Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects |
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| ISSN: | 0927-7757 1873-4359 |
| Published: |
Elsevier BV
2024
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa66717 |
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| Abstract: |
Nickel hydroxide has been successfully employed as a precursor to the widely used, inorganic hole transport material (HTM) nickel oxide (NiOx). However, manufacturing NiOx HTM layers from nickel hydroxide is more complicated than those involving organometallic precursors due to its poor solubility/dispersibility. We report here a substantial increase in nickel hydroxide dispersibility in organic solvents by complexing it with monoethanolamine. These improvements have enabled us to develop a simpler method for processing nickel hydroxide that resemble the known sol-gel method. The new metal complex remains dispersed for months and converts to nickel oxide at a temperature similar to that of nickel hydroxide (270-300 ºC). An extensive characterisation of NiOx films obtained from the deposited precursor has been carried out. Perovskites solar cells have also been built with these films as a proof of concept, showing promising results for the layers sintered at low (270 ºC) and high (500 ºC) temperatures. The pixel with highest efficiency for both sintering temperatures were 14.7% and 16.7%, respectively, which are close to or surpass the ones of the control samples (15.4% and 15.7%, respectively). The applied unpaired t-test statistical method showed that the mean efficiency values for our thick samples prepared at 270 oC are not statistically different from those of the control cells. Furthermore, the samples prepared at 500 oC presented a significant statistical difference with the control cells, showing higher average efficiencies (12.8% and 13.3% versus 11.4% and 11.7%, reverse and forward measurements, respectively). The simplicity of the manufacturing method developed, together with the use of non-toxic organic compounds for its preparation and the promising results observed in solar devices, makes it suitable for being upscaled. |
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| Keywords: |
Nickel hydroxide; nickel oxide; semiconductor processing; nanoparticle dispersion; perovskite solar cells |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
This research was funded by the 2014-2020 Structural Funds programme supporting the ERDF funded SPECIFIC 2 project and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre (EP/N020863/1). We gratefully acknowledge funding from the EPSRC ECR Fellowship NoRESt EP/S03711X/1 (RMV and JB), EPSRC EP/P030068/1 (PJH), EP/S018107/1 (EWR) and the EU SPARC-II (DMR). RGR would like to acknowledge the IMPACT operation which has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government and Swansea University. The XPS, XRD and Raman systems were financed by Sêr Cymru Solar, a project funded by the Welsh Assembly Government. We would like to thank the access to characterisation equipment to Swansea University Advanced Imaging of Materials (AIM) facility, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (EP/M028267/1) and the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government (80708). |
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134524 |