MXene-based novel nanocomposites doped SnO 2 for boosting the performance of perovskite solar cells

Alhamada, T. F. and Hanim, M. A. Azmah and Jung, D. W. and Saidur, R. and Nuraini, A. A. and Hasan, W. Z. Wan and Tan, K. H. and Noh, M. Mohamad and Teridi, M. A. M. (2024) MXene-based novel nanocomposites doped SnO 2 for boosting the performance of perovskite solar cells. Scientific Reports, 14 (1): 14638. p. 14638. ISSN 2045-2322

Abstract

Since being first published in 2018, the use of two-dimensional MXene in solar cells has attracted significant interest. This study presents, for the first time, the synthesis of an efficient hybrid electrocatalyst in the form of a nanocomposite (MXene/CoS)-SnO2 designed to function as a high-performance electron transfer layer (ETL). The study can be divided into three distinct parts. The first part involves the synthesis of single-layer Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets, followed by the preparation of a CoS solution. Subsequently, in the second part, the fabrication of MXene/CoS heterostructure nanocomposites is carried out, and a comprehensive characterization is conducted to evaluate the physical, structural, and optical properties. In the third part, the attention is on the crucial characterizations of the novel nanocomposite-electron transport layer (ETL) solution, significantly contributing to the evolution of perovskite solar cells. Upon optimising the composition, an exceptional power conversion efficiency of more than 17.69% is attained from 13.81% of the control devices with fill factor (FF), short-circuit current density (Jsc), and open-circuit voltage (Voc) were 66.51%, 20.74 mA/cm2, and 1.282 V. Therefore, this PCE is 21.93% higher than the control device. The groundbreaking MXene/CoS (2 mg mL−1) strategy reported in this research represents a promising and innovative avenue for the realization of highly efficient perovskite solar cells.