Improving efficiency of planar hybrid CH3NH3PbI3-xClx perovskite solar cells by isopropanol solvent treatment

Hybrid organic/inorganic perovskite planar heterojunction (PHJ) solar cells are becoming one of the most competitive emerging technologies. Here, the devices (ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CH3NH3PbI3-xClx/PC60BM/C-60/Al) are fabricated based on solution process. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 13.1% was obtained after isopropanol (IPA) solvent treatment, which was 9% improvement than that of the original devices. Photocurrent hysteresis could be reduced to a certain extent by introducing IPA treatment. Solvent treatment can remove as-grown impurities like CH3NH3I and defects formed during the device fabrication. We also demonstrated the electrical and optical properties of perovskite films were improved. The addition of IPA-treated facilitates the formation of a relatively smooth PC60BM films. This work provides a very simple but effective strategy to enhance the power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved