Magnetite as Inorganic Hole Transport Material for Lead Halide Perovskite-Based Solar Cells with Enhanced Stability

Abstract

A low-cost and stable perovskite solar cell using solution-processed nanostructured Fe3O4 as a potential hole transport layer (HTL) was reported for the first time. The Hall effect measurement performed on Fe3O4 film showing hole-type carriers with a mobility of 0.269 cm2 V−1 s−1 confirmed that Fe3O4 could be a potential hole-transporting material (HTM) candidate for perovskite solar cells. This value is higher than the reported one for other inorganic HTMs such as CuSCN (0.01−0.1 cm2 V−1 s−1). The prepared device using Fe3O4 shows a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.42% and long-term durability up to 30 days. This inorganic HTM is introduced as a strong and low-cost substitution to the expensive complex materials in the fabrication of perovskite solar cells. The device is more robust and stable in the moisture atmosphere in comparison to the fabricated devices using Spiro-OMeTAD as an organic HTM.