Atomically thin two-dimensional materials as hole extraction layers in organolead halide perovskite photovoltaic cells

•MoS2 and WS2 layers were prepared by chemical vapor deposition method.•Graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized by Hummers' method.•MoS2, WS2, and GO can be applied to the hole extraction layer for perovskite solar cell.

Atomically thin two-dimensional materials such as MoS2, WS2, and graphene oxide (GO) are used as hole extraction layers (HEL) in organolead halide perovskites solar cells (PSCs) instead of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) HEL. MoS2 and WS2 layers with a polycrystalline structure were synthesized by a chemical deposition method using a uniformly spin-coated (NH4)MoS4 and (NH4)WS4 precursor solution. GO was synthesized by the oxidation of natural graphite powder using Hummers' method. The work functions of MoS2, WS2, and GO are measured to be 5.0, 4.95, and 5.1 eV, respectively. The X-ray diffraction spectrum indicated that the synthesized perovskite material is CH3NH3PbI3−xClx. The PSCs with the p-n junction structure were fabricated based on the CH3NH3PbI3−xClx perovskite layer. The power conversion efficiencies of the MoS2, WS2, and GO-based PSCs were 9.53%, 8.02%, and 9.62%, respectively, which are comparable to those obtained from PEDOT:PSS-based devices (9.93%). These results suggest that two-dimensional materials such as MoS2, WS2, and GO can be promising candidates for the formation of HELs in the PSCs.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide