journal article·2025-11Open access

Low‐Temperature Remote Plasma Synthesis of Highly Porous TiO 2 as Electron Transport Layers in Perovskite Solar Cells

Jose M. Obrero‐Perez, Fernando Nuñez‐Galvez, Lidia Contreras‐Bernal, Javier Castillo‐Seoane, Gloria P. Moreno, Triana Czermak, Francisco J. Aparicio, Teresa C. Rojas, Francisco J. Ferrer, Ana Borras, Angel Barranco, Juan R Sánchez‐Valencia

Advanced Materials Interfaces· Volume 12· Issue 21

Abstract

Abstract Halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) offer high efficiency at low production costs, making them a promising solution for future photovoltaic technologies. Optimizing charge transport layers is crucial, with porous TiO 2 widely used as electron transport layers (ETLs) due to their suitable energy band alignment, transparency, and abundance. However, their performance depends strongly on crystallinity, requiring high‐temperature processing (>450 °C), which increases costs and limits their applicability on flexible substrates. Low‐temperature wet‐chemical methods face scalability issues due to material waste and hazardous solvents. Therefore, plasma‐based technologies provide a scalable, eco‐friendly alternative for fabricating oxide‐based ETLs. This study presents a plasma‐based synthesis of TiO 2 layers using remote plasma‐assisted vacuum deposition (RPAVD) and soft plasma etching (SPE) at temperatures below 200 °C, enabling precise control over microstructure and porosity. The resulting nanocolumnar and aerogel‐like TiO 2 films are antireflective and enhance optical and electronic properties, leading to improved PSC efficiency (champion PCE = 14.6%) comparable to high‐temperature processed devices. The devices are based on a 3D organometal perovskite with mixed cations (MA, FA, Cs, Rb) and halides (I, Br), with a nominal composition of (Rb 0.03 Cs 0.03 FA 0.69 MA 0.25 )(PbI 3 ) 0.83 (PbBr 3 ) 0.17 . Our results highlight the potential of RPAVD+SPE for producing low‐temperature ETLs, offering a feasible, industrially scalable solution for flexible, high‐performance photovoltaics.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Perovskite Materials and Applications · Conducting polymers and applications · Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Nanotechnology on Surfaces and Plasma Laboratory Materials Science Institute of Seville (CSIC‐US) C/ Américo Vespucio 49 Seville 41092 Spain

Dpto. Física Aplicada I. Escuela Politécnica Superior Universidad de Sevilla c/ Virgen de África 7 Seville E‐41011 Spain

Dpto. Ingeniería y Ciencia de los Materiales y del Transporte, Escuela Politécnica Superior Universidad de Sevilla c/ Virgen de África 7 Seville E‐41011 Spain

Materials Science Institute of Seville (CSIC‐US) C/ Américo Vespucio 49 Seville 41092 Spain

Centro Nacional de Aceleradores (CNA) CSIC‐Universidad de Sevilla Seville 41092 Spain

Funding

European Regional Development Fund

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