Reproducible perovskite solar cells using a simple solvent-mediated sol−gel synthesized NiO x hole transport layer

Abstract A nickel oxide (NiO x ) hole transport layer was made from nickel oxide powder by a simple process and non-stabilizer or chelating agent. We used ethanol as the main solvent and less than 2% nitric acid as the co-solvent. The formation reaction mechanism of the NiO x thin film was also studied. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with an optimum thickness of 70 nm exhibited a power conversion efficiency as high as 12.99%, which is superior to those of PSCs with their counterparts. The moisture stability of NiO x - based devices (non-encapsulated) remained above 70% of their initial output after 700 h storage at ambient conditions.