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Number 4
28 January 2018
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DOI: 10.1039/D0NR00459F

ARTICLE

Improving efficiency and stability of colorful perovskite solar cells

with two-dimensional photonic crystals
Received 00th January 20xx,
Accepted 00th January 20xx Zhou Liua, Longlong Wua, Xiao Wanga, Qiaofei Xua, Youdi Hua, Ke Menga*, and Gang Chena,b*
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DOI: 10.1039/x0xx00000x Colorful solar cells have been much sought after because they can generate electricity and concurrently satisfy

Nanoscale Accepted Manuscript

ornamentation purposes. Owing to their outstanding power conversion efficiency and flexibility in processing, perovskite
solar cells (PSCs) have the great potential to become both efficient and aesthetically appealing. Here, we specially devise
and fabricate two novel electron transport layers (ETLs) for PSCs with two-dimensional (2D) photonic crystal structures,
namely the 2D inverse opal (IO) structured SnO2 (IOS) and SnO2-TiO2 composite (IOST), using the template-assisted spin-
coating method. The synergistic structure and material modifications to the ETLs lead to a number of unique features,
including the remarkable electron transfer ability, vivid colors and good protection to the infiltrated perovskite films.
Furthermore, the IOS and IOST ETLs are effectively incorporated into the CH3NH3PbI3-based PSC devices that deliver the
best efficiency of 16.8% with structural colors.

an alternative ETL material for PSCs with promising

Introduction performances.21,22 SnO2 has a bandgap above 3.6 eV and a
lower conduction band edge (vs. vacuum) than TiO2, which
Emerging as a disruptive photovoltaic technology, metal halide
facilitates electron transfer from perovskites. In fact, bulk SnO2
perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have attracted enormous
has high electron mobility up to 240 cm2∙V−1∙s−1, making it a
attention in recent years. Significant progresses have been
superior charge mediator.23-25 Moreover, it has been reported
made in the advancement of device power conversion
that the TiO2 and SnO2 composite ETL possesses gradient
efficiency (PCE) by introducing new materials and designs.1-7 In
energy levels which would further enhance the electron
general, a typical PSC device contains a transparent conductive
transfer and transport abilities.25,26 In addition, structural
substrate, an electron transport layer (ETL), an optional
engineering of ETLs at nanometer scale could bring in tailored
mesoscopic layer, a perovskite layer, a hole transport layer
properties and likely new features. For examples, the
(HTL), and a metal cathode.8,9 The perovskite film
incorporations of nanotubes, nanorods and nanofibers in ETLs
functionalizes as the light absorber that generates electron-
effectively facilitate electron transportation.27-29 Inverse opal
hole pairs upon illumination, while ETL and HTL extract and
(IO) structures, the replicas of artificial opals, can affect light
transport the photon-induced charge carriers separately to
propagation and alter the optical properties of thin films.30 It is
external terminals. As an indispensable component of PSCs,
thus rational to expect that ETLs casted into IO structures
the charge separation and transportation properties of ETL
would induce novel optical properties.31-33 In fact, it is inspiring
have profound influences on the overall performance of
that highly efficient PSCs with tunable structural color were
PSCs.10-13 Likewise, carefully selecting ETL materials and
obtained by introducing a porous SiO2 photonic crystal
rationally designing its structures are important for improving
scaffold.34 Furthermore, the IO-structured ETLs would possess
PSC efficiencies and hold the potential to introduce new
all the merits of an IO framework, such as large surface areas,
functionality.
short diffusion lengths and fast transport channels for charge
So far, TiO2 is the most widely adopted material for ETLs.14-17
carriers, that could improve their electrical properties.27 For
Most of the PSC devices employ TiO2 as ETL materials in view
instance, it is previously demonstrated that the TiO2 based
of its chronical and successful implementation in other
mesoscopic film with a multilayer IO structure can act as an
photovoltaic technologies.4,18-20 Recently, SnO2 has emerged as
effective electron transporter in PSCs.35
Herein, we report the fabrication of two IO-structured ETLs,
a. School
including IO SnO2 (IOS) and IO SnO2-TiO2 composite (IOST), and
of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai,
China 201210. E-mail: gchen@shanghaitech.edu.cn; their implementation in PSC devices. The IO ETLs exhibit 2D
mengke@shanghaitech.edu.cn hexagonal superlattice structures with both microscopic and
b. Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics,

Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China 201204

macroscopic ordering, as confirmed by scanning electron
Electronic Supplementary Information (ESI) available: [details of any microscope (SEM) and grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray
supplementary information available should be included here]. See scattering (GISAXS). The ordered IO nanostructures endow the
DOI: 10.1039/x0xx00000x

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ETLs with vivid colors, which is rationalized by the variable-
angle reflection spectroscopy study. The chemical
compositions and crystal structures of the IO ETLs are analyzed
by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and grazing-
incidence X-ray diffraction (GI-XRD). By infiltrating them with
CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite, the IO ETLs demonstrate the
remarkable electron transport ability and the capability to
preserve perovskite materials. The IOS and IOST ETLs are
subsequently integrated into the CH3NH3PbI3-based PSCs,
resulting in efficient devices with fascinating structural colors.
Experimental
Preparation of IO ETLs.
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The 550-nm diameter polystyrene microspheres (PS-MSs)
were assembled on the fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO)
substrates using the gas-liquid-solid interface self-assembly
method. Specifically, a 1.5 wt% 550 nm PS-MS solution in
water/ethanol (volume ratio 6:4) was slowly added into an 8
cm diameter petri dish. Several drops of 2 wt% sodium dodecyl
sulfate (SDS) aqueous solution were then added into the dish
to induce the formation of ordered monolayers on the air-
water interface. The ordered templates were subsequently
formed by transferring the PS-MS monolayer from the water
surface onto the FTO substrates. To prepare the IOS film, the
PS-MS template was firstly infiltrated with 0.4 M SnCl4∙5H2O
ethanol solution by spin-coating at 4000 rpm for 10 s, followed
by sintering at 100 oC for 5 min to remove residual ethanol.
This spin-coating/drying process was repeated for four times
to ensure the good filling of the voids in the PS-MS template
by the SnO2 precursors. The substrates were subsequently
annealed at 500 oC for 2 h for SnO2 crystallization and PS
removal. To prepare the IOST film, an additional TiO2 layer was
deposited on the IOS films by spray pyrolysis. The spray
pyrolysis of TiO2 layer was conducted employing precursor
solution containing 0.6 ml titanium diisopropoxidebis
(acetylacetonate) (75 wt% in IPA) in 9 ml ethanol and 0.4 ml
acetylacetone, with oxygen as carrier gas at 450 oC.
Fabrication of solar cells.
The perovskite films were prepared using the ‘solvent
engineering’ spin-coating method. Briefly, the mixture of 600
mg of PbI2, 207 mg of MAI, 200 uL of DMSO and 800 uL of DMF
was prepared at room temperature and stirred for 1 h. The
completely dissolved precursor solution was spin-coated on
the IO substrates at 5000 rpm for 30 s, when 0.3 mL of
chlorobenzene was dripped on the rotating substrate 20 s
before the end of the progress. The substrates were then
annealed at 105 °C for 10 min for perovskite crystallization.
The spiro-OMeTAD layer was deposited on top of the
perovskite film by spin-coating the precursor solution at 2000
rpm for 20 s. The solution was prepared by dissolving 72.3 mg
of spiro-MeOTAD, 9.1 mg of Li-TFSI dissolved in 17.5 μL ACN
and 28.8 μL of tBP in 1 ml chlorobenzene. The 60 nm Ag layer
2 | J. Name., 2012, 00, 1-3
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was then deposited using a thermal evaporator at the rate of
View Article Online
0.5 Å/s. DOI: 10.1039/D0NR00459F
Characterization.
The SEM images of the PS-MS templates, the IOS and IOST
films and the IOST based solar cells were recorded using a
Nova NanoSEM 450 (FEI) scanning electron microscope.
Electron dispersed X-ray scattering spectra were obtained
using an Oxford EDX integrated in the FEI SEM system.
Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS)
measurements on the PS-MS templates and the IOS and IOST
films were conducted using an Xeuss 2.0 system with the X-ray
beam size of 100  100 μm. The scattering signals from the
samples were collected using a Pilatus 300k detector at a
distance of 6400 mm. The GI-XRD data of the IOS and IOST
Nanoscale Accepted Manuscript
films were recorded at the BL14B1 beamline of Shanghai
Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF). The incident photon (10
keV, 1.2398 Å) was illuminated on the sample and the
diffraction signals were recorded employing a Mar225 CCD
detector. The distance from the sample to the detector was
382 mm. The XRD patterns for tracing the degradation of the
perovskites on IO ETLs were recorded using a Bruker D2
PHASER X-ray diffractometer; the samples were stored in 50-
60% relative humidity atmosphere during the whole
experiment. The XPS of IO-ETLs was realized using an ESCALAB
250Xi X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (Thermo Fisher) with
Al Kα X-ray source. The radiation of the ultraviolet
photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) was generated by a He-gas
discharge lamp (He I α at 21.22 eV). The electron binding
energy scale was calibrated using the Fermi edge of clean gold.
The UV-vis absorption spectra of the IOST and IOS films on
glass substrates were measured by UV-vis spectrophotometer
(Agilent cary5000). The J−V measurement was performed
employing the solar simulator (SS-F5-3A, Enlitech) along with
AM 1.5G spectra whose intensity was calibrated by the
certified standard silicon solar cell (SRC-2020, Enlitech) at 100
mw/cm2. Reverse scan direction and 30 mV/s scan rate were
employed for the device maximized PCE characterization. The
scan direction and scan rate were varied for hysteresis
analysis. The cells were covered with a shadow mask having an
aperture area of 0.052 cm2. The external quantum efficiency
(EQE) data were obtained by using the solar-cell spectral-
response measurement system (QE-R, Enlitech).
Results and discussion
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nearly unchanged due to the small thickness View of Article

the Online
TiO2
overlayer. The cross-sectional image of DOI:
the 10.1039/D0NR00459F
IOST film further
reveals its ordered structure and height of ~250 nm which is
about half of the diameter of the PS-MSs employed. In fact,
using templates containing different PS-MS sizes enables fine
control of the void size and wall thickness of the resultant IO
films. Here, the thickness of the IO ETLs is carefully chosen to
suit the subsequent perovskite infiltration and coating
processes.

It is well known that IO photonic crystals show structural

colors.30 We also find that the IOS and IOST films exhibit vivid
colors at various viewing angles (Figure 2a). Notably, the
vibrant structural color is a good indicator of the large-scale
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ordering of the IO structures in the ETLs. We thus employ the

Nanoscale Accepted Manuscript

Figure 1. (a) Schematic illustration of the IO ETL preparation grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS)
procedure. Top-view and cross-sectional SEM images of the PS-MS technique to investigate the unique structure of the IO ETLs. In
template (b) and the IOS (c) and IOST (d) films on FTO substrates. a GISAXS experiment, the incident X-ray beam is scattered off
Inset of (d) shows the EDS mapping of the Ti element. All the scale the substrate-supported thin film which produces Bragg
bars are 1 μm. diffraction rods characteristic of the lattice spacing and
symmetry of the sample.36, 37 The black line in Figure 2b shows
A schematic illustration of the fabrication process of IO ETLs is
the one-dimensional scattering curve of the IOST film
shown in Figure 1a. The IOS film was fabricated using the
extracted from its 2D GISAXS pattern (The PS template and the
template-assisted spin-coating method.33 Specifically, the
IOS film show the similar GISAXS results as given in Figure S4).
monolayer PS-MS template was firstly self-assembled onto the
By fitting the Bragg scattering profile, the lattice spacing of the
FTO substrate (step I). Then, the SnO2 precursor, SnCl4 ethanol
IOST film is determined to be 550 nm which is in high
solution, was infiltrated into the voids of the PS-MS template
accordance with the value obtained from the SEM
by spin-coating (step II). Subsequently, the IOS film was
measurements. The simulated pattern (red lines in Figure 2b)
formed by annealing it at 500 oC for SnO2 crystallization and
matches well with the experimental scattering curve,
PS-MS removal (step III). To prepare the IOST film, an
confirming the large-scale ordering of the IOST film. The ability
additional thin layer of TiO2 was coated onto the IOS film by
to prepare large device-size ordered IO ETLs is crucial for their
the spray pyrolysis method (step IV). As shown in Figure 1b,
application in PSCs. Variable-angle reflection spectroscopy is
the template contains the 2D hexagonal close-packed (hcp) PS-
introduced to further analyze the color spectra of the IO ETLs.
MSs of 550 nm in diameter. Figure 1c presents the top-view
The reflection geometry is shown schematically in Figure 2c.
and cross-sectional SEM images of the large-area ordered IOS
For the IOS film (Figure 2d), four reflection peaks in the
film on the FTO substrate. The IOS film shows the 2D
hexagonal honeycomb-like lattice with the void size of ~500
nm and the wall thickness of ~50 nm, producing the pattern
with the lattice spacing of around 550 nm. The computed
Fourier transform patterns of the SEM images (Figure 1b-d) are
shown in Figure S1, which further ascertains the hcp symmetry
of the IO ETLs with a repetitive unit of 550 nm. It is noteworthy
that the precursor concentration and spin speed should be
carefully adjusted to obtain high-quality IOS films. As shown in
Figure S2, for a given precursor concentration, low spin speed
causes large crystals on top of the films, while high spin speed
results in noncontinuous IO films. The optimal precursor
concentration and spin speed are determined to be 0.4 M and
5000 rpm, respectively. In addition, the annealing process also
profoundly affects the quality of the resultant IOS films. A slow
ramp in temperature (1 oC/min) is required since rapid heating
up destroys the interconnected nanostructures (Figure S3).
The SEM images of the IOST film are presented in Figure 1d.
Figure 2. (a) Digital photos of the IOS and IOST films. (b)
Despite the coating of the TiO2 overlayer as confirmed by the Experimental GISAXS curve of the IOST film (black line) and the
energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping (inset of simulated hcp superlattice scattering peak positions (red line). (c)
Figure 1d), the IOST film inherits the ordered hexagonal The experimental geometry for reflection measurements. Variable-
structure of IOS. The void diameter and the well thickness are angle reflection spectra of the IOS (d) and IOST (e) films.

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Figure 3. XPS spectra of Sn 3d (a) and O 1s (b) of the IOS film and Ti
2p (c) and O 1s (d) of the IOST film.
wavelength range between 450 and 900 nm are observed,
which shift to longer wavelengths as the incident angle, θ,
decreases. For the IOST film (Figure 2e), although it exhibits
more complex spectral features than the IOS film, its main
reflection peaks also show redshift as the incident angle
decreases. The shifts of the reflection peaks in the visible
region can well explain the distinct colors of the IO ETLs
exhibiting at different viewing angles.
The chemical compositions and surface states of the IO ETLs
are investigated by XPS. Figure S5a presents the XPS survey
spectrum of the IOS film, which indicates the existence of the
Sn and O elements. The high-resolution XPS spectrum in the Sn
3d region (Figure 3a) reveals two peaks with the binding
energies of 487.1 and 495.5 eV which correspond to the Sn
3d5/2 and 3d3/2 orbits and is attributed to Sn4+ in SnO2.21 While
the peak centered at 530.1 eV in Figure 3b is ascribed to Sn-O
bonding in SnO2.26 Figure S5b shows the XPS survey spectrum
of the IOST film with two distinct peaks representing the Ti and
O elements. The XPS spectrum in Figure 3c shows the peaks at
the binding energies of 459.2 eV and 465.1 eV and the satellite
peak at the binding energy of 472.6 eV. They can be ascribed
to the Ti 2p3/2 and 2p1/2 orbits, indicating the presence of Ti4+.
For the O element, the main peak at the binding energy of
529.7 eV (Figure 3d) is attributed to the O 1s orbit, originating
from the O2− state in TiO2, while the minor peak at 531.4 eV
could be attributed to the O2− state in –OH. It is previously
reported that the -OH groups act as donor impurities, which
can increase electron concentrations and cause energy level
shifts in metal oxides.38 The presence of –OH in the IOST film
could thus improve its electronic properties. Notably, the peak
corresponding to the Sn 3d orbit at ~496 eV in the XPS
spectrum of IOST is very weak (Figure S5b and c), which
confirms the complete coverage of the TiO2 overlayer on the
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IOS film. The TiO2 overlayer could act as a blocking View Article layer
Online
preventing charge carrier recombination as well as an
DOI: 10.1039/D0NR00459F
intermediate layer for efficient charge transfer.25
The crystal structures of the IOS and IOST films are
characterized by the XRD technique. Due to their small
thicknesses, the traditional XRD method can barely detect any
distinct Bragg peak, so the GI-XRD technique with better
sensitivity for thin films is employed. Figures 4a and b present
the GI-XRD images of the IOS and IOST films deposited on FTO
substrates and the integrated XRD patterns are shown in
Figure 4c. The main peaks from the IOS film centered at 26.5,
33.7, 37.8, 51.6, 54.5 and 61.6o (black line in Figure 4c) can be
well indexed to the diffraction peaks of the cassiterite SnO2
(PDF 77-0452). The XRD pattern of the IOST film (red line in
Figure 4c) is overall similar to that of the IOS film except a
Nanoscale Accepted Manuscript
weak peak centered at 24.2o which is attributed to the anatase
TiO2 overlayer. The GI-XRD results are consistent with those
obtained from the EDS and XPS studies.
It has been widely reported that the structure and composition
modifications on ETLs will give rise to novel properties.27, 33, 39-
43 The unique architecture of the IO ETLs could be beneficial to
device performances and bring in additional functionality.
Therefore, the influence of the various substrates on the
morphology of the deposited perovskite films has been
studied. The top-view and cross-sectional SEM images of the
perovskite films deposited on the FTO, IOS and IOST substrates
are separately presented in Figure S6. It is evident that the
substrates with the IO structures have larger average
perovskite grain sizes, which would benefit their photovoltaic
applications.44 The variation in the perovskite film morphology
may originate from the different wettability of the substrates
which alters the perovskite crystallization kinetics.45 The
photoluminescence (PL) spectra are further recorded and
compared for the CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite films deposited on
Figure 4. GI-XRD images of the IOS (a) and IOST (b) films. (c) The
integrated XRD patterns of the IOS and IOST films (the inset
presents the zoomed-in TiO2 peak).
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Figure 5. (a) PL spectra of perovskite films deposited on different
substrates. (b) XRD pattern evolutions of the perovskite films on the
thin TiO2 coated FTO and IOST substrates as a function of aging
time.
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the FTO, IOS and IOST substrates, to investigate the charge
transfer process at the interface. As shown in Figure 5a, all
three samples show the emission peaks centered at the
wavelength of 773 nm and their PL intensities follow the order
of IOST < IOS < FTO. As is well known, efficient charge transfer
from perovskite to ETL would quench PL and lead to reduced
intensities.46 The lower PL intensities for the perovskite films
deposited on the IOS and IOST substrates manifest their
remarkable electron transfer abilities, which could be
attributed to the large surface area of the IO structure and the
favorable energy level alignment of the employed materials.4,
35
The stability issue of PSCs is one of the major obstacles for
their commercial applications.46-51 The widely adopted
CH3NH3PbI3 material degrades into PbI2 upon exposure to
moisture or heat stresses.3, 48, 50 We investigate the influence
of the IO ETLs on the stability of the incorporated perovskite
films by tracking their XRD patterns. Two samples are prepared
for this purpose: one is the perovskite film deposited on IOST,
the other is on the thin TiO2 coated FTO substrate (FTO/TiO2)
as a reference. The XRD pattern evolutions of the samples over
the aging time are shown in Figure 5b. The spectra of the as-
prepared perovskite films on both substrates show diffraction
peaks centered at 14.1o, representing the pure phase of
CH3NH3PbI3. After 10 days of aging (relative humidity 50-60%),
the diffraction peak centered at 12.6o emerges in the XRD
pattern of the sample on the FTO/TiO2 substrate, indicating
the formation of PbI2. The intensity of the PbI2 peak increases
after 40 days due to further degradation of the perovskite film.
For the sample deposited on IOST, no obvious peak of PbI2 is
observed for 10 days and only a weak peak emerges after 40
days. We also perform the device stability test which shows
the IOST based device retain 95% of its initial efficiency under
illumination in N2 atmosphere (Figure S7). These results
demonstrate the IO ETL can provide good protection to the
infiltrated perovskite film and decelerate its degradation
process. It is noteworthy that previous studies employed IO-
TiO2 ETLs could also enhance the stability of the infiltrated
perovskite.27, 39
Encouraged by these unique features, we consequently
employ the IO ETLs in the PSC devices with the architecture of
FTO/ IOS (IOST)/ CH3NH3PbI3/ Spiro-OMeTAD/ Ag. Figures 6a
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ARTICLE
and b show the cross-sectional SEM image of theView typical IOST
Article Online
based PSC device and the corresponding DOI:EDS mapping. The
10.1039/D0NR00459F
thickness of the IO ETL-perovskite composite film is around
460 nm. A perovskite overlayer of ~210 nm exists on top of the
250 nm thick IOST, ensuring sufficient light absorption. The
EDS mapping clearly demonstrates the infiltration of the
perovskite material into the voids of the IO ETL and the
intimate contact is beneficial for efficient electron transfer at
the perovskite/ETL interface. Figure 6c shows the J-V
characteristics of the champion PSCs based on the IOS and
IOST ETLs. The PCE of the best IOS based PSC is 10.2% with an
open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.98 V, a short circuit current (Jsc)
of 20.2 mA/cm2 and a fill factor (FF) of 51%. The device based
on IOST exhibits the exceptional PCE of 16.8% with Voc of 1.09
V, Jsc of 20.3 mA/cm2, and FF of 75%. The statistical PCE data of
Nanoscale Accepted Manuscript
15 cells based on IOST is presented in Figure S8, which shows a
narrow distribution, indicating good reproducibility of the
results. To further confirm the validity of the J-V results, we
perform J-V tests in different scan directions and rates and
evaluate the stabilized device power output as given in Figures
S9-11. The device based on IOST exhibits PCE of 15.4% in
forward scan and a stabilized PCE of 15.9%. No obvious change
in the cell performance is observed for different scan rates.52,53
We also show the external quantum efficiency (EQE) spectrum
and the integrated Jsc for the PSC employing IOS and IOST in
Figure 6d. The Jsc of the PSCs based on two IO ETLs are almost
identical and the PCE improvement of the IOST based device
mainly originates from the higher Voc and FF. As is known, Voc is
a function of Jsc and the charge recombination current density
AKbT Jsc
(J0), Voc = e
ln( J0 ), where A is the ideal factor of a cell, Kb is
the Boltzmann constant, T is the temperature and e is the
elementary charge. Considering the similar Jsc values of the
Figure 6. (a) The cross-sectional SEM image and (b) the EDS
mapping of the PSC device employing the IOST ETL. (c) The J-V
curves of the IOS and IOST based PSCs. (d) The EQE spectrum and
the integrated Jsc of the IOST based PSC. (e) Digital photos (from left
to right: higher to lower θ) of the IOST based perovskite film (15
mm  15 mm).
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two devices, the lower Voc of the IOS based PSC is ascribed to
the higher J0 value, indicating more charge carrier
recombination due to the limited filling of SnO2 at the bottom
of the IOS film. In the IOST based device, the addition of the
TiO2 overlayer can prevent the direct contact between the FTO
substrate and perovskite film, which effectively reduces the
electron-hole recombination, leading to J0 reduction and Voc
and FF improvements. Using UPS and UV-vis absorption
spectroscopy, we can estimate the energy levels and construct
the band diagrams for the two IO ETLs. As shown in Figure S12,
the IOST possesses a more favorable conduction band edge
which can facilitate charge transfer from perovskite and
suppress charge recombination.24,54 The superiority of the IOST
is further confirmed by the electrochemical impedance
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spectroscopy (Figure S13), where the IOST based device shows
much smaller charge transfer resistance as compared to that
of the IOS based cell.55 Notably, like the 2D IO films, the PSC
devices employing IOS and IOST ETLs also exhibit vivid
structural colors. The images of the IOST based perovskite film
taken at different viewing angles are shown in Figure 6e. We
further verify that the color variation is originated from the IO
structure rather than the thin film effect as shown by the
distinct variable-angle reflection spectra in Figure S14. The
color hue of the perovskite film based on IOST is also
calculated by the reflectance spectra and displayed on the CIE
(Comission Internationale de l'éclairage) 1931 chromaticity
diagram as shown in Figure S15. The results further confirm
the vivid color of the film at various viewing angles, which is in
good accordance with the digital photos in Figure 6e. The
unique 2D photonic crystal structure of the IO ETLs can
simultaneously refine the optical and electrical properties of
devices, allowing the IOST based PSC to attain encouraging PCE
for solar cells with structural colors.33, 34
Conclusions
In summary, we have successfully prepared two 2D IO-
structured photonic crystals, namely IOS and IOST, using the
template-assisted spin-coating method. The IO ETLs possess
large-scale 2D hexagonal superlattice structures and exhibit
vivid structural colors at various viewing angles. The distinctive
material and structure configurations endow the IO ETLs with
exceptional charge transfer abilities and offer protection to the
infiltrated perovskites. The IOS and IOST ETLs are further
integrated into the CH3NH3PbI3-based PSCs which deliver PCEs
of 10.2% and 16.8% with enchanting colors. The
outperformance of the IOST ETL is attributed to the reduced
charge recombination at the perovskite/ ETL interface. The
unique architectures of the IO ETLs have an excellent
perspective in fabricating multifunctional PSCs.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts to declare.
6 | J. Name., 2012, 00, 1-3
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Page 6 of 8
Journal Name
Acknowledgements View Article Online
DOI: 10.1039/D0NR00459F
This work was financially supported by the National Natural
Science Foundation of China (U1632265, 11375256), the
Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality
(14JC1493300), and the Shanghai Sailing program
(17YF1412000). The authors thank beamline BL14B1 at
Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) for providing
the beam time.
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Nanoscale Accepted Manuscript

The electron transport layers for perovskite solar cells show two-dimensional photonic crystal
structures and vivid structural colors.