V2O5 as Potential Hole Transport Material for Tin-based Non-toxic Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a promising technology due to their remarkable efficiency and stability improvements over the years. However, commercialization is hindered by challenges such as material toxicity, high costs, and limited stability. To address these issues, this study investigates vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) as a novel, cost-effective hole transport material (HTM) for non-toxic perovskite solar cells. A unique cell structure comprising V2O5 as the HTM, CsSnI3 as the absorber material, and WS2 as the electron transport material (ETM) was proposed and optimized using SCAPS-1D simulations. The optimized device achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 24.71%, with an open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.8489 V, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 35.601 mA/cm², and a fill factor (FF) of 81.75%. Additionally, the V2O5-based structure demonstrated the lowest material costs compared to conventional HTMs. By addressing the challenges of lead toxicity and high production costs, this study highlights the potential of V2O5 as an efficient and sustainable alternative for next-generation perovskite solar cells.