Njema, George Gichanga2024-12-092024-12-092024-09http://172.16.31.117:4000/handle/123456789/625The desire to decarbonise the global energy system has paved the way for renewable energy alternatives like solar energy, which is more dependable, affordable, inexhaustible, and sustainable. Nonetheless, there are significant challenges associated with stability, durability, and scalability with photovoltaic technologies. By carefully optimizing the interfacial engineering of device architectures, these bottle-necks can be addressed, lowering the cost of fabrication while improving the performance and longevity of the solar cell designs. Solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS-1D) was utilized to model the electrical behaviour of perovskite solar cells. Accordingly, this study presents a thorough examination of performance indicators for a range of perovskite solar cell (PSC) configurations, comprising both traditional and innovative architectures. Various hole transport layers (HTLs) and electron transport layers (ETLs) have been tested. The configurations examined include HTL-free architecture, ITO/PC61BM/CH3NH3SnI3/Pt, as well as those integrating hole transport materials such as graphene oxide (GO) and Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). The simulations recorded impressive photovoltaic parameters – HTL-free configuration, ITO/PC61BM/CH3NH3SnI3/Pt, achieved a remarkable PCE of 38.11%, Jsc of 35.32 mA/cm², Voc of 1.2168 V, and FF of 88.67%. Another configuration, ITO/PC61BM/CH3NH3SnI3/GO/Fe, delivered a PCE of 36.27%, Jsc of 34.84 mA/cm², Voc of 1.3462 V, and FF of 77.32%. On the other hand, the cell with the configuration, ITO/PC61BM/CH3NH3SnI3/PEDOT:PSS/Mo, gave a PCE of 37.66%. Furthermore, cadmium sulphide (CdS), zinc selenide (ZnSe) and titanium oxide (TiO2) were investigated as a buffer layer across the HTL-free configuration in order to enhance charge collection, charge transport and minimize recombination losses. The HTL-free design demonstrated significant potential for producing cost-effective and efficient solar cells with outstanding electrical and optical properties. Configurations incorporating GO as the HTL showed remarkable improvements in thermal stability and efficiency, driven by excellent charge separation, low recombination rates, and high quantum efficiency (QE). This work underscores the necessity of developing high-performance, lead-free PSCs to mitigate the environmental and health risks associated with traditional lead-based designs, and offers valuable guidance for the future development of PSC technology.enNumerical Analysis of the Electrical Characteristics of Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cell Based On Methylammonium Tin IodideThesis