In this work, a CuO@TiO₂@ZnO nanocomposite (CTZ NC) material was synthesized via a hydrothermal method. To fabricate perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the CTZ NC material was coated onto fluoride-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates via a dip coating procedure. The produced CTZ NC material was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), UV‒vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The XRD results revealed three combinations of monoclinic CuO, tetragonal TiO₂, and hexagonal ZnO phases in the CTZ NC powder material. These phases were further confirmed by FTIR analysis. Moreover, SEM measurements showed agglomerated nanoparticles of different sizes. The optical direct band gap energy of the CTZ NCs on the FTO substrate was determined to be 3.06 eV. Furthermore, the photovoltaic performance of the PSCs under different illuminations (including daylight, a 6 W UV lamp, and a 7 W LED lamp) was evaluated. Notably, after illumination with a 7 W LED lamp, the optimal photovoltaic performance was obtained for FTO/Ag/CTZ/perovskite/spiro-OMeTAD/Ag, with a maximum open-circuit voltage (1 V), short-circuit current (37.5 mA cm⁻²), and fill factor (0.46), as well as the highest cell efficiency (17.54%). These findings suggest that using a ternary CTZ NC material for the fabrication of PSCs could enhance cell efficiency compared to other materials.

Keywords: CuO@TiO₂@ZnO nanocomposite, hydrothermal method, dip coating, perovskite solar cell.