We applied SiO2 nanoparticles as an alternative to mesoporous TiO2 or Al2O3 scaffolds and achieved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of up to 16.2%. Careful characterization of the effects of different scaffolds on device performance reveals that SiO2-based perovskite solar cells show much higher PCE due to the higher Voc and fill factor (FF), and the hysteresis for SiO2-based perovskite solar cell is less severe than for Al2O3-based perovskite solar cell. Time-correlated-single-photoncounting (TCSPC) luminescence decay and external quantum efficiency (EQE) tests provide further insights into the charge transfer behavior and light-harvesting characteristics of the proposed devices. Potential mechanisms of the observed phenomena are also suggested. Taken together, our results demonstrate that SiO2 nano particles may potentially replace mesoporous TiO2 or Al2O3 scaffolds in perovskite solar cells to achieve remarkably high PCE. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.