A green solvent enables precursor phase engineering of stable formamidinium lead triiodide perovskite solar cells

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54113-4

Authors: Benjamin M. Gallant (University of Oxford; University of Birmingham) , Philippe Holzhey (University of Oxford) , Joel A. Smith (University of Oxford) , Saqlain Choudhary (University of Oxford) , Karim A. Elmestekawy (University of Oxford) , Pietro Caprioglio (University of Oxford) , Igal Levine (elmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie; The Hebrew University) , Alexandra A. Sheader (University of Oxford) , Esther Y.-H. Hung (University of Oxford) , Fengning Yang (University of Oxford) , Daniel T. W. Toolan (University of Manchester; University of Sheffield) , Rachel C. Kilbride (University of Sheffield) , Karl-Augustin Zaininger (University of Oxford) , James M. Ball (University of Oxford) , M. Greyson Christoforo (University of Oxford) , Nakita K. Noel (University of Oxford) , Laura M. Herz (University of Oxford; TU Munich) , Dominik J. Kubicki (University of Birmingham) , Henry J. Snaith (University of Oxford)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Nature Communications , VOL 15

State: Published (Approved)
Published: November 2024
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 33462

Abstract: Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) offer an efficient, inexpensive alternative to current photovoltaic technologies, with the potential for manufacture via high-throughput coating methods. However, challenges for commercial-scale solution-processing of metal-halide perovskites include the use of harmful solvents, the expense of maintaining controlled atmospheric conditions, and the inherent instabilities of PSCs under operation. Here, we address these challenges by introducing a high volatility, low toxicity, biorenewable solvent system to fabricate a range of 2D perovskites, which we use as highly effective precursor phases for subsequent transformation to α-formamidinium lead triiodide (α-FAPbI3), fully processed under ambient conditions. PSCs utilising our α-FAPbI3 reproducibly show remarkable stability under illumination and elevated temperature (ISOS-L-2) and “damp heat” (ISOS-D-3) stressing, surpassing other state-of-the-art perovskite compositions. We determine that this enhancement is a consequence of the 2D precursor phase crystallisation route, which simultaneously avoids retention of residual low-volatility solvents (such as DMF and DMSO) and reduces the rate of degradation of FA+ in the material. Our findings highlight both the critical role of the initial crystallisation process in determining the operational stability of perovskite materials, and that neat FA+-based perovskites can be competitively stable despite the inherent metastability of the α-phase.

Diamond Keywords: Photovoltaics; Semiconductors

Subject Areas: Materials, Chemistry, Energy


Instruments: I07-Surface & interface diffraction

Added On: 25/11/2024 09:40

Documents:
s41467-024-54113-4.pdf

Discipline Tags:

Surfaces Earth Sciences & Environment Sustainable Energy Systems Energy Physics Climate Change Physical Chemistry Energy Materials Chemistry Materials Science Chemical Engineering interfaces and thin films Engineering & Technology Perovskites Metallurgy

Technical Tags:

Scattering Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) Grazing Incidence Wide Angle Scattering (GIWAXS)