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Title: Investigation of Bismuth Triiodide (BiI3) for Photovoltaic Applications

Journal Article · · Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
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  1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)
  3. Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
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We investigate bismuth triiodide (BiI3) as a candidate thin-film photovoltaic (PV) absorber. BiI3 was chosen for its optical properties and the potential for “defect-tolerant” charge transport properties, which we test experimentally by measuring optical absorption and recombination lifetimes. We synthesize phase-pure BiI3 thin films by physical vapor transport and solution processing and single-crystals by an electrodynamic gradient vertical Bridgman method. The bandgap of these materials is ~1.8 eV, and they demonstrate room-temperature band-edge photoluminescence. We measure monoexponential recombination lifetimes in the range of 180–240 ps for thin films, and longer, multiexponential dynamics for single crystals, with time constants up to 1.3 to 1.5 ns. We discuss the outstanding challenges to developing BiI3 PVs, including mechanical and electrical properties, which can also inform future selection of candidate PV absorbers.

Research Organization:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Excitonics (CE). Center for Next Generation of Materials by Design: Incorporating Metastability (CNGMD); National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1227199
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5K00-65456
Journal Information:
Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Vol. 6, Issue 21; Related Information: Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters; ISSN 1948-7185
Publisher:
American Chemical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
bismuth triiodide
thin-film photovoltaic absorber
optical absorption
recombination lifetimes