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Title: Solvent-Mediated Crystallization of CH3NH3SnI3 Films for Heterojunction Depleted Perovskite Solar Cells

Journal Article · · Journal of the American Chemical Society
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5b06658· OSTI ID:1386526
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center (ANSER); Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)

Organo-lead halide perovskite solar cells have gained enormous significance and have now achieved power conversion efficiencies of ~20%. However, the potential toxicity of lead in these systems raises environmental concerns for widespread deployment. In this work we investigate solvent effects on the crystallization of the lead-free methylammonium tin triiodide (CH3NH3SnI3) perovskite films in a solution growth process. Highly uniform, pinhole-free perovskite films are obtained from a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution via a transitional SnI2·3DMSO intermediate phase. This high-quality perovskite film enables the realization of heterojunction depleted solar cells based on mesoporous TiO2 layer but in the absence of any hole-transporting material with an unprecedented photocurrent up to 21 mA cm–2. Charge extraction and transient photovoltage decay measurements reveal high carrier densities in the CH3NH3SnI3 perovskite device which are one order of magnitude larger than CH3NH3PbI3-based devices but with comparable recombination lifetimes in both devices. The relatively high background dark carrier density of the Sn-based perovskite is responsible for the lower photovoltaic efficiency in comparison to the Pb-based analogues. These results provide important progress toward achieving improved perovskite morphology control in realizing solution-processed highly efficient lead-free perovskite solar cells.

Research Organization:
Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Argonne-Northwestern Solar Energy Research Center (ANSER)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF); State of Illinois
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0001059
OSTI ID:
1386526
Journal Information:
Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 137, Issue 35; Related Information: ANSER partners with Northwestern University (lead); Argonne National Laboratory; University of Chicago; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Yale University; ISSN 0002-7863
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 470 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Figures / Tables (6)