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Acoustic phonon lifetimes limit thermal transport in methylammonium lead iodide

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [2];  [5];  [4];  [6];  [7]
  1. Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305,, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025,
  2. NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899,
  3. Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom,
  4. Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305,
  5. Department of Physics, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom,
  6. Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom,, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea
  7. Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025,
Significance

Hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites are a promising class of materials for efficient and low-cost solar cells. Unlike conventional inorganic semiconductors such as silicon and gallium arsenide, hybrid perovskites feature significant dynamic disorder in their crystal structure. This dynamic disorder can be broadly classified into lattice vibrations (phonons) and molecular rotations. Phonons interact with charge carriers through electron–phonon coupling, which has substantial impacts on the operation of solar cells. Our study shows that acoustic phonons, the type responsible for transmitting heat in conventional semiconductors, have extraordinarily short lifetimes in the archetypal hybrid perovskite methylammonium lead iodide. These short lifetimes have direct implications on the cooling and transport of electrons and reflect a key difference between hybrid perovskites and conventional photovoltaic semiconductors.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1481042
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1480457
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Issue: 47 Vol. 115; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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