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A Versatile Thin-Film Deposition Method for Multidimensional Semiconducting Bismuth Halides

Journal Article · · Chemistry of Materials
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [4];  [6];  [7]
  1. Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science; Univ. of Duisburg-Essen (Germany). Inst. for Materials Science and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE); Duke University
  2. Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science
  3. Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science; Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). Dept. of Physics and Atmospheric Science
  4. North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
  5. Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada). Dept. of Physics and Atmospheric Science
  6. Univ. of Duisburg-Essen (Germany). Inst. for Materials Science and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE)
  7. Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Despite the significant progress in fabricating hybrid organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells, their toxicity and low stability remain as major drawbacks, thereby hindering large-scale commercialization. Given the isoelectronic nature of lead(II) and bismuth(III) ions, potentially stable and non-toxic alternatives for efficient light absorption in thin-film photovoltaic (PV) devices may be found among bismuth-based halide semiconductors. However, high-quality polycrystalline films of many of these systems have not been demonstrated. In this work, we present a versatile and facile two-step co-evaporation approach to fabricate A3Bi2I9 (A = Cs, Rb) and AgBi2I7 polycrystalline films with smooth, pin-hole-free morphology and average grain size of > 200 nm. The process involves an initial two-source evaporation step (involving CsI, RbI or AgI, and BiI3 sources), followed by an annealing step under BiI3 vapor. The structural, optical and electrical characteristics of the resulting thin films are studied by X-ray diffraction, optical spectroscopy, X-ray/UV photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy.
Research Organization:
Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States); Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); National Science Foundation (NSF); Leitmarktwettbewerb NRW (European Union); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Grant/Contract Number:
EE0006712
OSTI ID:
1593836
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1539007
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Journal Name: Chemistry of Materials Journal Issue: 10 Vol. 30; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (8)

From Pb to Bi: A Promising Family of Pb‐Free Optoelectronic Materials and Devices journal April 2020
Perovskite Solar Cells: Can We Go Organic‐Free, Lead‐Free, and Dopant‐Free? journal October 2019
Potential Substitutes for Replacement of Lead in Perovskite Solar Cells: A Review journal July 2019
Dual-source evaporation of silver bismuth iodide films for planar junction solar cells journal January 2019
Performance enhancement of AgBi 2 I 7 solar cells by modulating a solvent-mediated adduct and tuning remnant BiI 3 in one-step crystallization journal January 2019
Recent progress of inorganic perovskite solar cells journal January 2019
Low-dimensional non-toxic A 3 Bi 2 X 9 compounds synthesized by a dry mechanochemical route with tunable visible photoluminescence at room temperature journal January 2019
Tailoring the film morphology and interface band offset of caesium bismuth iodide-based Pb-free perovskite solar cells journal January 2019

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