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Reducing Surface Recombination Velocity of Methylammonium-Free Mixed-Cation Mixed-Halide Perovskites via Surface Passivation

Journal Article · · Chemistry of Materials
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [4];  [7];  [5]
  1. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); University of Washington
  2. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
  3. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
  4. Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (United States)
  5. Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
  6. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Swift Solar Inc., San Carlos, CA (United States)
  7. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

We control surface recombination in the mixed-cation, mixed-halide perovskite, FA0.83Cs0.17Pb(I0.85Br0.15)3, by passivating nonradiative defects with the polymerizable Lewis base (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (APTMS). We demonstrate average minority carrier lifetimes >4 μs, nearly single exponential monomolecular photoluminescence decays, and high external photoluminescence quantum efficiencies (>20%, corresponding to ~97% of the maximum theoretical quasi-Fermi-level splitting) at low excitation fluence. We confirm both the composition and valence band edge position of the FA0.83Cs0.17Pb(I0.85Br0.15)3 perovskite using multi-institutional, cross-validated, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. We extend the APTMS surface passivation to higher bandgap double-cation (FA and Cs) compositions (1.7, 1.75, and 1.8 eV) as well as the widely used triple-cation (FA, MA, and Cs) composition. Finally, we demonstrate that the average surface recombination velocity decreases from ~1000 to ~10 cm/s post APTMS passivation for FA0.83Cs0.17Pb(I0.85Br0.15)3. Our results demonstrate that surface-mediated recombination is the primary nonradiative loss pathway in many methylammonium (MA)-free mixed-cation mixed-halide films with a range of different bandgaps, which is a problem observed for a wide range of perovskite active layers and reactive electrical contacts. Furthermore, our study also provides insights to develop passivating molecules that help reduce surface recombination in MA-free mixed-cation mixed-halide films and indicates that surface passivation and contact engineering will enable near-theoretical device efficiencies with these materials.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office; National Science Foundation
Grant/Contract Number:
EE0008747; AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1806288
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1812704
OSTI ID: 1910155
Journal Information:
Chemistry of Materials, Journal Name: Chemistry of Materials Journal Issue: 13 Vol. 33; ISSN 0897-4756
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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