Assessing the impact of defects on lead‐free perovskite‐inspired photovoltaics via photoinduced current transient spectroscopy
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The formidable rise of lead‐halide perovskite photovoltaics has energized the search for lead‐free perovskite‐inspired materials (PIMs) with related optoelectronic properties but free from toxicity limitations. The photovoltaic performance of PIMs closely depends on their defect tolerance. However, a comprehensive experimental characterization of their defect‐level parameters—concentration, energy depth, and capture cross‐section—has not been pursued to date, hindering the rational development of defect‐tolerant PIMs. While mainstream, capacitance‐based techniques for defect‐level characterization have sparked controversy in lead‐halide perovskite research, their use on PIMs is also problematic due to their typical near‐intrinsic character. This study demonstrates on four representative PIMs (Cs3Sb2I9, Rb3Sb2I9, BiOI, and AgBiI4) for which Photoinduced Current Transient Spectroscopy (PICTS) offers a facile, widely applicable route to the defect‐level characterization of PIMs embedded within solar cells. Going beyond the ambiguities of the current discussion of defect tolerance, a methodology is also presented to quantitatively assess the defect tolerance of PIMs in photovoltaics based on their experimental defect‐level parameters. Finally, PICTS applied to PIM photovoltaics is revealed to be ultimately sensitive to defect‐level concentrations <1 ppb. Therefore, this study provides a versatile platform for the defect‐level characterization of PIMs and related absorbers, which can catalyze the development of green, high‐performance photovoltaics.
Date Issued
2021-06-10
Date Acceptance
2021-05-01
Citation
Advanced Energy Materials, 2021, 11 (22)
ISSN
1614-6832
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Advanced Energy Materials
Volume
11
Issue
22
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Authors. Advanced Energy Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Sponsor
Royal Academy of Engineering
Royal Academy Of Engineering
Identifier
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aenm.202003968
Grant Number
RF\201718\17101
RF\201718\17101
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Technology
Chemistry, Physical
Energy & Fuels
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Physics, Applied
Physics, Condensed Matter
Chemistry
Materials Science
Physics
antimony-based perovskites
bismuth-based perovskites
defect tolerance
lead-free perovskite-inspired materials
nonradiative recombination
PICTS
solar cells
SOLAR-CELLS
HALIDE
TOLERANCE
LIGHT
SEMICONDUCTORS
EFFICIENCY
HYSTERESIS
IODIDE
RB
0303 Macromolecular and Materials Chemistry
0912 Materials Engineering
0915 Interdisciplinary Engineering
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 2003968
Date Publish Online
2021-05-04