Strain-Induced Domains Introduce Anisotropic Charge Diffusion in Perovskite Absorber

When and Where

Nov 29, 2022
11:15am - 11:30am

Hynes, Level 3, Ballroom A

Presenter

Ilka Hermes

Andreas Best

Kaloian Koynov

David Ginger

Liam Collins

Hans-Jürgen Butt

Stefan Weber

Co-Author(s)

Ilka Hermes^1,2,Andreas Best²,Kaloian Koynov²,David Ginger³,Liam Collins⁴,Hans-Jürgen Butt²,Stefan Weber²

Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research Dresden e.V.¹,Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research²,University of Washington³,Oak Ridge National Laboratory⁴

Abstract

Ilka Hermes^1,2,Andreas Best²,Kaloian Koynov²,David Ginger³,Liam Collins⁴,Hans-Jürgen Butt²,Stefan Weber²

Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research Dresden e.V.¹,Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research²,University of Washington³,Oak Ridge National Laboratory⁴

A heterogeneous lattice strain distribution in the polycrystalline absorber layer of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has been connected to a range of detrimental phenomena including an increase in nonradiative recombination,1 an acceleration of the material degradation2 as well as an overall loss in efficiency.3 On the other hand, during a controlled crystallization via solvent annealing,4 the prototype perovskite absorber methylammonium lead iodide releases lattice strain by forming well-ordered subcrystalline periodic domains that alternate in their orientation of the long crystal axis.5 Due to their ferroelastic nature, the arrangement of such domains can be influenced by heat treatments above the critical phase transition temperature and external mechanical stress.6, 7 While the ferroelastic domains appear to exhibit a benign effect on the nonradiative recombination,8 we observed in our correlated electromechanical atomic force and spatial and time-resolved photoluminescence microscopy study that the domains introduce an anisotropy in the charge carrier transport: charges diffusing parallel to the domains were faster than charges diffusing perpendicular to the domains.9 Moreover, we found that the domains appear to be oriented in a 90° angle with respect to the (110) crystal plane, thus, offering an explanation for the observed improved performance for PSCs, in which the perovskite absorber features a preferential (110) orientation.10 Here, a faster charge transport parallel to the domains may increase the charge extraction and thereby enhance the efficiency. 1. T. W. Jones, A. Osherov, M. Alsari, M. Sponseller, B. C. Duck, Y.-K. Jung, C. Settens, F. Niroui, R. Brenes and C. V. Stan, Energy & Environmental Science, 2019, 12, 596-606. 2. J. Zhao, Y. Deng, H. Wei, X. Zheng, Z. Yu, Y. Shao, J. E. Shield and J. Huang, Science advances, 2017, 3, eaao5616. 3. K. Nishimura, D. Hirotani, M. A. Kamarudin, Q. Shen, T. Toyoda, S. Iikubo, T. Minemoto, K. Yoshino and S. Hayase, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2019, 11, 31105-31110. 4. Z. Xiao, Q. Dong, C. Bi, Y. Shao, Y. Yuan and J. Huang, Advanced Materials, 2014, 26, 6503-6509. 5. I. M. Hermes, S. A. Bretschneider, V. W. Bergmann, D. Li, A. Klasen, J. Mars, W. Tremel, F. Laquai, H.-J. Butt, M. Mezger, R. Berger, B. J. Rodriguez and S. A. L. Weber, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2016, 120, 5724-5731. 6. R. M. Kennard, C. J. Dahlman, R. A. DeCrescent, J. A. Schuller, K. Mukherjee, R. Seshadri and M. L. Chabinyc, Chemistry of Materials, 2020, 33, 298-309. 7. E. Strelcov, Q. Dong, T. Li, J. Chae, Y. Shao, Y. Deng, A. Gruverman, J. Huang and A. Centrone, Science advances, 2017, 3, e1602165. 8. X. Xiao, W. Li, Y. Fang, Y. Liu, Y. Shao, S. Yang, J. Zhao, X. Dai, R. Zia and J. Huang, Nature communications, 2020, 11, 1-7. 9. I. M. Hermes, A. Best, L. Winkelmann, J. Mars, S. M. Vorpahl, M. Mezger, L. Collins, H.-J. Butt, D. S. Ginger, K. Koynov and S. A. L. Weber, Energy & Environmental Science, 2020, 13, 4168-4177. 10. P. Docampo, F. C. Hanusch, N. Giesbrecht, P. Angloher, A. Ivanova and T. Bein, Apl Materials, 2014, 2, 081508.