| Literature DB >> 29732103 |
Sofia Masi1,2, Federica Aiello3, Andrea Listorti1,2, Federica Balzano3, Davide Altamura4, Cinzia Giannini4, Rocco Caliandro4, Gloria Uccello-Barretta3, Aurora Rizzo1, Silvia Colella1,2.
Abstract
The evolution from solvated precursors to hybrid halide perovskite films dictates most of the photophysical and optoelectronic properties of the final polycrystalline material. Specifically, the complex equilibria and the importantly different solubilities of lead iodide (PbI2) and methylammonium iodide (MAI) induce inhomogeneous crystal growth, often leading to a defect dense film showing non-optimal optoelectronic properties and intrinsic instability. Here, we explore a supramolecular approach based on the use of cyclodextrins (CDs) to modify the underlying solution chemistry. The peculiar phenomenon demonstrated is a tunable complexation between different CDs and MA+ cations concurrent to an out of cage PbI2 intercalation, representing the first report of a connection between the solvation equilibria of the two perovskite precursors. The optimal conditions in terms of CD cavity size and polarity translate to a neat enhancement of PbI2 solubility in the reaction media, leading to an equilibration of the availability of the precursors in solution. The macroscopic result of this is an improved nucleation process, leading to a perovskite material with higher crystallinity, better optical properties and improved moisture resistance. Remarkably, the use of CDs presents a great potential for a wide range of device-related applications, as well as for the development of tailored composite materials.Entities:
Year: 2018 PMID: 29732103 PMCID: PMC5916222 DOI: 10.1039/c7sc05095j
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Chem Sci ISSN: 2041-6520 Impact factor: 9.825
Fig. 1(a) Chemical structures of α-, β- and γ-cyclodextrins; (b) perovskite crystals; (c) a phase solubility diagram of MAPbI3 solution with increasing β-cyclodextrin concentration (from 0 M to 0.11 M) in a γ-butyrolactone (GBL) : dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) 2 : 1 v/v solvent mixture. (d) UV-vis spectra of PbI2 in GBL : DMSO 2 : 1, as a function of α-, β- and γ-CD concentration, here illustrated for every 10 equivalents.
Fig. 2(a) 1H NMR (600 MHz, DMSO-d6, 25 °C) spectra of MAI (5 mM) in mixtures with α-CD, β-CD and γ-CD at different molar ratios; expansion of the low-frequency spectral region (from 2.3 ppm to 2.4 ppm). Plots showing the variation of diffusion coefficient (D) of MAI during titration with (b) α-CD, (c) β-CD and (d) γ-CD.
Fig. 3(a) Current–voltage curves for the best-performing devices; (b) cross section SEM images of PV devices. (c) Time-resolved photoluminescence decay curves using MAPbI3 1 M (blue trace), MAPbI3 1 M/β-CD (red trace) and MAPbI3 2 M/β-CD (black trace) films.
Fig. 4Thin-film theta/2theta XRD patterns of (a) pristine MAPbI3 1 M, (b) MAPbI3 1 M/β-CD and (c) MAPbI3 2 M/β-CD perovskite films deposited on ITO (°) substrates which were exposed to ambient air, before and after degradation. Inset: pictures of corresponding films after 3 months in air.
Fig. 5From left to right: determinations of crystallinity using synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction profiles (black lines); PDF fits with weighted profile agreement factors (Rw); tetragonal MAPbI3 perovskite structures as seen along the c axis. The highest peaks are fitted by Gaussian functions (green line) added to the background (blue curve) estimated by the SNIP algorithm (reference in the main text). The crystallinity is measured as the ratio between the integral of the Gaussian curves with respect to the integral of the Gaussian + background curves. The percentage of crystalline to amorphous signal is calculated through a XPD fitting procedure from: (a) ICSD database n. 238610 in the space group I4/mcm; (b) resulting from the fitted PDF data for the pristine sample and (c) for the sample with β-CD.
Fig. 6Simplified sketch of the possible β-CD working mechanism on perovskite formation.