Zero-dimensional methylammonium iodo bismuthate solar cells and synergistic interactions with silicon nanocrystals

Calum McDonald; Chengsheng Ni; Vladimir Švrček; Mickaël Lozac'h; Paul A Connor; Paul Maguire; John T S Irvine; Davide Mariotti

doi:10.1039/c7nr05764d

Zero-dimensional methylammonium iodo bismuthate solar cells and synergistic interactions with silicon nanocrystals

Nanoscale. 2017 Dec 7;9(47):18759-18771. doi: 10.1039/c7nr05764d.

Authors

Calum McDonald¹, Chengsheng Ni², Vladimir Švrček³, Mickaël Lozac'h³, Paul A Connor², Paul Maguire¹, John T S Irvine², Davide Mariotti¹

Affiliations

¹ Nanotechnology and Integrated Bioengineering Centre, Ulster University, BT37 0QB, UK. mcdonald-c26@email.ulster.ac.uk.
² School of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK.
³ Research Center for Photovoltaics, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba 305-8568, Japan.

PMID: 29168534
DOI: 10.1039/c7nr05764d

Abstract

Organometal trihalide perovskite solar cells have attracted monumental attention in recent years. Today's best devices, based on a three-dimensional perovskite structure of corner-sharing PbI₆ octahedra, are unstable, toxic, and display hysteresis in current-voltage measurements. We present zero-dimensional organic-inorganic hybrid solar cells based on methylammonium iodo bismuthate (CH₃NH₃)₃(Bi₂I₉) (MABI) comprising a Bi₂I₉ bioctahedra and observe very low hysteresis for scan rates in the broad range of 150 mV s^-1 to 1500 mV s^-1 without any interfacial layer engineering. We confirm good stability for devices produced and stored in open air without humidity control. The MABI structure can also accommodate silicon nanocrystals, leading to an enhancement in the short-circuit current. Through the material MABI, we demonstrate a promising alternative to the organometal trihalide perovskite class and present a model material for future composite third-generation photovoltaics.