Tuning Methylammonium Iodide Amount in Organolead Halide Perovskite Materials by Post-Treatment for High-Efficiency Solar Cells

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2019 Oct 23;11(42):38683-38688. doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b12193. Epub 2019 Oct 8.

Abstract

In this study, the composition of organic-inorganic perovskite materials is tuned by methylammonium iodide (MAI) post-treatment for high photovoltaic performance. By spin-coating MAI solutions of different concentrations, the amounts of PbI2 and MAI in perovskite layers are tuned. In perovskites, the removal of PbI2 through a reaction with MAI decreases the hysteresis in photocurrent density-voltage curves. Further, by treating perovskites with a high-concentration MAI solution, the excess MAI is incorporated into the perovskites. These perovskites with excess MAI show better power conversion efficiencies (of up to 20.7%) than perovskites with excess PbI2 because of the decrease in trap density. Since the present post-treatment can control perovskite composition without affecting the morphology and crystallinity of the perovskite crystals, this technique would be a useful tool to improve the photovoltaic performance of perovskite solar cells.

Keywords: ion composition; performance enhancement; perovskite solar cells; surface treatment; trap density.