Crystallization Kinetics of Organic–Inorganic Trihalide Perovskites and the Role of the Lead Anion in Crystal Growth

David T. Moore, Hiroaki Sai, Kwan W. Tan, Detlef-M. Smilgies, Wei Zhang, Henry J. Snaith, Ulrich Wiesner, Lara A. Estroff

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

331 Scopus citations

Abstract

© 2015 American Chemical Society. Methylammonium lead halide perovskite solar cells continue to excite the research community due to their rapidly increasing performance which, in large part, is due to improvements in film morphology. The next step in this progression is control of the crystal morphology which requires a better fundamental understanding of the crystal growth. In this study we use in situ X-ray scattering data to study isothermal transformations of perovskite films derived from chloride, iodide, nitrate, and acetate lead salts. Using established models we determine the activation energy for crystallization and find that it changes as a function of the lead salt. Further analysis enabled determination of the precursor composition and showed that the primary step in perovskite formation is removal of excess organic salt from the precursor. This understanding suggests that careful choice of the lead salt will aid in controlling crystal growth, leading to superior films and better performing solar cells.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2350-2358
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume137
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 9 2015
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Crystallization Kinetics of Organic–Inorganic Trihalide Perovskites and the Role of the Lead Anion in Crystal Growth'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this