TY - JOUR
T1 - Role of Water on the Rotational Dynamics of the Organic Methylammonium Cation: A First Principles Analysis
AU - Hoehn, Ross D.
AU - Francisco, Joseph S.
AU - Kais, Sabre
AU - Kachmar, Ali
N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2022-06-07
Acknowledgements: The HPC resources and services used in this work were provided by the Supercomputing Laboratory at the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, and Research Computing group in Texas A&M University at Qatar. Research computing is funded by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development.
This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.
PY - 2019/1/24
Y1 - 2019/1/24
N2 - Understanding the degradation mechanisms of lead-halide perovskites (CH3NH3PbI3) under exposure to liquid/aerosol water is an essential problem within the photovoltaic community. Herein we investigate both the static and the dynamic properties of the methylammonuim cation (MA) as it coordinates with invading water molecules (MA.(H2O)n, n = 1, 2, 3, 4) using both stationary state quantum mechanics and first principle molecular dynamics simulations. Various solvation structures of MA were characterized by their stabilization energies, dipoles, and Maximally-Localized Wannier Function (MLWF) centers. Calculation – and analysis – of vibrational shifts in the IR spectral region were performed for hydrated complexes; the locations of NH3+ stretching vibrations allude to significant hydrogen bonding between MA and the water molecules. Through Fourier analysis of the rotational dynamics on several MA · (H2O)n complexes, we conclude that the water molecules dampen the rotational motion of the MA as the intermolecular bonds formed between the water molecules and the MA act to hinder the rotation of the cation; these findings give explanatory support to earlier computational observations of humidity effects on perovskites (i.e., CH3NH3PbI3) materials. This work is a step toward understanding the water-MA cation interaction in bulk perovskites, thus providing greater understanding of in situ instability/degradation of perovskite bulk materials.
AB - Understanding the degradation mechanisms of lead-halide perovskites (CH3NH3PbI3) under exposure to liquid/aerosol water is an essential problem within the photovoltaic community. Herein we investigate both the static and the dynamic properties of the methylammonuim cation (MA) as it coordinates with invading water molecules (MA.(H2O)n, n = 1, 2, 3, 4) using both stationary state quantum mechanics and first principle molecular dynamics simulations. Various solvation structures of MA were characterized by their stabilization energies, dipoles, and Maximally-Localized Wannier Function (MLWF) centers. Calculation – and analysis – of vibrational shifts in the IR spectral region were performed for hydrated complexes; the locations of NH3+ stretching vibrations allude to significant hydrogen bonding between MA and the water molecules. Through Fourier analysis of the rotational dynamics on several MA · (H2O)n complexes, we conclude that the water molecules dampen the rotational motion of the MA as the intermolecular bonds formed between the water molecules and the MA act to hinder the rotation of the cation; these findings give explanatory support to earlier computational observations of humidity effects on perovskites (i.e., CH3NH3PbI3) materials. This work is a step toward understanding the water-MA cation interaction in bulk perovskites, thus providing greater understanding of in situ instability/degradation of perovskite bulk materials.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/678652
UR - http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-36900-4
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060527859&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-018-36900-4
DO - 10.1038/s41598-018-36900-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 30679543
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 9
JO - SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
JF - SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
IS - 1
ER -
