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Low Pressure Vapor-assisted Solution Process for Tunable Band Gap Pinhole-free Methylammonium Lead Halide Perovskite Films
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Chemical Interaction at the MoO3/CH3NH3PbI3-Cl Interface
Xiaxia Liao1,2, Severin N Habisreutinger3, Sven Wiesner4
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, P. R. China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|March 31, 2021
Summary
Molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) as a hole-transport layer in perovskite solar cells leads to device degradation. Chemical reactions at the MoO3/perovskite interface cause decomposition, explaining poor solar cell performance.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Renewable Energy
- Chemistry
Background:
- Metal halide perovskite solar cells show promise but suffer from limited long-term stability.
- Organic hole-transport materials (HTMs) are often implicated in perovskite degradation.
- Metal oxide layers, like molybdenum trioxide (MoO3), are explored as alternative HTMs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically investigate the chemical interactions and degradation mechanisms at the MoO3/CH3NH3PbI3-xClx (MAPbI3-xClx) heterojunction.
- To understand why MoO3, a common HTM in organic photovoltaics, causes severe deterioration in perovskite solar cells.
Main Methods:
- Synchrotron-based hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES)
- Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
- Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX)
- Raman spectroscopy
Main Results:
- Significant chemical interactions observed at the MoO3/MAPbI3-xClx interface upon MoO3 deposition.
- Formation of substoichiometric molybdenum oxide and decomposition of the perovskite layer, with PbI2 accumulation.
- Evidence for new compound formation, including PbMoO4, PbN2O2, and PbO, indicating complex decomposition pathways.
Conclusions:
- The direct MoO3/MAPbI3-xClx interface is inherently unstable due to chemical reactions.
- This instability explains the low power conversion efficiencies observed in perovskite solar cells utilizing MoO3 as an HTM with direct contact to the perovskite layer.
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