How crystallization additives govern halide perovskite grain growth
Abstract
Abstract The preparation of perovskite solar cells from the liquid phase is a cornerstone of their immense potential. However, a clear relationship between the precursor ink and the formation of the resulting perovskite is missing. Established theories, such as heterogeneous nucleation and lead complex colloid formation, often prove unreliable, which has led to an overreliance on heuristics. Most high-performing perovskites use additives to control crystallization. Their role during crystallization is, however, elusive. Here, we provide evidence that typical crystallization additives do not predominantly impact the nucleation phase but rather facilitate coarsening grain growth by increasing ion mobility across grain boundaries. Drawing from the insights of our broad, interdisciplinary study that combines ex and in situ characterization methods, devices, simulations, and density function theory calculation, we propose a concept that proves valid for various additives and perovskite formulations. Moreover, we establish a direct link between additive engineering and perovskite post-processing, offering a unified framework for advancing material design and process engineering.
Article Details
Authors (41)
Timo Maschwitz
Lena Merten
Feray Ünlü
Martin Majewski
Fatemeh Haddadi Barzoki
Zijin Wu
Seren Dilara Öz
Cedric Kreusel
Manuel Theisen
Pang Wang
Maximilian Schiffer
Gianluca Boccarella
Gregor Marioth
Henrik Weidner
Sarah Schultheis
Tim Schieferstein
Dawid Gidaszewski
Zavkiddin Julliev
Ekaterina Kneschaurek
Valentin Munteanu
Ivan Zaluzhnyy
Florian Bertram
Anaël Jaffrès
Junjie He
Nigmat Ashurov
Martin Stolterfoht
Christian M. Wolff
Eva Unger
Selina Olthof
Geert Brocks
Shuxia Tao
Helen Grüninger
Olivier J. J. Ronsin
Jens Harting
Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Cauerstrasse 1, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
Andreas F. Kotthaus
Stefan F. Kirsch
Sanjay Mathur
Alexander Hinderhofer
Frank Schreiber
Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Tübingen
Thomas Riedl
Kai Oliver Brinkmann