Organic-Inorganic Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals and Solar Cells

Authors

Rui GuoFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Physics

First Advisor's Name

Wenzhi Li

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Yesim Darici

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Kevin O'Shea

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Nezih Pala

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fifth Advisor's Name

Xuewen Wang

Fifth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Keywords

Organic-inorganic halide perovskite, nanocrystals, photovoltaic

Date of Defense

11-4-2020

Abstract

A great challenge facing humanity in the 21^st century is finding inexhaustible and inexpensive energy sources to power the planet. Renewable energies are the best solutions because of their abundance, diversity, and pollution-free emission. Solar energy is the cleanest and most abundant renewable energy source available. In the continuing quest for efficient and low-cost solar cells, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a potential replacement for silicon solar cells. Since 2009, the record efficiencies of PSCs have been skyrocketing from 3.8 % to 25.2 % and are now approaching the theoretical limit. Along with the three-dimensional perovskites used for photovoltaics, the layer-structured perovskites also attracted significant attention due to their remarkable optoelectronic properties for application in lasing and light-emitting devices.

In this dissertation, the synthesis of two-dimensional (C₆H₅C₂H₄NH₃)₂PbBr₄ (PEPB) nanocrystal with thickness as few as 3 unit cell layers was demonstrated. Compare to its bulk crystals, 2D PEPB nanocrystals exhibited a major blue-shifted photoluminescence (PL) peak at 409 nm, which is attributed to the quantum confinement effect, and two new PL peaks at 480 and 525 nm at room temperature. Time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy was used to investigate the exciton dynamics, exhibiting an exciton lifetime of 16.7 ps. The high-quality 2D PEPB nanocrystals are expected to have high PL quantum efficiency and potential applications for light-emitting devices.

In the second part, the optimization of planar PSCs is carried out by the engineering of the deposition method for MAPbI₃ thin films. We compared the quality of the MAPbI₃ films deposited by two different methods. Compared to the film deposited by the Lewis adduct method, perovskite film deposited by the methylamine-gas-assisted method showed larger crystal grains, smoother surface morphology, and a preferred (110) crystal orientation. As for PSC efficiency, the methylamine-gas-assisted method also showed clear advantages over the Lewis adduct method (highest efficiency: 19.28 % vs. 18.17 %; average efficiency: 16.28 % vs. 12.59 %). The methylamine-gas-assisted method, with its potential for upscaling, is no doubt a noteworthy leap towards the roll-to-roll printing of large-area PSCs.

Identifier

FIDC009205

Previously Published In

Guo, R.; Zhu, Z.; Boulesbaa, A.; Hao, F.; Puretzky, A.; Xiao, K.; Bao, J.; Yao, Y.; Li, W., Synthesis and photoluminescence properties of 2D phenethylammonium lead bromide perovskite nanocrystals. Small Methods, 2017, 1 (10), 1700245.

Guo, R.; Li, W., Perovskite Nanomaterials for solar cells. iScience Notes, 2019, 2.

Yang, M.; Guo, R.; Kadel, K.; Liu, Y.; O'Shea, K.; Bone, R.; Wang, X.; He, J.; Li, W., Improved charge transport of Nb-doped TiO₂ nanorods in methylammonium lead iodide bromide perovskite solar cells. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 19616-19622.

Rong, Y.; Venkatesan, S; Guo, R.; Wang, Y.; Bao, J.; Li, W.; Fan, F; Yao, Y., Critical kinetic control of non-stoichiometric intermediate phase transformation for efficient perovskite solar cells. Nanoscale, 2016, 8, 12892-12899.

Recommended Citation

Guo, Rui, "Organic-Inorganic Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals and Solar Cells" (2020). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4582.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4582