Effect of Cation Composition on the Mechanical Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Nicholas Rolston; Adam D. Printz; Jared M. Tracy; Hasitha C. Weerasinghe; Doojin Vak; Lew Jia Haur; Anish Priyadarshi; Nripan Mathews; Daniel J. Slotcavage; Michael D. McGehee; Roghi E. Kalan; Kenneth Zielinski; Ronald L. Grimm; Hsinhan Tsai; Wanyi Nie; Aditya D. Mohite; Somayeh Gholipour; Michael Saliba; Michael Grätzel; Reinhold H. Dauskardt

doi:10.1002/aenm.201702116

Effect of Cation Composition on the Mechanical Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Nicholas Rolston, Adam D. Printz, Jared M. Tracy, Hasitha C. Weerasinghe, Doojin Vak, Lew Jia Haur, Anish Priyadarshi, Nripan Mathews, Daniel J. Slotcavage, Michael D. McGehee, Roghi E. Kalan, Kenneth Zielinski, Ronald L. Grimm, Hsinhan Tsai, Wanyi Nie, Aditya D. Mohite, Somayeh Gholipour, Michael Saliba, Michael Grätzel, Reinhold H. Dauskardt

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

146 Scopus citations

Abstract

Photoactive perovskite semiconductors are highly tunable, with numerous inorganic and organic cations readily incorporated to modify optoelectronic properties. However, despite the importance of device reliability and long service lifetimes, the effects of various cations on the mechanical properties of perovskites are largely overlooked. In this study, the cohesion energy of perovskites containing various cation combinations of methylammonium, formamidinium, cesium, butylammonium, and 5-aminovaleric acid is reported. A trade-off is observed between the mechanical integrity and the efficiency of perovskite devices. High efficiency devices exhibit decreased cohesion, which is attributed to reduced grain sizes with the inclusion of additional cations and PbI₂ additives. Microindentation hardness testing is performed to estimate the fracture toughness of single-crystal perovskite, and the results indicated perovskites are inherently fragile, even in the absence of grain boundaries and defects. The devices found to have the highest fracture energies are perovskites infiltrated into a porous TiO₂/ZrO₂/C triple layer, which provide extrinsic reinforcement and shielding for enhanced mechanical and chemical stability.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	1702116
Journal	Advanced Energy Materials
Volume	8
Issue number	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201702116
State	Published - Mar 26 2018
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

cation
mechanical stability
perovskite solar cells
reliability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
General Materials Science

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10.1002/aenm.201702116

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Rolston, N., Printz, A. D., Tracy, J. M., Weerasinghe, H. C., Vak, D., Haur, L. J., Priyadarshi, A., Mathews, N., Slotcavage, D. J., McGehee, M. D., Kalan, R. E., Zielinski, K., Grimm, R. L., Tsai, H., Nie, W., Mohite, A. D., Gholipour, S., Saliba, M., Grätzel, M., & Dauskardt, R. H. (2018). Effect of Cation Composition on the Mechanical Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells. Advanced Energy Materials, 8(9), Article 1702116. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201702116

Rolston, N, Printz, AD, Tracy, JM, Weerasinghe, HC, Vak, D, Haur, LJ, Priyadarshi, A, Mathews, N, Slotcavage, DJ, McGehee, MD, Kalan, RE, Zielinski, K, Grimm, RL, Tsai, H, Nie, W, Mohite, AD, Gholipour, S, Saliba, M, Grätzel, M & Dauskardt, RH 2018, 'Effect of Cation Composition on the Mechanical Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells', Advanced Energy Materials, vol. 8, no. 9, 1702116. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201702116

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abstract = "Photoactive perovskite semiconductors are highly tunable, with numerous inorganic and organic cations readily incorporated to modify optoelectronic properties. However, despite the importance of device reliability and long service lifetimes, the effects of various cations on the mechanical properties of perovskites are largely overlooked. In this study, the cohesion energy of perovskites containing various cation combinations of methylammonium, formamidinium, cesium, butylammonium, and 5-aminovaleric acid is reported. A trade-off is observed between the mechanical integrity and the efficiency of perovskite devices. High efficiency devices exhibit decreased cohesion, which is attributed to reduced grain sizes with the inclusion of additional cations and PbI2 additives. Microindentation hardness testing is performed to estimate the fracture toughness of single-crystal perovskite, and the results indicated perovskites are inherently fragile, even in the absence of grain boundaries and defects. The devices found to have the highest fracture energies are perovskites infiltrated into a porous TiO2/ZrO2/C triple layer, which provide extrinsic reinforcement and shielding for enhanced mechanical and chemical stability.",

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AU - Weerasinghe, Hasitha C.

AU - Vak, Doojin

AU - Haur, Lew Jia

AU - Priyadarshi, Anish

AU - Mathews, Nripan

AU - Slotcavage, Daniel J.

AU - McGehee, Michael D.

AU - Kalan, Roghi E.

AU - Zielinski, Kenneth

AU - Grimm, Ronald L.

AU - Tsai, Hsinhan

AU - Nie, Wanyi

AU - Mohite, Aditya D.

AU - Gholipour, Somayeh

AU - Saliba, Michael

AU - Grätzel, Michael

AU - Dauskardt, Reinhold H.

PY - 2018/3/26

Y1 - 2018/3/26

N2 - Photoactive perovskite semiconductors are highly tunable, with numerous inorganic and organic cations readily incorporated to modify optoelectronic properties. However, despite the importance of device reliability and long service lifetimes, the effects of various cations on the mechanical properties of perovskites are largely overlooked. In this study, the cohesion energy of perovskites containing various cation combinations of methylammonium, formamidinium, cesium, butylammonium, and 5-aminovaleric acid is reported. A trade-off is observed between the mechanical integrity and the efficiency of perovskite devices. High efficiency devices exhibit decreased cohesion, which is attributed to reduced grain sizes with the inclusion of additional cations and PbI2 additives. Microindentation hardness testing is performed to estimate the fracture toughness of single-crystal perovskite, and the results indicated perovskites are inherently fragile, even in the absence of grain boundaries and defects. The devices found to have the highest fracture energies are perovskites infiltrated into a porous TiO2/ZrO2/C triple layer, which provide extrinsic reinforcement and shielding for enhanced mechanical and chemical stability.

AB - Photoactive perovskite semiconductors are highly tunable, with numerous inorganic and organic cations readily incorporated to modify optoelectronic properties. However, despite the importance of device reliability and long service lifetimes, the effects of various cations on the mechanical properties of perovskites are largely overlooked. In this study, the cohesion energy of perovskites containing various cation combinations of methylammonium, formamidinium, cesium, butylammonium, and 5-aminovaleric acid is reported. A trade-off is observed between the mechanical integrity and the efficiency of perovskite devices. High efficiency devices exhibit decreased cohesion, which is attributed to reduced grain sizes with the inclusion of additional cations and PbI2 additives. Microindentation hardness testing is performed to estimate the fracture toughness of single-crystal perovskite, and the results indicated perovskites are inherently fragile, even in the absence of grain boundaries and defects. The devices found to have the highest fracture energies are perovskites infiltrated into a porous TiO2/ZrO2/C triple layer, which provide extrinsic reinforcement and shielding for enhanced mechanical and chemical stability.

KW - cation

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KW - reliability

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Effect of Cation Composition on the Mechanical Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Keywords

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