Investigating the Superoxide Formation and Stability in Mesoporous Carbon Perovskite Solar Cells with an Aminovaleric Acid Additive

Emmanuel V. Péan; Catherine S. De Castro; Stoichko Dimitrov; Francesca De Rossi; Simone Meroni; Jenny Baker; Trystan Watson; Matthew L. Davies

doi:10.1002/adfm.201909839

Investigating the Superoxide Formation and Stability in Mesoporous Carbon Perovskite Solar Cells with an Aminovaleric Acid Additive

Emmanuel V. Péan, Catherine S. De Castro, Stoichko Dimitrov, Francesca De Rossi, Simone Meroni, Jenny Baker, Trystan Watson, Matthew L. Davies^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

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

35 Scopus citations

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells have attracted a great deal of attention thanks to their high efficiency, ease of manufacturing, and potential low cost. However, the stability of these devices is considered their main drawback and needs to be addressed. Mesoporous carbon perovskite solar cells (m-CPSC), consisting of three mesoporous layers (TiO₂/ZrO₂/C) infiltrated with CH₃NH₃PbI₃ (MAPI) perovskite, have presented excellent lifetimes of more than 10 000 h when the additive NH₂(CH₂)₄CO₂HI (5- aminovaleric acid iodide; 5-AVAI) is used to modify the perovskite structure. Yet, the role of 5-AVAI in enhancing the stability has yet to be determined. Here, superoxide-mediated degradation of MAPI m-CPSC with and without the 5-AVAI additive is studied using the fluorescence probe dihydroethidium for superoxide detection. In situ X-ray diffractometry shows that aminovaleric acid methylammonium lead iodide (AVA-MAPI) perovskite infiltrated in mesoporous layers presents higher stability in an ambient environment under illumination, evidenced by a slower decrease of the MAPI/PbI₂ peak ratio. Superoxide yield measurements demonstrate that AVA-MAPI generates more superoxide than regular MAPI when deposited on glass but generates significantly less when infiltrated in mesoporous layers. It is believed that superoxide formation in m-CPSC is dependent on a combination of competitive factors including oxygen diffusion, sample morphology, grain size, and defect concentration.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	1909839
Journal	Advanced Functional Materials
Volume	30
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201909839
State	Published - Mar 1 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors are grateful for the support of the EPSRC and Innovate UK for the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre and the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government for support to the Sêr Solar program. M.L.D. is grateful for the financial support of the EPSRC (EP/R016666/1 and EP/S001336/1). M.L.D. and T.W. are grateful for funding through the EPSRC GCRF SUNRISE project (EP/P032591/1). E.V.P. is grateful for funding from Sêr Solar, the Swansea University, College of Engineering Zienkiewicz scholarship and the financial support provided by the M2A that has been made possible through funding from the European Social Fund via the Welsh Government. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by Swansea University College of Engineering AIM Facility, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (EP/M028267/1), the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government (80708) and the Sêr Solar project via Welsh Government.

Funding Information:
The authors are grateful for the support of the EPSRC and Innovate UK for the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre and the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government for support to the S?r Solar program. M.L.D. is grateful for the financial support of the EPSRC (EP/R016666/1 and EP/S001336/1). M.L.D. and T.W. are grateful for funding through the EPSRC GCRF SUNRISE project (EP/P032591/1). E.V.P. is grateful for funding from S?r Solar, the Swansea University, College of Engineering Zienkiewicz scholarship and the financial support provided by the M2A that has been made possible through funding from the European Social Fund via the Welsh Government. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by Swansea University College of Engineering AIM Facility, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (EP/M028267/1), the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government (80708) and the S?r Solar project via Welsh Government.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Keywords

5-ammonium valeric acid iodide
AVA-MAPI
dihydroethidium
fluorescence
in situ x-ray diffractometry

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Chemistry
General Materials Science
Condensed Matter Physics

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10.1002/adfm.201909839

Cite this

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title = "Investigating the Superoxide Formation and Stability in Mesoporous Carbon Perovskite Solar Cells with an Aminovaleric Acid Additive",

abstract = "Perovskite solar cells have attracted a great deal of attention thanks to their high efficiency, ease of manufacturing, and potential low cost. However, the stability of these devices is considered their main drawback and needs to be addressed. Mesoporous carbon perovskite solar cells (m-CPSC), consisting of three mesoporous layers (TiO2/ZrO2/C) infiltrated with CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPI) perovskite, have presented excellent lifetimes of more than 10 000 h when the additive NH2(CH2)4CO2HI (5- aminovaleric acid iodide; 5-AVAI) is used to modify the perovskite structure. Yet, the role of 5-AVAI in enhancing the stability has yet to be determined. Here, superoxide-mediated degradation of MAPI m-CPSC with and without the 5-AVAI additive is studied using the fluorescence probe dihydroethidium for superoxide detection. In situ X-ray diffractometry shows that aminovaleric acid methylammonium lead iodide (AVA-MAPI) perovskite infiltrated in mesoporous layers presents higher stability in an ambient environment under illumination, evidenced by a slower decrease of the MAPI/PbI2 peak ratio. Superoxide yield measurements demonstrate that AVA-MAPI generates more superoxide than regular MAPI when deposited on glass but generates significantly less when infiltrated in mesoporous layers. It is believed that superoxide formation in m-CPSC is dependent on a combination of competitive factors including oxygen diffusion, sample morphology, grain size, and defect concentration.",

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note = "Funding Information: The authors are grateful for the support of the EPSRC and Innovate UK for the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre and the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government for support to the S{\^e}r Solar program. M.L.D. is grateful for the financial support of the EPSRC (EP/R016666/1 and EP/S001336/1). M.L.D. and T.W. are grateful for funding through the EPSRC GCRF SUNRISE project (EP/P032591/1). E.V.P. is grateful for funding from S{\^e}r Solar, the Swansea University, College of Engineering Zienkiewicz scholarship and the financial support provided by the M2A that has been made possible through funding from the European Social Fund via the Welsh Government. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by Swansea University College of Engineering AIM Facility, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (EP/M028267/1), the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government (80708) and the S{\^e}r Solar project via Welsh Government. Funding Information: The authors are grateful for the support of the EPSRC and Innovate UK for the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre and the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government for support to the S?r Solar program. M.L.D. is grateful for the financial support of the EPSRC (EP/R016666/1 and EP/S001336/1). M.L.D. and T.W. are grateful for funding through the EPSRC GCRF SUNRISE project (EP/P032591/1). E.V.P. is grateful for funding from S?r Solar, the Swansea University, College of Engineering Zienkiewicz scholarship and the financial support provided by the M2A that has been made possible through funding from the European Social Fund via the Welsh Government. The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by Swansea University College of Engineering AIM Facility, which was funded in part by the EPSRC (EP/M028267/1), the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government (80708) and the S?r Solar project via Welsh Government. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim",

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N2 - Perovskite solar cells have attracted a great deal of attention thanks to their high efficiency, ease of manufacturing, and potential low cost. However, the stability of these devices is considered their main drawback and needs to be addressed. Mesoporous carbon perovskite solar cells (m-CPSC), consisting of three mesoporous layers (TiO2/ZrO2/C) infiltrated with CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPI) perovskite, have presented excellent lifetimes of more than 10 000 h when the additive NH2(CH2)4CO2HI (5- aminovaleric acid iodide; 5-AVAI) is used to modify the perovskite structure. Yet, the role of 5-AVAI in enhancing the stability has yet to be determined. Here, superoxide-mediated degradation of MAPI m-CPSC with and without the 5-AVAI additive is studied using the fluorescence probe dihydroethidium for superoxide detection. In situ X-ray diffractometry shows that aminovaleric acid methylammonium lead iodide (AVA-MAPI) perovskite infiltrated in mesoporous layers presents higher stability in an ambient environment under illumination, evidenced by a slower decrease of the MAPI/PbI2 peak ratio. Superoxide yield measurements demonstrate that AVA-MAPI generates more superoxide than regular MAPI when deposited on glass but generates significantly less when infiltrated in mesoporous layers. It is believed that superoxide formation in m-CPSC is dependent on a combination of competitive factors including oxygen diffusion, sample morphology, grain size, and defect concentration.

AB - Perovskite solar cells have attracted a great deal of attention thanks to their high efficiency, ease of manufacturing, and potential low cost. However, the stability of these devices is considered their main drawback and needs to be addressed. Mesoporous carbon perovskite solar cells (m-CPSC), consisting of three mesoporous layers (TiO2/ZrO2/C) infiltrated with CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPI) perovskite, have presented excellent lifetimes of more than 10 000 h when the additive NH2(CH2)4CO2HI (5- aminovaleric acid iodide; 5-AVAI) is used to modify the perovskite structure. Yet, the role of 5-AVAI in enhancing the stability has yet to be determined. Here, superoxide-mediated degradation of MAPI m-CPSC with and without the 5-AVAI additive is studied using the fluorescence probe dihydroethidium for superoxide detection. In situ X-ray diffractometry shows that aminovaleric acid methylammonium lead iodide (AVA-MAPI) perovskite infiltrated in mesoporous layers presents higher stability in an ambient environment under illumination, evidenced by a slower decrease of the MAPI/PbI2 peak ratio. Superoxide yield measurements demonstrate that AVA-MAPI generates more superoxide than regular MAPI when deposited on glass but generates significantly less when infiltrated in mesoporous layers. It is believed that superoxide formation in m-CPSC is dependent on a combination of competitive factors including oxygen diffusion, sample morphology, grain size, and defect concentration.

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Investigating the Superoxide Formation and Stability in Mesoporous Carbon Perovskite Solar Cells with an Aminovaleric Acid Additive

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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