Grain Transformation and Degradation Mechanism of Formamidinium and Cesium Lead Iodide Perovskite under Humidity and Light

Kevin Ho, Mingyang Wei, Edward H. Sargent, Gilbert C. Walker*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

113 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mixed cation perovskites have improved stability, but cation alloying enables the formation of separated phases, as well as leading to new decomposition pathways. Here, using photothermal infrared microscopy, we report degradation mechanisms in FA0.85Cs0.15PbI3, a study enabled by our ability to resolve the location of formamidinium (FA) cations with <100 nm spatial resolution. We find that upon exposure to either light or water alone, no decomposition nor change in the spatial distribution of FA was observed. However, upon exposure to both light and high humidity simultaneously, FA0.85Cs0.15PbI3 degrades through a multistep pathway within 30 h. First, the FA0.85Cs0.15PbI3 phase separates to δo-CsPbI3, δ-FAPbI3, and PbI2 and the spatial distribution of FA becomes increasingly heterogeneous. Second, FA evaporates from δ-FAPbI3 and PbI2 remained. Understanding the degradation pathways will aid in the design of more stable perovskites with, for example, the suppressing of grain transformation during the phase separation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)934-940
Number of pages7
JournalACS Energy Letters
Volume6
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 12 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Chemistry (miscellaneous)
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Fuel Technology
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • Materials Chemistry

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