In Situ TEM Study of Thermal Degradation of Perovskite-based Solar Cells
Nanotalks with Dr. Giorgio Divitini from the University of Cambridge
Dr. Giorgio Divitini
Post Doc. Research Associate
University of Cambridge | Dept. of Materials Science & Metallurgy
Topic: In situ TEM study of thermal degradation of perovskite-based solar cells
Email: gd322@cam.ac.uk
DOI: Nature Energy 10.1038/energy.2015.12
Abstract
In situ TEM study of thermal degradation of perovskite-based solar cells
G. Divitini, S. Cacovich, F. Matteocci, L. Cinà, A. Di Carlo & C. Ducati | University of Cambridge The lack of thermal stability of perovskite solar cells is hindering the progress of this technology towards adoption in the consumer market. Different pathways of thermal degradation are activated at different temperatures in these complex nanostructured hybrid composites. Thus, it is essential to explore the thermal response of the mesosuperstructured composite device to engineer materials and operating protocols. Here we produce devices according to four well-established recipes, and characterize their photovoltaic performance as they are heated within the operational range. The devices are analysed using transmission electron microscopy as they are further heated in situ, to monitor changes in morphology and chemical composition. We identify mechanisms for structural and chemical changes, such as iodine and lead migration, which appear to be correlated to the synthesis conditions. In particular, we identify a correlation between exposure of the perovskite layer to air during processing and elemental diffusion during thermal treatment. Read full paper here!
Publications
2016 G. Divitini, S. Cacovich, F. Matteocci, L. Cina’, A. Di Carlo and C. Ducati In situ observation of heat-induced degradation of perovskite solar cells Nature Energy, 2016 Z. Saghi, G. Divitini, B. Winter, R.K. Leary, E. Spiecker, C. Ducati, P.A. Midgley Compressed sensing electron tomography of needle-shaped biological specimens–Potential for improved reconstruction fidelity with reduced dose Ultramicroscopy, 2016 2015 F. Matteocci, Y. Busby, J-J. Pireaux, G. Divitini, S. Cacovich, C. Ducati, A. Di Carlo Interface and composition analysis on perovskite solar cells ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2015 A. Di Bernardo, S. Diesch, Y. Gu, J. Linder, G. Divitini, C. Ducati, E. Scheer, M.G. Blamire and J.W.A. Robinson Signature of magnetic-dependent gapless odd frequency states at superconductor/ferromagnet interfaces Nature Communications 6:8053 M. Vrucinic, C. Matthiesen, A. Sadhanala, G. Divitini, S. Cacovich, S.E. Dutton, C. Ducati, M. Atatüre, H. Snaith, R.H. Friend, H. Sirringhaus, F. Deschler Local Versus Long-Range Diffusion Effects of Photoexcited States on Radiative Recombination in Organic–Inorganic Lead Halide Perovskites Adv. Sci., 2:9 M. Balandeh, A. Mezzetti, A. Tacca, S. Leonardi, G. Marra, G. Divitini, C. Ducati, L. Meda, F. Di Fonzo Quasi-1D hyperbranched WO3 nanostructures for low-voltage photoelectrochemical water splitting J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 6110-6117 A. Gagliardi, M. Auf der Maur, D. Gentilini, F. Di Fonzo, A. Abrusci, H.J. Snaith, G. Divitini, C. Ducati, A. Di Carlo The real TiO2/HTM interface of solid-state dye solar cells: role of trapped states from a multiscale modelling perspective Nanoscale, 2015, 7, 1136-1144