Benjamin Foley

Temperature dependent energy levels of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite

Temperature dependent energy levels of methylammonium lead iodide are investigated using a combination of ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and optical spectroscopy. Our results show that the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum shift down in energy by 110 meV and 77 meV as temperature increases from 28 °C to 85 °C. Density functional theory calculations using slab structures show that the decreased orbital splitting due to thermal expansion is a major contribution to the experimentally observed shift in energy levels. Our results have implications for solar cell performance under operating conditions with continued sunlight exposure and increased temperature.

Entropy-driven structural transition and kinetic trapping in formamidinium lead iodide perovskite

In a photovoltaic perovskite, entropy-driven structural transition enables kinetic trapping of a desired photovoltaic phase. A challenge of hybrid perovskite solar cells is device instability, which calls for an understanding of the perovskite structural stability and phase transitions. Using neutron diffraction and first-principles calculations on formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3), we show that the entropy contribution to the Gibbs free energy caused by isotropic rotations of the FA+ cation plays a crucial role in the cubic-to-hexagonal structural phase transition. Furthermore, we observe that the cubic-to-hexagonal phase transition exhibits a large thermal hysteresis. Our first-principles calculations confirm the existence of a potential barrier between the cubic and hexagonal structures, which provides an explanation for the observed thermal hysteresis. By exploiting the potential barrier, we demonstrate kinetic trapping of the cubic phase, desirable for solar cells, even at 8.2 K by thermal quenching.

Controlling nucleation, growth, and orientation of metal halide perovskite thin films with rationally selected additives

Accelerating the progress toward realizing metal halide perovskite solar cells with improved efficiency, stability and reliability requires a deeper understanding of the thin film formation processes. This paper investigates the impact of rationally selected chemical additives in precursor solutions on the nucleation and growth of metal halide perovskite thin films. Computational screening was performed to guide the selection of tetrahydrothiophene oxide as an additive with stronger solvation efficacy than all other commonly used solvents. In situ grazing incidence X-ray diffraction measurements show that the additives suppress the formation of homogeneous nuclei as well as crystalline intermediate structures. Instead, heterogeneous nucleation on the substrate surface and growth of a thin film with a strongly preferential crystallographic orientation occur directly from the precursor solution. Density functional theory calculations show that the crystallographic orientation of the thin films can be tuned by altering the surface energies with the chemical additives. The crystallographic orientation of the thin films is found to have a significant impact on the open circuit voltage of solar cell devices, highlighting the importance of controlling the metal halide perovskite thin film orientation for improved solar cell efficiency.

Origin of long lifetime of band-edge charge carriers in organic–inorganic lead iodide perovskites

Significance Hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites (HOIPs) are among the most promising materials for next-generation solar cells that combine high efficiency and low cost. The record efficiency of HOIP-based solar cells has reached above 22%, which is comparable to that of silicon solar cells. HOIP solar cells can be manufactured using simple solution processing methods that can be drastically cheaper than the current commercial solar cell technologies. Despite the progress so far, the microscopic mechanism for the high solar cell efficiency in HOIPs is yet to be understood. Our study shows that rotation of organic molecules in HOIPs extends the lifetime of photoexcited charge carriers, leading to the high efficiency. This insight can guide the progress toward improved solar cell performance. Long carrier lifetime is what makes hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites high-performance photovoltaic materials. Several microscopic mechanisms behind the unusually long carrier lifetime have been proposed, such as formation of large polarons, Rashba effect, ferroelectric domains, and photon recycling. Here, we show that the screening of band-edge charge carriers by rotation of organic cation molecules can be a major contribution to the prolonged carrier lifetime. Our results reveal that the band-edge carrier lifetime increases when the system enters from a phase with lower rotational entropy to another phase with higher entropy. These results imply that the recombination of the photoexcited electrons and holes is suppressed by the screening, leading to the formation of polarons and thereby extending the lifetime. Thus, searching for organic–inorganic perovskites with high rotational entropy over a wide range of temperature may be a key to achieve superior solar cell performance.

Charge transport in bulk CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite

The variation of leakage current and polarization hysteresis properties for bulk CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite was studied as a function of temperature to understand the reported hysteresis in photocurrent and the role of ferroelectricity. The leakage current decreased by two orders of magnitude when the temperature was lowered from 350 K to 100 K. The transitions in leakage current were observed at structural phase transition temperatures. The temperature dependence study allowed the identification of current conduction mechanism based on various models for ferroelectrics and insulating materials. Our results show that the leakage current is governed by the space charge limited conduction mechanism which should be considered in addition to ion conduction and ferroelectricity when analyzing current-voltage hysteresis for thin film and bulk materials. The Motts variable range hopping model fits well to the experimental data indicating the charge conduction is through hopping mechanism from 300 K to 160 K and poss...

Crystallographic orientation propagation in metal halide perovskite thin films

Metal halide perovskites have achieved remarkable efficiency in solar cells. However, the origin and impact of preferential crystallographic orientation of thin films are still not well understood. In this work, using in situ grazing-incidence X-ray scattering, we show that a preferential crystallographic orientation of a thin ‘seed’ layer (∼65 nm) on top of a thick (∼350 nm) randomly oriented film can propagate through the entire film. The thin cubic (100) oriented layer on top was formed by using a simple solution based treatment with methylammonium chloride (MACl) on randomly oriented methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) films. Upon thermal annealing, the cubic (100) orientation propagates through the entire MAPbI3 film underneath which eventually cools down to tetragonal (110) orientation at room temperature. The treatment results in significantly improved solar cell power conversion efficiency, highlighting the importance of controlling the crystallographic orientation of grains.

Origin of vertical orientation in two-dimensional metal halide perovskites and its effect on photovoltaic performance

Thin films based on two-dimensional metal halide perovskites have achieved exceptional performance and stability in numerous optoelectronic device applications. Simple solution processing of the 2D perovskite provides opportunities for manufacturing devices at drastically lower cost compared to current commercial technologies. A key to high device performance is to align the 2D perovskite layers, during the solution processing, vertical to the electrodes to achieve efficient charge transport. However, it is yet to be understood how the counter-intuitive vertical orientations of 2D perovskite layers on substrates can be obtained. Here we report a formation mechanism of such vertically orientated 2D perovskite in which the nucleation and growth arise from the liquid–air interface. As a consequence, choice of substrates can be liberal from polymers to metal oxides depending on targeted application. We also demonstrate control over the degree of preferential orientation of the 2D perovskite layers and its drastic impact on device performance.It is desirable to align the two-dimensional perovskite layers vertical to the electrodes to maximize device performance but the formation mechanism is unclear. Here Chen et al. reveal that the film formation starts at the liquid-air interface and is thus independent of the choice of substrates.

Impact of Crystallographic Orientation Disorders on Electronic Heterogeneities in Metal Halide Perovskite Thin Films

Metal halide perovskite thin films have achieved remarkable performance in optoelectronic devices but suffer from spatial heterogeneity in their electronic properties. To achieve higher device performance and reliability needed for widespread commercial deployment, spatial heterogeneity of optoelectronic properties in the perovskite thin film needs to be understood and controlled. Clear identification of the causes underlying this heterogeneity, most importantly the spatial heterogeneity in charge trapping behavior, has remained elusive. Here, a multimodal imaging approach consisting of photoluminescence, optical transmission, and atomic force microscopy is utilized to separate electronic heterogeneity from morphology variations in perovskite thin films. By comparing the degree of heterogeneity in highly oriented and randomly oriented polycrystalline perovskite thin film samples, we reveal that disorders in the crystallographic orientation of the grains play a dominant role in determining charge trapping and electronic heterogeneity. This work also demonstrates a polycrystalline thin film with uniform charge trapping behavior by minimizing crystallographic orientation disorder. These results suggest that single crystals may not be required for perovskite thin film based optoelectronic devices to reach their full potential.

Cost Drivers and Technical Hurdles

Understanding the specific cost drivers of offshore wind helps to devise effective strategies to lower or remove the barriers to viability and the progress of this industry. This is specifically important given that offshore wind historically has had a higher cost compared to other renewables such as onshore wind. This can be attributed largely to the nature of working in the harsh marine environment, which entails increased risk for projects and assets, and, moreover, demands more performance from those assets as compared to their onshore counterparts. This chapter explores the various cost drivers and technical hurdles of the offshore wind technology.

Public Acceptance of Offshore Wind Farms

The successful deployment of offshore wind farms and other renewable technologies depends, to some degree, on their public acceptance. Past experiences have proven that public opposition can result in delays or project standstill for renewable energy projects. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a clear understanding of the social implications of offshore wind installations. This chapter reviews the main factors that give rise to opposition against offshore wind farms and discusses the ways in which public acceptance of these installations can be promoted.