Significant progress in solar-cell research is currently made by the development of metal-organic perovskites (MOPs) owing to their superior properties, such as high absorption coefficients and effective transport of photogenerated charges. As for other semiconductors, it is expected that the properties of MOPs may be significantly improved by a defined nanostructure. However, their chemical sensitivity (e.g., towards hydrolysis) prohibits the application of methods already known for the synthesis of other nanomaterials. A new and general method for the synthesis of various (CH3NH3)PbI3 nanostructures from a novel single-source precursor is presented. Nanoporous MOP single crystals are obtained by a crystal-to-crystal transformation that is accompanied by spinodal demixing of the triethylene glycol containing precursor structure. Selective binding of a capping agent can be used to tune the particle shape of the MOP nanocrystals.

Despite their outstanding photovoltaic performance, organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells still face severe stability issues and limitations in their device dimension. Further development of perovskite solar cells therefore requires a deeper understanding of loss mechanisms, in particular, concerning the origin and impact of trap states. Here, different surface properties of submicrometer sized CH3NH3PbI3 particles are studied as a model system by photoluminescence spectroscopy to investigate the impact of the perovskite crystal surface on photoexcited states. Comparison of single crystals with either isolating or electron‐rich surface passivation indicates the presence of positively charged surface trap states that can be passivated in case of the latter. These surface trap states cause enhanced nonradiative recombination at room temperature, which is a loss mechanism for solar cell performance. In the orthorhombic phase, the origin of multiple emission peaks is identified as the recombination of free and bound excitons, whose population ratio critically depends on trap state properties. The dynamics of exciton trapping at 50 K are observed on a time‐scale of tens of picoseconds by a simultaneous population decrease and increase of free and bound excitons, respectively. These results emphasize the potential of surface passivation to further improve the performance of perovskite solar cells.

An ideal material for the storage of electrical energy is characterized by high specific energy and high specific power at the same time, which is a task of enormous difficulty. The so‐called redox flow battery is a highly promising approach. This new energy storage technology is based on two half‐cells containing dissolved electrochemically active species. Compared to conventional, static accumulators it is not only engineered in a unique way but also needs a tailor‐made basis of chemical materials. Therefore, many different redox‐active materials are being investigated. However, research is focused mainly on the redox properties, not taking possible synergistic effects arising from self‐assembled structures into account. Here, a novel surfactant is presented containing an electroactive polyoxometalate (POM) head connected to anthraquinone (AQ) as the relevant electron reservoir via a π‐conjugated chain. When organized into micelles, electrons put on the POM corona “slide” into their depot inside the micellar core until needed. Cyclic voltammetry proves the high reversibility and stability of this system, which therefore can be regarded as micellar energy storage.

Particle-based semiconductor materials are promising constituents of future technologies. They are described by unique features resulting from the combination of discrete nanoparticle characteristics and the emergence of cooperative phenomena based on long-range interaction within their superstructure. (Nano)particles of outstanding quality with regards to size and shape can be prepared via colloidal synthesis using appropriate capping agents. The classical capping agents are electrically insulating, which impedes particle-particle electronic communication. Consequently, there exists a high demand for realizing charge transport through interfaces especially for semiconductors of relevance like hybrid perovskites (HYPEs), for example, CHNHPbI (MAPI) as one of the most prominent representatives. Of particular interest are crystals in the micrometer range, as they possess synergistic advantages of single crystalline bulk properties, shape control as well as the possibility of being functionalized. Here we provide a synthetic strategy toward thiophene-functionalized single crystalline MAPI microrods originating from the single source precursor CHNHPbITEG (TEG = triethylene glycol). In the dark, the microrods show enhanced charge transport characteristics of holes over 2 orders of magnitude compared to microscale cuboids with insulating alkyl surface modifiers and nonfunctionalized random sized particles. In large-area prototype photodetector devices (2.21 cm), the thiophene functionalization improves the response times because of the interparticle charge transport (t = 190 ms, t = 430 ms) compared to alkyl-functionalized particles (t = 1055 ms, t = 60 ms), at similar responsivities of 0.65 and 0.71 mA W, respectively. Further, the surface functionalization and crystal grains on the micrometer scale improve the device stability. Therefore, this study provides clear evidence for the interplay and importance of crystal size, shape and surface modification of MAPI crystals, which is of major importance in every optoelectronic device.

Particle shape of hybrid perovskite microcrystals influences PL properties via differences in the abundant facets and associated surface trap states.

Abstract:In this work, we describe the role of the different layers in perovskite solar cells to achieve reproducible,~16% efficient perovskite solar cells. We used a planar device architecture with PEDOT:PSS on the bottom, followed by the perovskite layer and an evaporated C 60 layer before deposition of the top electrode. No high temperature annealing step is needed, which also allows processing on flexible plastic substrates. Only the optimization of all of these layers leads to highly efficient and reproducible results. In this work, we describe the effects of different processing conditions, especially the influence of the C 60 top layer on the device performance.

Semiconductors with native ferromagnetism barely exist and defined nanostructures are almost unknown. This lack impedes the exploration of a new class of materials characterized by a direct combination of effects on the electronic system caused by quantum confinement effects with magnetism. A good example is EuO for which currently no reliable routes for nanoparticle synthesis can be established. Bottom‐up approaches applicable to other oxides fail because of the labile oxidation state +II. Instead of targeting a direct synthesis, the two steps—“structure control” and “chemical transformation”—are separated. The generation of a transitional, hybrid nanophase is followed by its conversion into EuO under full conservation of all morphological features. Hierarchical EuO materials are now accessible in the shape of oriented nanodisks stacked to tubular particles. Magnetically, the coupling of either vortex or onion states has been found. An unexpected temperature dependence is governed by thermally activated transitions between these states.

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