Low‐Energy Electron‐Induced Transformations in Organolead Halide Perovskite

Abstract

Methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI 3 ), ap rototype material for potentially high-efficient and low-cost organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells, has been investigated intensively in recent years.Astudy of low-energy electron-induced transformations in MAPbI 3 is presented, performed by combining controlled electron-impact irradiation with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopya nd scanning electron microscopy. Changes were observed in both the elemental composition and the morphology of irradiated MAPbI 3 thin films as af unction of the electron fluence for incident energies from 4.5 to 60 eV.The results show that lowenergy electrons can affect structural and chemical properties of MAPbI 3 .I ti sp roposed that the transformations are triggered by the interactions with the organic part of the material (methylammonium), resulting in the MAPbI 3 decomposition and aggregation of the hydrocarbon layer.Supportinginformation and the ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under http://dx.

Colloidal lead halide perovskite nanocrystals: synthesis, optical properties and applications

“…25 The exact mechanisms of these transformations need to be investigated, as TEM studies are crucial for unambiguous characterization of the morphology of perovskite NCs. A recent study by Milosavljević et al 126 showed that even a low-energy electron beam can induce structural and chemical transformations in MAPbI 3 . The transformations were attributed to the decomposition of perovskites through the interaction of the electrons with the organic cation of perovskites, leading to the formation of PbI 2 and polymer hydrocarbon residue (-CH 2 -) on the surface.…”

Structural and Chemical Changes to CH3NH3PbI3 Induced by Electron and Gallium Ion Beams

“…(Unfortunately, a meaningful assessment of the corresponding light element composition versus electron dose is not feasible, due to the difficulty in obtaining adequate statistics without the rapid and complete destruction of the specimen.) This is in agreement with the electron beam‐induced degradation mechanism proposed by Milosavljević et al, given by…”

Phase Segregation Enhanced Ion Movement in Efficient Inorganic CsPbIBr2 Solar Cells

“…Electron microscopy has provided valuable guidance for the development of solar cell materials such as Si, CdTe, CIGS, and others . However, the organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites are extremely fragile under electron beam illumination and can undergo morphological, compositional, and structural degradation . This greatly limits the use of electron microscopy to probe the morphology, microstructure, elemental composition, crystal structure, and electronic properties of the hybrid materials at the micro or the nanoscale .…”

“…This greatly limits the use of electron microscopy to probe the morphology, microstructure, elemental composition, crystal structure, and electronic properties of the hybrid materials at the micro or the nanoscale . Although low dose techniques can reduce the damage rate,[10c,11,12] the use of high dose techniques, such as atomic resolution imaging or chemical mapping are limited due to the possible influence of electron beam‐induced artifacts …”

“…[4b,13] Furthermore, inorganic perovskites are significantly more electron‐beam stable. Therefore, detailed microstructural analyses of inorganic perovskites, such as CsPb(I, Br) 3 and CsSnI 3 , can not only offer useful insights into these inorganic perovskite solar cells, but potentially also provide guidance for better understanding other perovskite materials,[10b,12] including the hybrid perovskite solar cell materials.…”