Organic–Inorganic Copper(II)-Based Material: A Low-Toxic, Highly Stable Light Absorber for Photovoltaic Application

Abstract

Lead halide perovskite solar cells have recently emerged as a very promising photovoltaic technology due to their excellent power conversion efficiencies; however, the toxicity of lead and the poor stability of perovskite materials remain two main challenges that need to be addressed. Here, for the first time, we report a lead-free, highly stable CHNHCuBrI compound. The CHNHCuBrI films exhibit extraordinary hydrophobic behavior with a contact angle of ∼90°, and their X-ray diffraction patterns remain unchanged even after 4 h of water immersion. UV/vis absorption spectrum shows that CHNHCuBrI compound has an excellent optical absorption over the entire visible spectrum. We applied this copper-based light absorber in printable mesoscopic solar cell for the initial trial and achieved a power conversion efficiency of ∼0.5%. Our study represents an alternative pathway to develop low-toxic and highly stable organic-inorganic hybrid materials for photovoltaic application.

Lead‐Free Hybrid Perovskite Absorbers for Viable Application: Can We Eat the Cake and Have It too?

“…Further optimizing the infiltration of mesoporous TiO 2 by 2D copper perovskites yielded a PCE of 0.017% using MA 2 CuCl 2 Br 2 as the light harvester (Figure 22b). Moreover, Li et al123 claimed the syntheses of a highly stable C 6 H 4 NH 2 CuBr 2 I compound by equimolar reaction of hydrophobic C 6 H 4 NH 2 I (2‐indoaniline) with low‐toxic CuBr 2 . The XRD patterns of the C 6 H 4 NH 2 CuBr 2 I thin film showed almost no change after 4 h of immersion in water, and the printable mesoscopic solar cell based on carbon back‐contact achieved the best PCE of 0.46% (Figure 22c).…”

Lead-free hybrid perovskites for photovoltaics

“…A highly stable C 6 H 4 NH 2 CuBr 2 I compound was synthesized by reacting 2-iodaniline with CuBr 2 [150]. It displayed extraordinary hydrophobicity and retained stability even after a 4 h immersion in water.…”

“…This stability is coupled with a high sensitivity to visible light and a bandgap of 1.64 eV. A solar cell trial of this material showed a PCE of ≈0.5% [150] indicating plenty of room for further studies. A two-dimensional layered (C 6 H 5 CH 2 NH 3 ) 2 CuBr 4 perovskite ( E g = 1.81 eV) demonstrated a high stability and the feasibility for future photovoltaic applications [151].…”

Effects of transition metals incorporated into perovskite crystals on the electronic structures and magnetic properties by first-principles calculation

“…The transition metal incorporated CeMnO 3 perovskite crystal with a metallic character is advantage as a candidate material for spintronic application and photo-induced magnetic devices. Experimental investigation on the incorporation of transition metals such as iron (Fe), cobalt (Co) and copper (Cu) on lead (Pb) site of perovskite crystal was performed for optimization with tuning the electronic structure, energies levels, total density of state within the band gap and optical absorption [25, 26, 27]. For example, the photovoltaic and optical properties of the Cu-incorporated perovskite solar cell were discussed on the basis of the electron correlation between the 3 d orbital localized on the metal and the 5 p orbital of the halogen atom near the metal-ligand structure in the perovskite crystal.…”