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Preparation and characterization of methylammonium tin iodide layers as photovoltaic absorbers (Phys. Status Solidi A 4∕2016)
Author(s) -
Weiss Manuel,
Horn Jonas,
Richter Christoph,
Schlettwein Derck
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201670622
Subject(s) - perovskite (structure) , iodide , tin , materials science , photovoltaic system , amorphous solid , energy conversion efficiency , solar cell , deposition (geology) , chemical engineering , spin coating , nanotechnology , coating , optoelectronics , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , crystallography , metallurgy , engineering , ecology , paleontology , sediment , biology
Perovskite solar cells which are based on a hybrid organic‐ inorganic absorber material in the perovskite crystal structure have been of high interest recently. In just a few years the efficiency of these cells has surpassed dye‐sensitized solar cells, organic solar cells and amorphous silicon solar cells and achieved over 20%. The commonly used absorber material in these cells is CH 3 NH 3 PbX 3 (X = I, Cl, Br). The inclusion of toxic lead represents a major problem, however, which might hinder the possible commercialization of perovskite solar cells in the future. Tin is supposed to be a promising replacement which is not examined well though, possibly because of the poor stability of the corresponding perovskite. The Editor's Choice article by Manuel Weiss et al. (pp. 975–981 ) shows a two‐step preparation process for CH 3 NH 3 SnI 3 where complete surface coverage is reached due to vapour‐deposition of SnI2 and subsequent conversion to the perovskite by spin‐coating using a solution of methylammonium iodide (CH 3 NH 3 I). X‐ray diffraction and UV‐Vis spectroscopy were used to demonstrate high stability, even in contact to air and under illumination.