Role of lattice distortion and A site cation in the phase transitions of methylammonium lead halide perovskites
Date
20/06/2018Author
Grant ID
ep/l017008/1
EP/K022237/1
EP/K015540/1
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The rapid increase in power conversion efficiencies of photovoltaic devices incorporating lead halide perovskites has resulted in intense interest in the cause of their excellent properties. In the present paper, resonant ultrasound spectroscopy has been used to determine the elastic and anelastic properties of CH3NH3PbX3 (where X = Cl, Br, or I) and CD3ND3PbI3 perovskites in the 5-380 K temperature range. This is coupled with differential scanning calorimetry, variable temperature neutron powder diffraction, and variable temperature photoluminescence studies to provide insights into the underlying processes and structural instabilities in the crystal structure. By comparing measurements on CH3NH3PbI3 with the deuterated equivalent, it has been possible to distinguish processes which are related to the hydrogen bonding between the methylammonium cation and the perovskite framework. We observe that replacing hydrogen with deuterium has a significant impact on both the elastic and photophysical properties, which shows that hydrogen bonding plays a crucial role in the material performance. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence studies show that the light emission is unaffected by the tetragonal-orthorhombic phase transition, but a blueshift in the emission and a steep increase in photoluminescence quantum yield are seen at temperatures below 150 K. Finally, observations of peaks in acoustic loss occurring in CH3NH3PbCl3 have revealed freezing processes in the vicinity of ∼150-170 K, with activation energies in the range of 300 to 650 meV. These processes are attributed to freezing of the motion of methylammonium cations, and could explain the changes in photoluminescence seen in CH3NH3PbI3 at the same temperature.
Citation
Harwell , J R , Payne , J L , Sajjad , M T , Heutz , F J L , Dawson , D M , Whitfield , P S , Irvine , J T S , Samuel , I D W & Carpenter , M A 2018 , ' Role of lattice distortion and A site cation in the phase transitions of methylammonium lead halide perovskites ' , Physical Review Materials , vol. 2 , no. 6 , 065404 . https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.2.065404
Publication
Physical Review Materials
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2475-9953Type
Journal article
Description
This paper was supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Grants No. EP/K503162/1, No. EP/M506631/1, No. EP/M025330/1, No. EP/L017008/1, No. EP/K022237/1, No. EP/K015540/1, and No. EP/I036079/1. RUS facilities in Cambridge were established through grants to M.A.C. from the EPSRC and the Natural Environment Research Council (Grants No. NE/B505738/1 and No. NE/F17081/1). A portion of this research used resources at the Spallation Neutron Source, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). I.D.W.S. acknowledges funding from a Royal Society Wolfson research merit award.Collections
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