Investigation into the Advantages of Pure Perovskite Film without PbI2 for High Performance Solar Cell

Abstract

In CH3NH3PbI3-based high efficiency perovskite solar cells (PSCs), tiny amount of PbI2 impurity was often found with the perovskite crystal. However, for two-step solution process-based perovskite films, most of findings have been based on the films having different morphologies between with and without PbI2. This was mainly due to the inferior morphology of pure perovskite film without PbI2, inevitably produced when the remaining PbI2 forced to be converted to perovskite, so advantages of pure perovskite photoactive layer without PbI2 impurity have been overlooked. In this work, we designed a printing-based two-step process, which could not only generate pure perovskite crystal without PbI2, but also provide uniform and full surface coverage perovskite film, of which nanoscale morphology was comparable to that prepared by conventional two-step solution process having residual PbI2. Our results showed that, in two-step solution process-based PSC, pure perovskite had better photon absorption and longer carrier lifetime, leading to superior photocurrent generation with higher power conversion efficiency. Furthermore, this process was further applicable to prepare mixed phase pure perovskite crystal without PbI2 impurity, and we showed that the additional merits such as extended absorption to longer wavelength, increased carrier lifetime and reduced carrier recombination could be secured.