Perovskite Thin Film Materials Stabilized and Enhanced by Zinc(II) Doping

• Main Authors: Arjaan Kooijman, Loreta A. Muscarella, René M. Williams
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-04-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: solar energy; solar cells; semiconductor; light harvesting; charge generation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/8/1678

Recent work of ten different groups shows that the application of zinc-halides in lead perovskite materials results in a contraction of the <i>d</i>-space, stronger interaction with the organic cation, improved crystallization with larger crystal domains, a Goldschmidt factor closer to unity, smoother and denser thin films and an even distribution of Zn(II) (at the Pb(II) sites) throughout the material. These combined effects may lead to: (1) a substantially higher stability (even at ambient or high humidity conditions); (2) enhanced luminescent properties; (3) a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the corresponding solar cell devices (up to PCE ~20%, with enhancement factors of 1.07 to 1.33 relative to undoped material).