Improving device performance of MAPbI3 photovoltaic cells by manipulating the crystal orientation of tetragonal perovskites

Abstract

Abstract The properties of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) crystalline thin films and the device performance of highly efficient MAPbI3 photovoltaic cells are investigated by varying the temperature of the antisolvent from 20 °C to 50 °C during the washing enhanced nucleation (WEN) process. The surface, structural, optoelectronic and defect properties of the perovskite thin films are characterized through atomic-force microscopy, X-ray diffractometry and photoluminescence spectrometry. The experimental results show that changing the temperature of the antisolvent during the WEN process can manipulate the MAPbI3 crystalline thin films from the (110)–(002) complex phase to a (002) preferred phase. It is noted that the highest power conversion efficient of the inverted MAPbI3 photovoltaic cells is 19.30%, mainly due to the increased carrier collection efficiency and reduced carrier recombination when the temperature of the antisolvent is 30 °C.