Lead-free germanium iodide perovskite materials for photovoltaic applications

Thirumal Krishnamoorthy; Hong Ding; Chen Yan; Wei Lin Leong; Tom Baikie; Ziyi Zhang; Matthew Sherburne; Shuzhou Li; Mark Asta; Nripan Mathews; Subodh G. Mhaisalkar

doi:10.1039/C5TA05741H

Lead-free germanium iodide perovskite materials for photovoltaic applications†

Thirumal Krishnamoorthy,‡^a Hong Ding,‡^b Chen Yan,‡^ac Wei Lin Leong,^d Tom Baikie,^a Ziyi Zhang,^b Matthew Sherburne,^b Shuzhou Li,^c Mark Asta,*^b Nripan Mathews*^acd and Subodh G. Mhaisalkar^ac

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* Corresponding authors

^a Energy Research Institute @ NTU(ERI@N), Research Techno Plaza, X-Frontier Block, Level 5, 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore
E-mail: Nripan@ntu.edu.sg

^b Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
E-mail: mdasta@berkeley.edu

^c School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore

^d Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602, Singapore

Abstract

Computational screening based on density-functional-theory calculations reveals Ge as a candidate element for replacing Pb in halide perovskite compounds suitable for light harvesting. Experimentally, three AGeI₃ (A = Cs, CH₃NH₃ or HC(NH₂)₂) halide perovskite materials have been synthesized. These compounds are stable up to 150 °C, and have bandgaps correlated with the A-site cation size. CsGeI₃-based solar cells display higher photocurrents, of about 6 mA cm⁻², but are limited by poor film forming abilities and oxidising tendencies. The present results demonstrate the utility of combining computational screening and experimental efforts to develop lead-free halide perovskite compounds for photovoltaic applications.

This article is part of the themed collection: 10th Anniversary: Most popular articles

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Lead-free germanium iodide perovskite materials for photovoltaic applications†

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Lead-free germanium iodide perovskite materials for photovoltaic applications

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