Recrystallization and phase stability study of cesium tin iodide for application as a hole transporter in dye sensitized solar cells

In this work, we report synthesis and stability analysis of cesium tin iodide (CsSnI3) prepared through solid state and solution route methods for its application as a hole transport layer in dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Phase formation, chemical stability and degradation mechanism of CsSnI3 were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectroscopy. Optical band gap of the material was studied using UV-vis spectroscopy and photoluminescence studies. CsSnI3 synthesized through solid state route was used as a hole transport material (HTM) for dye sensitized solar cells with cell efficiency up to 3%. Temperature dependent excitonic emission studies shows that B-gamma-CsSnI3 shows a linear increase in band gap with increasing temperature. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.