Resolving Oxidation States and X-site Composition of Sn Perovskites through Auger Parameter Analysis in XPS

Reliable chemical state analysis of Sn semiconductors by XPS is hindered by the marginal observed binding energy shift in the Sn 3d region. For hybrid Sn-based perovskites especially, errors associated with charge referencing can easily exceed chemistry-related shifts. Studies based on the modified Auger parameter alpha ' provide a suitable alternative and have been used previously to resolve different chemical states in Sn alloys and oxides. However, the meaningful interpretation of Auger parameter variations on Sn-based perovskite semiconductors requires fundamental studies. In this work, a comprehensive Auger parameter study is performed through systematic compositional variations of Sn halide perovskites. It is found that in addition to the oxidation state, alpha ' is highly sensitive to the composition of the halide site, inducing shifts of up to Delta alpha ' = 2 eV between ASnI(3) and ASnBr(3) type perovskites. The reported dependencies of alpha ' on the Sn oxidation state, coordination and local chemistry provide a framework that enables reliable tracking of degradation as well as X-site composition for Sn-based perovskites and related compounds. The higher robustness and sensitivity of such studies not only enables more in-depth surface analysis of Sn-based perovskites than previously performed, but also increases reproducibility across laboratories.

Automated summary

Reliable chemical state analysis of Sn semiconductors is challenging due to the small observed binding energy shift in the Sn 3d region. This study investigates the use of modified Auger parameter alpha ' to analyze different chemical states in Sn-based perovskites. The results show that alpha ' is highly sensitive to the composition of the halide site, providing a framework for tracking degradation and composition in Sn-based perovskites.