Black-Yellow Bandgap Trade-Off During Thermal Stability Tests in Low-Temperature Eu-Doped CsPbI3

The black gamma-phase of CsPbI3 with its bandgap at approximate to 1.75 eV can enable the take-off of tandem solar cells as soon as intrinsic instability to the yellow delta-phase is solved. Here, a black gamma-phase is formed at low temperature (80-90 degrees C) by incorporating Eu through EuCl3 or EuI2. It is forced to become yellow by thermal heating under nitrogen. It is demonstrated how spectroscopic ellipsometry and the related critical points analysis provide a new diagnostic tool to monitor the transformation through the bandgap footprint. As two sides of the same coin, the consumption of the black gamma-phase and the growth of the yellow delta-phase are addressed and modeled in the range of 60-100 degrees C using the Avrami's theory. This approach allows extracting the activation energies of the phase transformation that are 0.95 eV versus 1.15 eV using EuI2 and EuCl3, respectively. In situ transmission electron microscopy analyses combined with fast marching simulations highlight that the phase transformation occurs through constant nucleation and growth. Europium has indeed the capability to tackle those processes and to extend the durability of the black gamma-phase at 30 degrees C in N-2 to approximate to 250 days, hugely above the one observed without Eu (approximate to hours).

Automated summary

The black gamma-phase of CsPbI3 can be transformed into the yellow delta-phase by thermal heating. Researchers used spectroscopic ellipsometry and critical points analysis to monitor the transformation process and modeled the consumption and growth of the phases. They found that europium can extend the durability of the black gamma-phase.