Abstract
Lead halide perovskite semiconductors have recently gained wide interest following their successful embodiment in solid-state photovoltaic devices with impressive power-conversion efficiencies, while offering a relatively simple and low-cost processability. Although the primary optoelectronic properties of these materials have already met the requirement for high-efficiency optoelectronic technologies, industrial scale-up requires more robust processing methods, as well as solvents that are less toxic than the ones that have been commonly used so successfully on the lab-scale. Here we report a fast, room-temperature synthesis of inks based on CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystals using short, low-boiling-point ligands and environmentally friendly solvents. Requiring no lengthy post-synthesis treatments, the inks are directly used to fabricate films of high optoelectronic quality, exhibiting photoluminescence quantum yields higher than 30% and an amplified spontaneous emission threshold as low as 1.5 μJ cm−2. Finally, we demonstrate the fabrication of perovskite nanocrystal-based solar cells, with open-circuit voltages as high as 1.5 V.
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14 July 2017
In the PDF version of this article previously published, the year of publication provided in the footer of each page and in the 'How to cite' section was erroneously given as 2017, it should have been 2016. This error has now been corrected. The HTML version of the article was not affected.
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Acknowledgements
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union 7th Framework Programme under Grant Agreement No. 614897 (ERC Consolidator Grant ‘TRANS-NANO’) from the Cariplo Foundation through grant agreement no. 2013-0656 (‘Green nanomaterials for next-generation photovoltaics, GREENS)’.
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Q.A.A., L.M., M.P. and A.P. conceived the experiments. Q.A.A. developed the synthesis of the nanocrystals inks, M.G. and J.M.B. fabricated and tested the solar cells, F.D.S. and P.R. studied the optical properties of the films and F.D.S. performed the ASE measurements, P.R. performed the cross-section, F.P. performed the XPS measurements, G.B. performed the HRTEM measurements and M.P. performed the UPS measurements. Q.A.A., M.G., J.M.B, A.P. and L.M. wrote the manuscript, with contributions from all authors.
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Supplementary Figures 1–16, Supplementary Tables 12 and Supplementary References. (PDF 4403 kb)
Supplementary Video 1
Video of CsPbBr3 nanocrystal synthesis. (MP4 3877 kb)
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Akkerman, Q., Gandini, M., Di Stasio, F. et al. Strongly emissive perovskite nanocrystal inks for high-voltage solar cells. Nat Energy 2, 16194 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nenergy.2016.194
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nenergy.2016.194
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