Royal Society of Chemistry praises HZB team’s paper on hybrid perovskite structures

T-x phase diagram has been created for MAPb(I,Br)<sub>3</sub> for the first time. It was revealed that the phase transition temperature of the iodine-rich mixed crystals drops as iodine content increases.

T-x phase diagram has been created for MAPb(I,Br)3 for the first time. It was revealed that the phase transition temperature of the iodine-rich mixed crystals drops as iodine content increases. © RSC Advances

For the 10th anniversary collection of its journal, the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) selected a paper published by a team from HZB. The paper from HZB is described as one of the most important contributions in the field of solar energy in recent years. The journal praised 23 selected papers that had been often cited or downloaded, and which offered a valuable advantage for further research. 

The HZB paper focuses on the systematic characterisation of hybrid perovskites containing mixed halides (MAPb(I,Br)3). The samples of the mixed crystals were produced in powder form using a solvent-based synthesis method. The research team from HZB’s Department Structure and Dynamics of Energy Materials (SE-ASD) showed that the crystal structure of the mixed crystal compounds is temperature dependent. As the materials go through different phase transitions, they form either a tetragonal or a cubic perovskite structure depending on the temperature and chemical composition. Now, a comprehensive T-x phase diagram has been created for this solid solution series for the first time. It was revealed that the phase transition temperature of the iodine-rich mixed crystals drops as iodine content increases, which stabilises the cubic perovskite structure at room temperature.

For their temperature-dependent in-situ experiments, HZB’s team used the DIFFRACTION end station of the BESSY II beamline KMC-2. They additionally determined the band gap energy and studied the optoelectronic properties of these perovskite compounds (among other things using photoluminescence spectroscopy).

The results led to a fundamental structural characterisation of these mixed halide perovskite compounds. Although the study was based on powder-form materials, the insights gained on the temperature-dependent behaviour of these hybrid halide perovskites can be now be applied to thin-film materials like those used to create absorbers for thin-film solar cells.     

The paper was authored by Frederike Lehmann as part of her doctoral thesis in the graduate school HyPerCell. Her thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr. Susan Schorr and Dr. Alexandra Franz from the HZB Department Structure and Dynamics of Energy Materials and by Prof. Dr. Andreas Taubert from Potsdam University. “The paper was an excellent team achievement, and we are delighted that the RSC chose to write about us,” says Susan Schorr.

Click here for the RSC Advances Anniversary Collection “Solar Energy

(sz)

  • Copy link

You might also be interested in

  • New instrument at BESSY II: The OÆSE endstation in EMIL
    Science Highlight
    23.04.2025
    New instrument at BESSY II: The OÆSE endstation in EMIL
    A new instrument is now available at BESSY II for investigating catalyst materials, battery electrodes and other energy devices under operating conditions: the Operando Absorption and Emission Spectroscopy on EMIL (OÆSE) endstation in the Energy Materials In-situ Laboratory Berlin (EMIL). A team led by Raul Garcia-Diez and Marcus Bär showcases the instrument’s capabilities via a proof-of-concept study on electrodeposited copper.
  • Green hydrogen: A cage structured material transforms into a performant catalyst
    Science Highlight
    17.04.2025
    Green hydrogen: A cage structured material transforms into a performant catalyst
    Clathrates are characterised by a complex cage structure that provides space for guest ions too. Now, for the first time, a team has investigated the suitability of clathrates as catalysts for electrolytic hydrogen production with impressive results: the clathrate sample was even more efficient and robust than currently used nickel-based catalysts. They also found a reason for this enhanced performance. Measurements at BESSY II showed that the clathrates undergo structural changes during the catalytic reaction: the three-dimensional cage structure decays into ultra-thin nanosheets that allow maximum contact with active catalytic centres. The study has been published in the journal ‘Angewandte Chemie’.
  • Solar cells on moon glass for a future base on the moon
    Science Highlight
    07.04.2025
    Solar cells on moon glass for a future base on the moon
    Future settlements on the moon will need energy, which could be supplied by photovoltaics. However, launching material into space is expensive – transporting one kilogram to the moon costs one million euros. But there are also resources on the moon that can be used. A research team led by Dr. Felix Lang of the University of Potsdam and Dr. Stefan Linke of the Technical University of Berlin have now produced the required glass from ‘moon dust’ (regolith) and coated it with perovskite. This could save up to 99 percent of the weight needed to produce PV modules on the moon. The team tested the radiation tolerance of the solar cells at the proton accelerator of the HZB.