Chloride Incorporation Process in CH3NH3PbI3–xClx Perovskites via Nanoscale Bandgap Maps

Abstract

CH3NH3PbI(3-x)Cl(x) perovskites enable fabrication of highly efficient solar cells. Chloride ions benefit the morphology, carrier diffusion length, and stability of perovskite films; however, whether those benefits stem from the presence of Cl(-) in the precursor solution or from their incorporation in annealed films is debated. In this work, the photothermal-induced resonance, an in situ technique with nanoscale resolution, is leveraged to measure the bandgap of CH3NH3PbI(3-x)Cl(x) films obtained by a multicycle coating process that produces high efficiency (∼16%) solar cells. Because chloride ions modify the perovskite lattice, thereby widening the bandgap, measuring the bandgap locally yields the local chloride content. After a mild annealing (60 min, 60 °C) the films consist of Cl-rich (x < 0.3) and Cl-poor phases that upon further annealing (110 °C) evolve into a homogeneous Cl-poorer (x < 0.06) phase, suggesting that methylammonium-chrloride is progressively expelled from the film. Despite the small chloride content, CH3NH3PbI(3-x)Cl(x) films show better thermal stability up to 140 °C with respect CH3NH3PbI3 films fabricated with the same methodology.