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Halide-based CH3NH3PbI3 hybrid perovskite thin films structural studies using synchrotron source X-ray diffraction

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Abstract

The research on perovskite-based photovoltaics is rapidly increasing in renewable energy, particularly in solar cell fields, as its efficiency has reached upto 25.7%. Although several efforts have been made to increase the lifetime and stability, several complicated processes are still required to be optimized, to achieve better structural and chemical stability. In this paper, perovskite material is prepared in different molar ratios, in combinations of lead iodide (PbI2) and methyl ammonium iodide (MAI) for better interdiffusion and structural ordering. All the measurements have been performed only using ITO as a bare substrate. The synchrotron source-based X-ray diffraction measurements together with SEM and UV–Vis spectroscopy were performed to understand the structural properties of perovskite films across the entire film thickness for three different molar ratios. The angular-dependent grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) under out-of-plane geometry can provide a better insight of structural properties at the film/air and film/ITO interfaces. Our GIXRD measurements summarizes that within the entire depth of the perovskite film, unreacted PbI2 small particles are not only laying at the bottom, but such unreacted PbI2 crystallites are also distributed along with the entire height of the perovskite film. This is completely new finding, which has been not reported yet. In combined, all these three (SEM, GIXRD, UV–Vis) states of the art techniques have not only provided the in-depth structural ordering within the entire height of the films but also reveals the surface morphology and varying optical properties of the film with varying the molar ratio’s too.

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Data availability

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the manuscript in the form of tables, graphs and images. Raw data (XRD and UV–Vis) that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The author is thankful to the Centre for Nanotechnology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, The National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysuru for providing the opportunity to carry out the work. We do acknowledge the financial support from UGC-DAE and NIE CRD, and AICTE-ADF Fellowship to one of the authors. At the same time, the authors also acknowledge the Instrument Facility received from RRCAT, Indore, and beamline support from Beamline 12 RRCAT, Indore, India.

Funding

This work was primarily supported by UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research (Grant Number CSR-IC-BL-70/CRS-187/2020-21/224). The author (Siddharth Joshi) has received research support from UGC-DAE, Government of India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial and Production Engineering, The National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, Karnataka, 570008, India

    Z. Inamul Hasan & K. M. Subbaya

  2. Centre for Nanotechnology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, The National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, Karnataka, 570008, India

    Z. Inamul Hasan & Siddharth Joshi

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  1. Z. Inamul Hasan
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by IH and SJ. The first draft of the manuscript was written by IH and all the three authors commented and provided feedback to prepare the final draft of the above manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Siddharth Joshi.

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Inamul Hasan, Z., Joshi, S. & Subbaya, K.M. Halide-based CH3NH3PbI3 hybrid perovskite thin films structural studies using synchrotron source X-ray diffraction. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 33, 16369–16382 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-022-08528-8

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