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Mechanical properties of APbX3 (A = Cs or CH3NH3; X= I or Br) perovskite single crystals

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Abstract

The remarkable optoelectronic and especially photovoltaic performance of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP) materials drives efforts to connect materials properties to this performance. From nano-indentation experiments on solution-grown single crystals we obtain elastic modulus and nano-hardness values of APbX3 (A = Cs, CH3NH3; X = I, Br). The Young’s moduli are ≈14, 19.5, and 16 GPa, for CH3NH3Pbl3, CH3NH3PbBr3, and CsPbBr3, respectively, lending credence to theoretically calculated values. We discuss the possible relevance of our results to suggested “self-healing”, ion diffusion, and ease of manufacturing. Using our results, together with literature data on elastic moduli, we classified HOIPs amongst the relevant material groups, based on their elastomechanical properties.

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Acknowledgments

D.C. thanks Leeor Kronik for drawing his attention to this experimental approach. We thank Milko van der Boom and Xiaomeng Sui for helpful discussions. This work was supported by the Israel Science Foundation, the Israel Ministry of Science, and the Israel National Nano-Initiative. D.C. holds the Sylvia and Rowland Schaefer Chair in Energy Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials and Interfaces Department, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Yevgeny Rakita

  2. Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Sidney R. Cohen

  3. Materials and Interfaces Department, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Nir Klein Kedem, Gary Hodes & David Cahen

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  1. Yevgeny Rakita
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Correspondence to Sidney R. Cohen or David Cahen.

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Rakita, Y., Cohen, S.R., Kedem, N.K. et al. Mechanical properties of APbX3 (A = Cs or CH3NH3; X= I or Br) perovskite single crystals. MRS Communications 5, 623–629 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2015.69

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