Lead-free organic–inorganic tin halide perovskites for photovoltaic applications

Journal article

Already exhibiting solar to electrical power conversion efficiencies of over 17%, organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite solar cells are one of the most promising emerging contenders in the drive to provide a cheap and clean source of energy. One concern however, is the potential toxicology issue of lead, a key component in the archetypical material. The most likely substitute is tin, which like lead, is also a group 14 metal. While organic-inorganic tin halide perovskites have shown good semiconducting behaviour, the instability of tin in its 2+ oxidation state has thus far proved to be an overwhelming challenge. Here, we report the first completely lead-free, CH3NH 3SnI3 perovskite solar cell processed on a mesoporous TiO2 scaffold, reaching efficiencies of over 6% under 1 sun illumination. Remarkably, we achieve open circuit voltages over 0.88 V from a material which has a 1.23 eV band gap.

Authors: Noel, N; Stranks, S; Abate, A; Wehrenfennig, C; Guarnera, S

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Journal: Energy and Environmental Science
• Volume: 7
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 3061–3068
• Publication date: 2014-05-01
• Acceptance date: 2014-04-29
• DOI: 10.1039/C4EE01076K
• ISSN: 1754-5706 and 1754-5692
• Keywords: SBTMR