Investigation of Thermally Induced Degradation in CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite Solar Cells using in-situ Synchrotron Radiation Analysis

Abstract

In this study, we employ a combination of various in-situ surface analysis techniques to investigate the thermally induced degradation processes in MAPbI(3) perovskite solar cells (PeSCs) as a function of temperature under air-free conditions (no moisture and oxygen). Through a comprehensive approach that combines in-situ grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray diffraction (GIWAXD) and high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HR-XPS) measurements, we confirm that the surface structure of MAPbI(3) perovskite film changes to an intermediate phase and decomposes to CH3I, NH3, and PbI2 after both a short (20 min) exposure to heat stress at 100 degrees C and a long exposure (>1 hour) at 80 degrees C. Moreover, we observe clearly the changes in the orientation of CH3NH3+ organic cations with respect to the substrate in the intermediate phase, which might be linked directly to the thermal degradation processes in MAPbI(3) perovskites. These results provide important progress towards improved understanding of the thermal degradation mechanisms in perovskite materials and will facilitate improvements in the design and fabrication of perovskite solar cells with better thermal stability.