Understanding perovskite formation through the intramolecular exchange method in ambient conditions

Among the methods to prepare hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite films, the intramolecular exchange method was the first one that made possible to prepare perovskite solar cells with efficiencies higher than 20%. However, perovskite formation by this method is not completely understood, especially in ambient conditions. In this work, perovskite films were prepared by the intramolecular exchange method in ambient conditions. The spin coating speed and the frequency of the MAI solution dripping onto PbI 2 ( DMSO ) were varied during the deposition steps. With the combination of these two parameters, a rigid control of the solvent drying was possible. Thus, depending on the chosen conditions, the intermediate ( MA ) 2 Pb 3 I 8 · 2 DMSO was formed with residual PbI 2 . Otherwise, direct formation of perovskite film was attained. A mechanism for the direct formation of bulk perovskite was proposed. We also investigated how the posterior thermal annealing affects the crystallinity and defects in perovskite films. With prolonged thermal annealing, the excess of MAI can be avoided, increasing the efficiency and decreasing the hysteresis of the solar cells. The best perovskite solar cell achieved a stabilized power output of 12.9%. The findings of this work pave the way for realizing the fabrication of efficient perovskite solar cells in ambient atmosphere, a very desirable condition for cost-efficient large scale manufacturing of this technology.