Mechanistic insights into the key role of methylammonium iodide in the stability of perovskite materials

Abstract

The possible mechanisms damaging perovskite solar cells have attracted considerable attention in the photovoltaic community. This study answers specifically open problems regarding the critical role of methylammonium iodide (MAI) in investigations as well as stabilizing the perovskite cells. Surprisingly, we found that when the molar ratio between PbI₂ : MAI precursor solution increased from 1 : 5 to 1 : 25, the stability of perovskite cells dramatically increased over time. The stability of perovskite in the air without any masking in the average stoichiometry was about five days, while when the amount of MAI precursor solution increased to 5, the perovskite film was unchanged for about 13 days; eventually, when the value of MAI precursor solution enhanced to 25, the perovskite film stayed intact for 20 days. The outstanding XRD results indicated that the intensity of perovskite's Miler indices increased significantly after 24 h, and the MAI's Miler indices decreased, which means that the amount of MAI was consumed to renew the perovskite crystal structure. In particular, the results suggested that the charging of MAI using the excess molar ratio of MAI reconstructs the perovskite material and stabilizes the crystal structure over time. Therefore, it is crucial that the main preparation procedure of perovskite material is optimized to 1 unit of Pb and 25 units of MAI in a two-step procedure in the literature.