Anomalous Band Gap Behavior in Mixed Sn and Pb Perovskites Enables Broadening of Absorption Spectrum in Solar Cells

Perovskite-based solar cells have recently been catapulted to the cutting edge of thin-film photovoltaic research and development because of their promise for high-power conversion efficiencies and ease of fabrication. Two types of generic perovskites compounds have been used in cell fabrication: either Pb- or Sn-based. Here, we describe the performance of perovskite solar cells based on alloyed perovskite solid solutions of methylammonium tin iodide and its lead analogue (CH3NH3Sn(1-x)Pb(x)I3). We exploit the fact that, the energy band gaps of the mixed Pb/Sn compounds do not follow a linear trend (the Vegard's law) in between these two extremes of 1.55 and 1.35 eV, respectively, but have narrower bandgap (

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• OO
  Office of Science
• BE
  Basic Energy Sciences

  Award: DE-SC0001059
• EF
  Energy Frontier Research Centers