ABSTRACT
Degradation of metal-organic halide perovskites when exposed to ambient conditions is a crucial issue that needs to be addressed for commercial viability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, a concept of encapsulating CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite crystals with a multi-functional graphene-polyaniline (PANI) composite coating to protect the perovskite against degradation from moisture, oxygen and UV light is presented. Hole-conducting polymers containing 2D layered sheet materials are presented here as multi-functional materials with oxygen and moisture impermeability. Specific studies involving PANI and graphene composites as coatings for perovskite crystals exhibited resistance to moisture and oxygen under continued exposure to UV and visible light. Most importantly, no perovskite degradation was observed even after 96 h of exposure of the PSCs to extremely high humidity (99% relative humidity). Our observations and results on perovskite protection with graphene/conducting polymer composites open up opportunities for glove-box-free and atmospheric processing of PSCs.
ABSTRACT
A novel visible-light-absorbing dilute alloy, Ga(Sbx)N1-x is synthesized by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) for solar hydrogen production. Significant bandgap reduction of GaN, from 3.4 eV to 1.8 eV, is observed, with a low (2%) incorporation of antimonide, and the lattice expansion is in agreement with our first-principles calculations. The band edges of Ga(Sbx)N1-x are found to straddle the water redox potentials showing excellent suitability for solar water splitting.
ABSTRACT
Here, we show that GaN nanowires (diameter <30 nm) can be used as strain relaxing substrates for the heteroepitaxial growth of stable In(x)Ga(1-x)N alloys of controlled composition and thickness. Thinner nanowires with their smaller interfacial area reduce the heteroepitaxial stress. Also, the limited adatom diffusion length scales on the thinner nanowires aid in reducing the kinetic segregation effects. In addition to being single crystal templates for heteroepitaxial growth, these thick single crystal overlayers on nanowire substrates can provide suitable architectures for photoelectrochemical applications. The stability and crystallinity of the In(x)Ga(1-x)N layers are preserved by the nanowires acting as compliant substrates. Photoelectrochemical water splitting requires In(x)Ga(1-x)N alloys with a 2.2-1.6 eV band gap (i.e. 0.45 < x < 0.65) and 150-200 nm film thickness for efficient light absorption and carrier generation. At such compositions, the In(x)Ga(1-x)N alloys are inherently unstable, the thickness-dependent stress builds up during the commonly employed heteroepitaxial growth methods, and adds to the instability causing phase segregation and property degradation. A dependence of the growth morphology on the GaN nanowire growth orientation was observed and a growth mechanism is presented for the observed orientation dependent growth on a-plane and c-plane GaN nanowires. Photoactivity of GaN and In(x)Ga(1-x)N films on GaN nanowires is also investigated which shows a distinct difference attributable to GaN and In(x)Ga(1-x)N, demonstrating the advantages of using nanowires as strain relaxing substrates.
