Colloidal chemistry of MAPbI3 perovskite ink using 2-methoxyethanol as the solvent

Yin Xie, Xiaowei Xu, Yan Cui, Liang Qiao, Kebin Chi, Dejun Shi, Yang Bai, Zhijie Wu*, Shengbao He

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Solvent is vital in determining the colloidal chemistry of perovskite ink. A depth understanding on the colloidal chemistry is essential to fine-regulate the crystallization of perovskite film. A low-polar solvent, 2-methoxyethanol (2-Me), shows growing potential than the traditional high-polar solvents in scaling-up perovskite solar cells, owing to the fast evaporation rate and the ability to form perovskite films without anti-solvent. However, as a relatively new solvent, the colloidal chemistry has not been fully understood. Here, the colloidal chemistry of fresh and aged perovskite ink using 2-Me as the solvent is investigated. The as-composed perovskite ink is characteristic of weakly bonded I- ions and the existence of cluster complexes. In the fresh perovskite ink, the weakly bonded I- ions enhance the dissolution of methylammonium (MA+), and also induce the formation of I3- ions in the diluted or aged solution. Both iodoplumbate species and cluster complexes are dispersed by MA+ ions in the solution, however, the former transforms to clusters after aging. These changes results in increased crystal size and non-uniform coverage in the perovskite film. These findings provide valuable insights into the optimization of perovskite ink using 2-Me as the solvent.

Original languageEnglish
Article number132406
JournalColloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
Volume677
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Nov 2023

Keywords

  • 2-Methoxyethanol
  • Aging
  • Cluster
  • Colloidal chemistry
  • Iodoplumbate

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Xie, Y., Xu, X., Cui, Y., Qiao, L., Chi, K., Shi, D., Bai, Y., Wu, Z., & He, S. (2023). Colloidal chemistry of MAPbI3 perovskite ink using 2-methoxyethanol as the solvent. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 677, Article 132406. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2023.132406