Impact of MAPbI3 Phase Transitions on Solar Cell Performance

TL;DR

This study investigates how phase transitions in MAPbI3 perovskite affect its properties and solar cell performance by combining first-principles calculations with device modeling, validated against experimental data.

Contribution

It introduces a multiscale approach linking atomistic properties to device performance for perovskite solar cells, focusing on phase transition effects.

Findings

Phase transitions significantly influence optical and electronic properties.

Validated model accurately predicts device performance.

Framework enables predictive design of perovskite materials.

Abstract

This paper presents a first step toward a pragmatic phenomenological multiscale approach to evaluate perovskite solar cell performance which determines material properties at the atomistic scale with first-principles calculations, and applies them in macro-scale device models. This work focuses on the MAPbI3 (MA = CH3NH3) perovskite and how its phase transitions impact on its optical, electronic, and structural properties which are investigated at the first-principles level. The obtained data are coupled to a numerical drift-diffusion device model enabling evaluation of the performance of corresponding single junction devices. The first-principles simulation applies a hybrid exchange-correlation functional adapted to the studied family of compounds. Validation by available experimental data is presented from materials properties to device performance, justifying the use of the approach for predictive evaluation of existing and novel perovskites. The coupling between atomistic and device models is described in terms of a framework for exchange of optical and electronic parameters between the two scales. The obtained results are systematically discussed in terms of first-principles levels of approximation performances.