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Drużbicki K, Gila-Herranz P, Marin-Villa P, Gaboardi M, Armstrong J, Fernandez-Alonso F. Cation Dynamics as Structure Explorer in Hybrid Perovskites-The Case of MAPbI 3. CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN 2024; 24:391-404. [PMID: 38188269 PMCID: PMC10768891 DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.3c01112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites exhibit remarkable potential as cost-effective and high-efficiency materials for photovoltaic applications. Their exceptional chemical tunability opens further routes for optimizing their optical and electronic properties through structural engineering. Nevertheless, the extraordinary softness of the lattice, stemming from its interconnected organic-inorganic composition, unveils formidable challenges in structural characterization. Here, by focusing on the quintessential methylammonium lead triiodide, MAPbI3, we combine first-principles modeling with high-resolution neutron scattering data to identify the key stationary points on its shallow potential energy landscape. This combined experimental and computational approach enables us to benchmark the performance of a collection of semilocal exchange-correlation functionals and to track the local distortions of the perovskite framework, hallmarked by the inelastic neutron scattering response of the organic cation. By conducting a thorough examination of structural distortions, we introduce the IKUR-PVP-1 structural data set. This data set contains nine mechanically stable structural models, each manifesting a distinct vibrational response. IKUR-PVP-1 constitutes a valuable resource for assessing thermal behavior in the low-temperature perovskite phase. In addition, it paves the way for the development of accurate force fields, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between the structure and dynamics in MAPbI3 and related hybrid perovskites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kacper Drużbicki
- Materials
Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, Donostia-San Sebastian 20018, Spain
- Polish
Academy of Sciences, Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies, Sienkiewicza 112, Lodz 90-363, Poland
| | - Pablo Gila-Herranz
- Materials
Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, Donostia-San Sebastian 20018, Spain
| | - Pelayo Marin-Villa
- Materials
Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, Donostia-San Sebastian 20018, Spain
| | - Mattia Gaboardi
- Materials
Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, Donostia-San Sebastian 20018, Spain
- C.S.G.I.
& Chemistry Department, University of
Pavia, Viale Taramelli,
16, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Jeff Armstrong
- ISIS
Neutron and Muon Facility, Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory, Didcot OX11 0QX, U.K.
| | - Felix Fernandez-Alonso
- Materials
Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, Donostia-San Sebastian 20018, Spain
- Donostia
International Physics Center (DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4, Donostia-San
Sebastian 20018, Spain
- IKERBASQUE,
Basque Foundation for Science, Plaza Euskadi 5, Bilbao 48009, Spain
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Maity S, Verma S, Ramaniah LM, Srinivasan V. Stabilizing Polar Domains in MAPbBr 3 via the Hydrostatic Pressure-Induced Liquid Crystal-like Transition. J Phys Chem Lett 2023:5497-5504. [PMID: 37289825 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c01152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Pressure-induced phases of MAPbBr3 were investigated at room temperature in the range of 0-2.8 GPa by ab initio molecular dynamics. Two structural transitions at 0.7 GPa (cubic → cubic) and 1.1 GPa (cubic → tetragonal) involved both the inorganic host (lead bromide) and the organic guest (MA). MA dipoles behave like a liquid crystal undergoing isotropic → isotropic and isotropic → oblate nematic transitions as pressure confines their orientational fluctuations to a crystal plane. Beyond 1.1 GPa, the MA ions lie alternately along two orthogonal directions in the plane forming stacks perpendicular to it. However, the molecular dipoles are statically disordered, leading to stable polar and antipolar MA domains in each stack. H-Bond interactions, which primarily mediate host-guest coupling, facilitate the static disordering of MA dipoles. Interestingly, high pressures suppress CH3 torsional motion, emphasizing the role of C-H···Br bonds in the transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayan Maity
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal 462 066, India
| | - Suraj Verma
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal 462 066, India
| | - Lavanya M Ramaniah
- High Pressure and Synchrotron Radiation Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085, India
| | - Varadharajan Srinivasan
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal 462 066, India
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3
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Abia C, López CA, Cañadillas-Delgado L, Fernández-Diaz MT, Alonso JA. Crystal structure thermal evolution and novel orthorhombic phase of methylammonium lead bromide, CH3NH3PbBr3. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18647. [PMCID: PMC9636425 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21544-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractMethylammonium (MA) lead trihalide perovskites, CH3NH3PbX3 (X = I, Br, Cl), have emerged as a new class of light-absorbing materials for photovoltaic applications, reaching efficiencies of 23% when implemented in solar cell heterojunctions. In particular, MAPbBr3 is a promising member with a large bandgap that gives rise to a high open circuit voltage. Here we present a structural study from neutron diffraction (ND) data of an undeuterated MAPbBr3 specimen, carried out to follow its crystallographic behaviour in the 2–298 K temperature range. Besides the known crystallographic phases, i.e. the high-temperature Pm$$\overline{3}$$
3
¯
m cubic structure, the intermediate I4/mcm tetragonal symmetry and the low-temperature Pnma orthorhombic phase, we additionally identified, from a detailed sequential ND analysis, a novel intermediate phase within the 148.5–154.0 K temperature range as an orthorhombic Imma structure, early associated with a coexistence of phases. Moreover, our ND data allowed us to unveil the configuration of the organic MA units and their complete localization within the mentioned temperature range, thus improving the crystallographic description of this compound. The evolution with temperature of the H-bonds between the organic molecule and the inorganic cage is also followed. A deep knowledge of the crystal structure and, in particular, the MA conformation inside the perovskite cage seems essential to establish structure–property correlations that may drive further improvements.
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Marín-Villa P, Arauzo A, Drużbicki K, Fernandez-Alonso F. Unraveling the Ordered Phase of the Quintessential Hybrid Perovskite MAPbI 3─Thermophysics to the Rescue. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:8422-8428. [PMID: 36069450 PMCID: PMC9486940 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c02208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Hybrid perovskites continue to attract an enormous amount of attention, yet a robust microscopic picture of their different phases as well as the extent and nature of the disorder present remains elusive. Using specific-heat data along with high-resolution inelastic neutron scattering and ab initio modeling, we address this ongoing challenge for the case of the ordered phase of the quintessential hybrid-perovskite MAPbI3. At low temperatures, the specific heat of MAPbI3 reveals strong deviations from the Debye limit, a common feature of pure hybrid perovskites and their mixtures. Our thermophysical analysis demonstrates that the (otherwise ordered) structure around the organic moiety is characterized by a substantial lowering of the local symmetry relative to what can be inferred from crystallographic studies. The physical origin of the observed thermophysical anomalies is unequivocally linked to excitations of sub-terahertz optical phonons responsible for translational-librational distortions of the octahedral units.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pelayo Marín-Villa
- Materials
Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 Donostia - San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Ana Arauzo
- Instituto
de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (INMA), CSIC-Universidad de Zaragoza, Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Kacper Drużbicki
- Materials
Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 Donostia - San Sebastian, Spain
- Centre
of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sienkiewicza 112, 90-363 Lodz, Poland
| | - Felix Fernandez-Alonso
- Materials
Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 Donostia - San Sebastian, Spain
- Donostia
International Physics Center (DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4, 20018 Donostia - San Sebastian, Spain
- IKERBASQUE
- Basque Foundation for Science, Plaza Euskadi 5, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
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5
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Dintakurti SSH, Walker D, Bird TA, Fang Y, White T, Hanna JV. A powder XRD, solid state NMR and calorimetric study of the phase evolution in mechanochemically synthesized dual cation (Cs x(CH 3NH 3) 1-x)PbX 3 lead halide perovskite systems. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:18004-18021. [PMID: 35861055 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp02131e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Methylammonium (MA+) lead halide perovskites (MAPbX3) have been widely investigated for photovoltaic applications, with the addition of Cs improving structural and thermal stability. This study reports the complete A site miscibility of Cs+ and MA+ cations in the lead chloride and lead bromide perovskites with nominal stoichiometric formulae (CsxMA1-x)Pb(Cl/Br)3 (x = 0, 0.13, 0.25, 0.37, 0.50, 0.63, 0.75, 0.87, 1). These suites of materials were synthesized mechanochemically as a simple, cost-effective synthesis technique to produce highly ordered, single phase particles. In contrast to previous studies using conventional synthetic routes that have reported significant solubility gaps, this solvent-free approach induces complete miscibility within the dual cation Cs+/MA+ system, with the resultant structures exhibiting high short-range and long-range atomic ordering across the entire compositional range that are devoid of solvent inclusions and disorder. The subtle structural evolution from cubic to orthorhombic symmetry reflecting PbX6 octahedral tilting was studied using complementary high resolution TEM, powder XRD, multinuclear 133Cs/207Pb/1H MAS NMR, DSC, XPS and UV/vis approaches. The phase purity and exceptional structural order were reflected in the very high resolution HRTEM images presented from particles with crystallite sizes in the ∼80-170 nm range, and the stability and long lifetimes of the Br series (10-20 min) and the Cl series (∼30 s-1 min) under the 200 kV/146 μA e- beam. Rietveld refinements associated with the room temperature PXRD study demonstrated that each system converged towards single phase compositions that were very close to the intended target stoichiometries, thus indicating the complete miscibility within these dual cation Cs+/MA+ solid solution systems. The multinuclear MAS NMR data showed a distinct sensitivity to the changing solid solution compositions across the MAPbX3-CsPbX3 partition. In particular, the 133Cs shifts demonstrated a sensitivity to the cubic-orthorhombic phase transition while the 133Cs T1s exhibited a pronounced sensitivity to the variable Cs+ cation mobility across the compositional range. Variable temperature PXRD studies facilitated the production of phase diagrams mapping the Cs+/MA+ compositional space for the (CsxMA1-x)PbCl3 and (CsxMA1-x)PbBr3 solid solution series, while Tauc plots of the UV/vis data exhibited reducing bandgaps with increasing MA+ incorporation through ranges of cubic phases where octahedral tilting was absent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sai S H Dintakurti
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands, CV4 7AL, UK. .,Interdisciplinary Graduate School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - David Walker
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands, CV4 7AL, UK.
| | - Tobias A Bird
- Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands, CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Yanan Fang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Tim White
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - John V Hanna
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, West Midlands, CV4 7AL, UK. .,School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
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Bokdam M, Lahnsteiner J, Sarma DD. Exploring Librational Pathways with on-the-Fly Machine-Learning Force Fields: Methylammonium Molecules in MAPbX 3 (X = I, Br, Cl) Perovskites. THE JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. C, NANOMATERIALS AND INTERFACES 2021; 125:21077-21086. [PMID: 34621459 PMCID: PMC8488963 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c06835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Two seemingly similar crystal structures of the low-temperature (∼100 K) MAPbX3 (X = I, Br, Cl) perovskites, but with different relative methylammonium (MA) ordering, have appeared as representatives of this orthorhombic phase. Distinguishing them by X-ray diffraction experiments is difficult, and conventional first-principles-based molecular dynamics approaches are often too computationally intensive to be feasible. Therefore, to determine the thermodynamically stable structure, we use a recently introduced on-the-fly machine-learning force field method, which reduces the computation time from years to days. The molecules exhibit a large degree of anharmonic motion depending on temperature: that is, rattling, twisting, and tumbling. We observe the crystal's "librational pathways" while slowly heating it in isothermal-isobaric simulations. Marked differences in the thermal evolution of structural parameters allow us to determine the real structure of the system via a comparison with experimentally determined crystal structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Menno Bokdam
- Faculty
of Science and Technology and MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
- Faculty
of Physics and Center for Computational Materials Sciences, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jonathan Lahnsteiner
- Faculty
of Science and Technology and MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
| | - D. D. Sarma
- Solid
State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian
Institute of Science, 560012 Bengaluru, India
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7
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Drużbicki K, Gaboardi M, Fernandez-Alonso F. Dynamics & Spectroscopy with Neutrons-Recent Developments & Emerging Opportunities. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13:1440. [PMID: 33947108 PMCID: PMC8125526 DOI: 10.3390/polym13091440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
This work provides an up-to-date overview of recent developments in neutron spectroscopic techniques and associated computational tools to interrogate the structural properties and dynamical behavior of complex and disordered materials, with a focus on those of a soft and polymeric nature. These have and continue to pave the way for new scientific opportunities simply thought unthinkable not so long ago, and have particularly benefited from advances in high-resolution, broadband techniques spanning energy transfers from the meV to the eV. Topical areas include the identification and robust assignment of low-energy modes underpinning functionality in soft solids and supramolecular frameworks, or the quantification in the laboratory of hitherto unexplored nuclear quantum effects dictating thermodynamic properties. In addition to novel classes of materials, we also discuss recent discoveries around water and its phase diagram, which continue to surprise us. All throughout, emphasis is placed on linking these ongoing and exciting experimental and computational developments to specific scientific questions in the context of the discovery of new materials for sustainable technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kacper Drużbicki
- Materials Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain;
- Polish Academy of Sciences, Center of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies, Sienkiewicza 112, 90-363 Lodz, Poland
| | - Mattia Gaboardi
- Elettra—Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., S.S. 14 km 163.5 in Area Science Park, 34149 Trieste, Italy;
| | - Felix Fernandez-Alonso
- Materials Physics Center, CSIC-UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 5, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain;
- Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Plaza Euskadi 5, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
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