Ionothermal synthesis of novel Pb-OH-Cu-X (X = Cl, Br and I) quaternary heterometallic frameworks with tunable optical properties

The Complex Degradation Mechanism of Copper Electrodes on Lead Halide Perovskites

Lead halide perovskite solar cells have reached power conversion efficiencies during the past few years that rival those of crystalline silicon solar cells, and there is a concentrated effort to commercialize them. The use of gold electrodes, the current standard, is prohibitively costly for commercial application. Copper is a promising low-cost electrode material that has shown good stability in perovskite solar cells with selective contacts. Furthermore, it has the potential to be self-passivating through the formation of CuI, a copper salt which is also used as a hole selective material. Based on these opportunities, we investigated the interface reactions between lead halide perovskites and copper in this work. Specifically, copper was deposited on the perovskite surface, and the reactions were followed in detail using synchrotron-based and in-house photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show a rich interfacial chemistry with reactions starting upon deposition and, with the exposure to oxygen and moisture, progress over many weeks, resulting in significant degradation of both the copper and the perovskite. The degradation results not only in the formation of CuI, as expected, but also in the formation of two previously unreported degradation products. The hope is that a deeper understanding of these processes will aid in the design of corrosion-resistant copper-based electrodes.

Two new 3-D cadmium bromoplumbates: the only example of heterometallic bromoplumbate based on crown [Cd(Pb4O4)Br2] clusters

This work provides the only example of 3-D heterometallic bromoplumbate based on the combination of heterometallic crown [Cd(Pb₄O₄)Br₂] clusters and dimeric [Pb₂Br₄] units.

[Pb3Cu2I10(phen)4]n: a novel organic-inorganic hybrid ferromagnetic semiconductor

An iodoplumbate-based organic-inorganic hybrid ferromagnetic semiconductor, [Pb₃Cu₂I₁₀(phen)₄]_n, has been solvothermally synthesized. The ferromagnetic exchange interaction is resulting from the multiple aromatic π-π stacking interactions between the adjacent phen molecules.