Investigation of solution-based synthesis of non-toxic perovskite materials using Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn as the B-site cation for photovoltaic applications

Abstract

High-efficiency perovskite solar cells are reliant on lead-based materials, which causes toxicity issues for large-scale implementation. Current alternatives can contain similarly environmentally dangerous chemicals such as tin halide compounds. Computational studies have suggested a large array of different potential B-site metal cations that could produce suitable perovskite materials. In this work, simple, solution synthesis of 24 candidate materials is attempted with a focus on the environmental safety of the starting compounds. Of these 24 materials, 10 formed a new material from XRD characterisation, and 1 of the resulting films produces a material with an observable band-gap in UV/vis. This material, a combination of potassium bromide and copper bromide, failed to produce a solar cell of any notable efficiency. This work demonstrates that completely environmentally benign perovskite materials may require more energy-intensive synthesis such as solid-state methods, removing the benefits of simple, solution processing evident in lead-halide perovskite solar cells.