Effect of Heat and Moisture on the Phase Transition in Dimethylammonium-Facilitated CsPbI3 Perovskite

Cesium lead iodide (CsPbI3) with a bandgap of ~1.7 eV is an attractive material for use as a wide-gap perovskite in tandem perovskite solar cells due to its single halide component, which is capable of inhibiting halide segregation. However, phase transition into a photo inactive δ-CsPbI3 at room temperature significantly hinders performance and stability. Thus, maintaining the photo-active phase is a key challenge because it determines the reliability of the tandem device. The dimethylammonium (DMA)-facilitated CsPbI3, widely used to fabricate CsPbI3, exhibits different phase transition behaviors than pure CsPbI3. Here, we experimentally investigated the phase behavior of DMA-facilitated CsPbI3 when exposed to external factors, such as heat and moisture. In DMA-facilitated CsPbI3 films, the phase transition involving degradation was observed to begin at a temperature of 150 °C and a relative humidity of 65 %, which is presumed to be related to the sublimation of DMA. Forming a closed system to inhibit the sublimation of DMA significantly improved the phase transition under the same conditions. These results indicate that management of DMA is a crucial factor in maintaining the photo-active phase and implies that when employing DMA designs are necessary to ensure phase stability in DMA-facilitated CsPbI3 devices.