Impact of Anionic Br– Substitution on Open Circuit Voltage in Lead Free Perovskite (CsSnI3-xBrx) Solar Cells

Replacement of lead in the hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells invokes the need for non-toxic materials such as Sn. Although solution processed CsSnI3 has been demonstrated as a lead-free halide perovskite which can function as a light absorber with high photocurrent densities, the power conversion efficiencies were bottlenecked by low open circuit voltages. In this work, the open circuit voltages are modulated by chemical doping of CsSnI3 with Br leading to formation of CsSnI3-xBrx (0 ≤ x ≤ 3) perovskites. The beneficial effect of Br incorporation for Voc improvement is evident for CsSnI3 system even without the addition of SnF2. There is an evolution of the crystal structure of CsSnI3 from orthorhombic to cubic for CsSnBr3 accompanied by changes in its optical properties with a blue shift of the absorption and IPCE onset, as the Br– doping is increased. The Voc enhancement is attributed to the decrease in Sn vacancies which is reflected by the lower charge carrier densities of 1015 cm–3 and a high resistance to charge recombination in case of Br rich CsSnI3-xBrx perovskite. By the addition of SnF2 to CsSnI3-xBrx perovskite, the current densities are improved significantly.