Bandgap Engineering of Lead‐Free Double Perovskite Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 through Trivalent Metal Alloying

Abstract The double perovskite family, A 2 M I M III X 6 , is a promising route to overcome the lead toxicity issue confronting the current photovoltaic (PV) standout, CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 . Given the generally large indirect band gap within most known double perovskites, band‐gap engineering provides an important approach for targeting outstanding PV performance within this family. Using Cs 2 AgBiBr 6 as host, band‐gap engineering through alloying of In III /Sb III has been demonstrated in the current work. Cs 2 Ag(Bi 1− x M x )Br 6 (M=In, Sb) accommodates up to 75 % In III with increased band gap, and up to 37.5 % Sb III with reduced band gap; that is, enabling ca. 0.41 eV band gap modulation through introduction of the two metals, with smallest value of 1.86 eV for Cs 2 Ag(Bi 0.625 Sb 0.375 )Br 6 . Band structure calculations indicate that opposite band gap shift directions associated with Sb/In substitution arise from different atomic configurations for these atoms. Associated photoluminescence and environmental stability of the three‐metal systems are also assessed.