Interface Engineering in Hybrid Iodide CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskites Using Lewis Base and Graphene toward High-Performance Solar Cells

Photovoltaic solar cells based on organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites have achieved a substantial breakthrough via advanced interface engineering. Reports have emphasized that combining the hybrid perovskites with the Lewis base and/or graphene can definitely improve the performance through surface trap passivation and band alignment alteration; the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood. Here, using density functional theory calculations, we show that upon the formation of CH3NH3PbI3 interfaces with three different Lewis base molecules and graphene, the binding strength with S-donors thiocarbamide and thioacetamide is higher than with O-donor dimethyl sulfoxide, while the interface dipole and work function reduction tend to increase from S-donors to O-donor. We provide evidences of deep trap state elimination in the S-donor perovskite interfaces through the analysis of defect formation on the CH3NH3PbI3(110) surface and of stability enhancement by estimation of activation barriers for vacancy-mediated iodine atom migrations. These theoretical predictions are in line with the experimental observation of performance enhancement in the perovskites prepared using thiocarbamide.