Factors influencing halide vacancy transport in perovskite solar cells

Abstract Ion migration in inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic metal halide perovskites causes unusual phenomena in photovoltaic devices, such as current-voltage hysteresis and photoinduced phase transformations. It is now well established that metal halide perovskites are mixed ionic-electronic conductors and halide ions are mobile at room temperature. The effect of various physical stimuli like light, heat, pressure, and applied bias can affect the distribution and movement of ions. However, the impact of each stimulus is not understood as the measured response includes a combination of factors. We explore, using first-principles density functional theory (DFT), halide migration mediated by vacancies in model cubic phases of CsPbX 3 (X = Cl, Br, I) and systematically control the electronic, chemical, and mechanical conditions. We assess the potential energy landscape for ion migration and how device-relevant conditions and compositional engineering can influence the physical behaviour of halide perovskites.