Anomalous Band Gap Behavior in Mixed Sn and Pb Perovskites Enables Broadening of Absorption Spectrum in Solar Cells

Perovskite-based solar cells have recently been catapulted to the cutting edge of thin-film photovoltaic research and development because of their promise for high-power conversion efficiencies and ease of fabrication. Two types of generic perovskites compounds have been used in cell fabrication: either Pb- or Sn-based. Here, we describe the performance of perovskite solar cells based on alloyed perovskite solid solutions of methylammonium tin iodide and its lead analogue (CH3NH3Sn1–xPbxI3). We exploit the fact that, the energy band gaps of the mixed Pb/Sn compounds do not follow a linear trend (the Vegard's law) in between these two extremes of 1.55 and 1.35 eV, respectively, but have narrower bandgap (<1.3 eV), thus extending the light absorption into the near-infrared (∼1,050 nm). A series of solution-processed solid-state photovoltaic devices using a mixture of organic spiro-OMeTAD/lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide/pyridinium additives as hole transport layer were fabricated and studied as a function of Sn to Pb ratio. Our results show that CH3NH3Sn0.5Pb0.5I3 has the broadest light absorption and highest short-circuit photocurrent density ∼20 mA cm–2 (obtained under simulated full sunlight of 100 mW cm–2).