Air‐Degradation Mechanisms in Mixed Lead‐Tin Halide Perovskites for Solar Cells

Owing to the bandgap-bowing effect, mixed lead-tin halide perovskites provide ideal bandgaps for the bottom subcell of all-perovskite tandem photovoltaic devices that offer fundamentally elevated power-conversion efficiencies. However, these materials suffer from degradation in ambient air, which worsens their optoelectronic properties and hinders their usability for photovoltaic applications. Such degradation pathways are not yet fully understood, especially for the perovskites in the middle of the APb(x)Sn(1-x)I(3) solid solution line, which offer the narrowest bandgaps across the range. This study unravels the degradation mechanisms of APb(x)Sn(1-x)I(3) perovskites, reporting clear differences between mixed lead-tin (x = 0.5) and tin-only (x = 0) perovskites. The dynamic optoelectronic properties, electronic structure, crystal structure, and decomposition products of the perovskite thin films are examined in situ during air exposure. Both perovskite compositions suffer from the formation of defects over the timescale of hours, as indicated by a significant reduction in their charge-carrier diffusion lengths. For tin-only perovskite, degradation predominantly causes the formation of energetically shallow tin vacancies and hole doping. However, for mixed lead-tin perovskite, deep trap states are formed that significantly accelerate charge-carrier recombination, yet leave mobilities relatively unaffected. These findings highlight the need for passivation strategies tailored specifically to mixed lead-tin iodide perovskites.