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The precise control and understanding of crystal orientation in perovskite polycrystalline films are crucial for the development of efficient and stable devices. However, achieving this control remains a significant challenge. Herein, a PbI2 oriented growth strategy is developed, combined with in situ vapor–solid reaction transformations, to achieve oriented growth of full‐vacuum perovskite films. Grazing‐incidence wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (GIWAXS) analysis revealed the general pattern of PbI2 oriented vapor growth and in situ vapor–solid reaction transformation in this two‐step process. The resulting preferred orientation has effectively reduced trap state density, optimizing the carrier dynamics. As a result, champion efficiencies of 22.11% (0.148 cm2), 20.60% (1 cm2), and 19.41% (5 × 5 cm2 mini‐modules) are achieved, which are the highest value for perovskite based on vapor–solid reaction. Additionally, the oriented growth method is applicable to a variety of guide layers and is extended to 30 × 30 cm2 film, demonstrating the universality and scalability of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To fabricate stable neat FAPbI3 perovskite with a pure α‐phase (pure α‐FAPbI3) is important in the field of photovoltaic commercialization because of its better bandgap than its alloying counterpart with cesium (Cs) or methylammonium (MA) cations. In this study, the first vapor deposited pure α‐FAPbI3 thin film solar cell with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) over 20% is achieved by regulating the phase transition process. It is found that under high humidity conditions, a fast phase transition between high‐purity α‐ and δ‐phase FAPbI3 can be realized. Moreover, theoretical calculations interestingly reveal a phase transition shortcut induced by the abnormal volume contraction that is ascribed to the formation of double hydrogen bonds at a certain H2O concentration. Therefore, a high‐humidity post‐treatment strategy is proposed to fabricate α‐FAPbI3 solar cells with a champion PCE of 20.19% (0.1 cm2) and 18.91% (1 cm2), which is currently the highest recorded value in vapor deposited pure α‐FAPbI3 perovskite solar cells. This study helps to redefine the effect of a water molecule on FAPbI3 solar cells. In addition, the demonstrated scaling‐up possibility provides another perspective for fabricating uniform high‐performance pure α‐FAPbI3 perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite remarkable progress in hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the concern of toxic lead ions remains a major hurdle in the path towards PSC's commercialization; tin (Sn)‐based PSCs outperform the reported Pb‐free perovskites in terms of photovoltaic performance. However, it is of a particularly great challenge to develop effective passivation strategies to suppress Sn(II) induced defect densities and oxidation for attaining high‐performance all‐inorganic CsSnI3 PSCs. Herein, a facile yet effective thioamides passivation strategy to modulate defect state density at surfaces and grain boundaries in CsSnI3 perovskites is reported. The thiosemicarbazide (TSC) with SCN functional groups can make strong coordination interaction with charge defects, leading to enhanced electron cloud density around defects and increased vacancy formation energies. Importantly, the surface passivation can reduce the deep level trap state defect density originated from undercoordinated Sn2+ ion and Sn2+ oxidation, significantly restraining nonradiative recombination and elongating the carrier lifetime of TSC treated CsSnI3 PSCs. The surface passivated all‐inorganic CsSnI3 PSCs based on an inverted configuration delivers a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.20%, with a prolonged lifetime over 90% of initial PCE, after 500 h of continuous illumination. The present strategy sheds light on surface defect passivation for achieving highly efficient all‐inorganic lead‐free Sn‐based PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of derivative phases in inorganic perovskites are reported with special structures and extraordinary performances in photoelectronic device applications. The reverse phase transition between derivative phases and perovskites usually induces recrystallization or forms mixed components. In this work, derivative phase‐induced growth of the CsPbBr3 micro–nanowire (MW) array by utilizing phase transition of the 2D CsPb2Br5 phase is reported. Owing to its layered structure and phase transition, annealing of CsPb2Br5 at a temperature of 550 °C combined with solvent quenching leads to a templating effect to form a high‐quality CsBr MW array. Subsequent PbBr2 deposition and the second annealing are employed to form aligned CsPbBr3 MW arrays. Based on this method, a CsPbBr3 MW array‐based photodetector is fabricated. The large grain size, less grain boundaries, and lower surface potential of the CsPbBr3 MW array lead to high device performance with a responsivity of 7.66 A W−1, a detectivity of ≈1012 Jones, and long‐term operational stability over 1900 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glasses are generally assumed to be isotropic and there are no literature reports of elastic anisotropy for molecular glasses. However, as glasses formed by physical vapor deposition can be structurally anisotropic, it is of interest to investigate the elastic anisotropy in these materials. Micro‐Brillouin light spectroscopy is used in several experimental geometries to determine the elastic stiffness tensors of three glass films of itraconazole vapor‐deposited at substrate temperatures (Tsub) of 330, 315, and 290 K, respectively. Significant elastic anisotropy is observed and, in these glasses, the elastic anisotropy shows a strong correlation with the molecular orientation. The out‐of‐plane and in‐plane Young's moduli of the high Tsub (330 K) sample, which features a predominantly vertical molecular orientation, exhibit a high anisotropy ratio of 2.2. The observed elastic anisotropy is much larger than those previously observed in liquid crystals and even many crystalline solids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical investigation of the molecular organization at a sexithiophene (T6)-C60 fullerene planar heterojunction, based on atomistic molecular dynamics, is presented, in which the effect of two different sample preparation processes on the resulting interface morphology is explored. First, the landing of T6 on C60(001) substrate is considered, which leads to crystalline layers of standing and tilted molecules, in accordance with experiments. The observation and the quantitative characterization of the nucleation and growth provide detailed insights on this out-of-equilibrium process, including the establishment of an epitaxial relationship between the substrate and the interfacial T6 layer, and the spontaneous formation of defective islands, characterized by chiral edges, during the growth of the second and third layers. It is then shown that molecular orientations can be radically changed upon annealing at 600 K, at which T6 forms a smectic phase with planar alignment, whose layers are perpendicular to the interface. The interfacial T6 morphologies are then analyzed in detail at room temperature and compared to the known bulk polymorphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical investigation of the molecular organization at a sexithiophene (T6)-C60 fullerene planar heterojunction, based on atomistic molecular dynamics, is presented, in which the effect of two different sample preparation processes on the resulting interface morphology is explored. First, the landing of T6 on C60(001) substrate is considered, which leads to crystalline layers of standing and tilted molecules, in accordance with experiments. The observation and the quantitative characterization of the nucleation and growth provide detailed insights on this out-of-equilibrium process, including the establishment of an epitaxial relationship between the substrate and the interfacial T6 layer, and the spontaneous formation of defective islands, characterized by chiral edges, during the growth of the second and third layers. It is then shown that molecular orientations can be radically changed upon annealing at 600 K, at which T6 forms a smectic phase with planar alignment, whose layers are perpendicular to the interface. The interfacial T6 morphologies are then analyzed in detail at room temperature and compared to the known bulk polymorphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme Elasticity Anisotropy: Extreme Elasticity Anisotropy in Molecular Glasses (Adv. Funct. Keywords: Brillouin light spectroscopy; elastic anisotropy; molecular glasses; orientation; vapor deposition EN Brillouin light spectroscopy elastic anisotropy molecular glasses orientation vapor deposition 1 1 1 06/06/20 20200604 NES 200604 In article number 2001481, Mark D. Ediger, George Fytas, and co-workers reveal the strong correlation between elastic anisotropy and molecular orientation in vapor-deposited organic glasses of rod-shaped itraconazole. Brillouin light spectroscopy, elastic anisotropy, molecular glasses, orientation, vapor deposition. [Extracted from the article]