Vapor Annealing Controlled Crystal Growth and Photovoltaic Performance of Bismuth Triiodide Embedded in Mesostructured Configurations

Low stability of organic–inorganic lead halide perovskite and toxicity of lead (Pb) still remain a concern. Therefore, there is a constant quest for alternative nontoxic and stable light-absorbing materials with promising optoelectronic properties. Herein, we report about nontoxic bismuth triiodide (BiI3) photovoltaic device prepared using TiO2 mesoporous film and spiro-OMeTAD as electron- and hole-transporting materials, respectively. Effect of annealing methods (e.g., thermal annealing (TA), solvent vapor annealing (SVA), and Petri dish covered recycled vapor annealing (PR-VA)) and different annealing temperatures (90, 120, 150, and 180 °C for PR-VA) on BiI3 film morphology have been investigated. As found in the study, grain size increased and film uniformity improved as temperature was raised from 90 to 150 °C. The photovoltaic devices based on BiI3 films processed at 150 °C with PR-VA treatment showed power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.5% with high reproducibility, which is, so far, the best PCE reported for BiI3 photovoltaic device employing organic hole-transporting material (HTM), owing to the increase in grain size and uniform morphology of BiI3 film. These devices showed stable performance even after 30 days of exposure to 50% relative humidity, and after 100 °C heat stress and 20 min light soaking test. More importantly, the study reveals many challenges and room (discussed in the details) for further development of the BiI3 photovoltaic devices.