Improving the phase stability of CsPbI₃ nanocrystalline films via polyvinylpyrrolidone additive engineering for photodetector application

CsPbI₃ perovskite materials have triggered enormous research attention as promising light-harvesting or fluorescent materials, owing to their high photoluminescence quantum yields, narrow photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra and excellent photophysical properties based on the quantum confinement effect. However, the formation of desirable black-phase CsPbI₃ requires complex processing at higher annealing temperatures and upon formation it suffers from instability issues at room temperature, hindering its potential for optoelectronic application. In this work, using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as an additive, highly stable CsPbI₃ nanocrystalline films are prepared at a low annealing temperature of 180 °C via a one-step spin-coating method. It is found that the PVP additive not only improves the stability by inhibiting the transition of CsPbI₃ from α- to δ-phase at room temperature but also influences the crystallization dynamics. In addition, the PL intensity is substantially enhanced due to the suppression of non-recombination sites with PVP. With a PVP concentration of 12 wt%, a charge carrier lifetime of 43.99 ns is obtained and a palpable orange-yellow color is formed irradiated in plane by a green laser. Finally, a simple photodetector is fabricated with a structure of FTO/PVP-CsPbI₃/Ag, exhibiting excellent photodetecting response with increased PVP concentration in the film. These results suggest that PVP-CsPbI₃ has strong research and application potential in the future in optoelectronic devices. (paper)