The Intrinsic Photochemical (in)-Stability of Lead Halide Perovskites
Abstract
The intrinsic photochemical and thermodynamic stability of lead halide perovskite, as influenced by the A-site cations, is evaluated: for Methylammonium (MA), Formamidinium (FA), and Cesium (Cs). To bridge the gap to 25-year commercial viability, MA should be excluded from commercial perovskite designs. A research and development focus on FA/Cs mixed-cation materials, or on fully inorganic Cs based materials is better (the latter being the most photostable option). However, also FA based materials show signs of intrinsic photochemical instability. Fully inorganic triple halide perovskites represent the best materials for tandems on silicon, regarding photo-stability, but, I 2 formation can still occur due to the intrinsic nature of charge transport and has to be suppressed. Exclusion of oxygen and humidity is a first prerequisite for longevity. Failures in the field of silicon solar panels are generally not related to the Si semi-conductor, implying that only an intrinsically photostable semi-conductors can result in acceptable solar panel breakdown statistics.
Related
- Coordination Alone Does Not Passivate Surface Halide-Vacancy States in Lead Halide Perovskites
- A-site cation engineering of lead-free M2NiCl6 (M = Na, K, Cs) vacancy-ordered double perovskites: first-principles insights into stability, band-gap tuning, excitonic behavior, and optical response
- Energy-level alignment of vacancy-ordered halide double perovskites
- Chirality as a Structural Degree of Freedom in Halide Perovskites
- Disentangling Electronic and Lattice Contributions to Transient Absorption in Metal Halide Perovskites: A First-Principles Study of CH3NH3PbBr3.
BibTeX
@misc{bock2026intrinsic,
title = {{The Intrinsic Photochemical (in)-Stability of Lead Halide Perovskites}},
author = {Emily de Bock and Claudia Pierdomenico and Alice E. M. Riot Rocquefelte and René M. Williams},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15008419/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008419/v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The Intrinsic Photochemical (in)-Stability of Lead Halide Perovskites
AU - Emily de Bock
AU - Claudia Pierdomenico
AU - Alice E. M. Riot Rocquefelte
AU - René M. Williams
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/07
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008419/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008419/v1
AB - The intrinsic photochemical and thermodynamic stability of lead halide perovskite, as influenced by the A-site cations, is evaluated: for Methylammonium (MA), Formamidinium (FA), and Cesium (Cs). To bridge the gap to 25-year commercial viability, MA should be excluded from commercial perovskite designs. A research and development focus on FA/Cs mixed-cation materials, or on fully inorganic Cs based materials is better (the latter being the most photostable option). However, also FA based materials show signs of intrinsic photochemical instability. Fully inorganic triple halide perovskites represent the best materials for tandems on silicon, regarding photo-stability, but, I 2 formation can still occur due to the intrinsic nature of charge transport and has to be suppressed. Exclusion of oxygen and humidity is a first prerequisite for longevity. Failures in the field of silicon solar panels are generally not related to the Si semi-conductor, implying that only an intrinsically photostable semi-conductors can result in acceptable solar panel breakdown statistics.
ER -