Methylammonium iodide (MAI), also referred to as methylamine hydroiodide, is a precursor for the synthesis of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites for use in FETs, LEDs and PVs.
Due to the high purity of the methylammonium iodide (99.99%), it should be noted that its solubility is reduced within dimethyl formamide and dimethyl sulfoxide. This reduced solubility is due to the removal of trace amounts of residual hydroiodic acid (HI) used during the synthesis and purification of the material. This can potentially have an impact upon the performance of solar cells leading to a reduction in maximum power conversion efficiency achievable. Adding fixed concentrations of hydroiodic acid to perovskite solutions can allow for the improvement of device metrics[1-3]. Using high-purity precursor materials allows for accurate addition of amounts of hydroiodic acid giving higher reproducibility to experiments. It is recommended that between 1% and 10% hydroiodic acid is used with high-purity methylammonium iodide to achieve optimal device performance. The amount required depends on the precursors used, solution concentration, solvent used, and processing environment. Therefore, this will need to be adjusted for each individual laboratory and process.
For simpler ink fabrication, it is recommended that the lower-purity methylammonium iodide (>98%) is used.
Enhanced optopelectronic quality of perovskite thin films with hydrophosphorous acid for planar heterojunction solar cells, W. Zhang et al., Nat. Commun., 6, 10030 (2015); doi:10.1038/ncomms10030.
Chemical formula | CH6IN |
Synonyms | Methylamine hydroiodide |
CAS No. | 14965-49-2 |
Chemical name | Methylammonium iodide |
Physical appearance | White, crystalline solid |
Purification method | Recrystallisation (ethanol) |
Purity | >99.9% (as measured by elemental analysis) |
Molecular weight | 158.97 g/mol |
Recommended solvents for perovskite synthesis | DMF, DMSO |
Reference devices were made to assess the performance of perovskite (MAI:PbCl2) based devices with the below structure. These were fabricated in air prior to spincasting the fullerene layer in a N2 glove box. Substrates were then transferred to a vacuum chamber where a composite metal cathode was thermally evaporated. Finally, substrates were encapsulated inside the glove box before measurements were taken under ambient conditions.
Glass / ITO (100 nm) / PEDOT:PSS (30 nm) / MAI:PbCl2 / PC70BM / Ca (5 nm) / Al (100 nm)
For generic details please see the fabrication guide and video. For specific details please see the below condensed fabrication report which details the optical modelling and optimisation of the multilayer stack.
The perovskite solution (MAI:PbCl2 at a molar ratio of 3:1) was made in dimethylformamide (DMF) at a concentration of 664 mg/ml. It was found to be critical that both materials were mixed dry prior to adding the solvent in order to achieve such high concentration.
For maximum efficiency, the active layer thickness was achieved from spincasting the heated solution (70°C) onto a hot PEDOT:PSS substrate (90°C) at a spin speed of 5000 rpm for 30s. The films were then placed back onto the hotplate (90°C) for 2 hrs. The data below shows the maximum performance achieved from non-optimised conditions.
Overall, the average efficiency after 5 mins light soaking was 8.89% (9.57% maximum) from MAI:PbCl2 based devices. Hysteresis was observed to be quite significant, with sweeps running from positive to negative bias presenting the best efficiencies (hereby referred to as reverse sweeps).
Substrates and cleaning
PEDOT:PSS
Active layer solution
Active layers
Evaporation
Left in vacuum chamber overnight and evaporated with the below parameters.
Encapsulation
Measurements
We are continuously studying MAI and perovskites and expect to provide you with further information and optimised fabrication guides as we do so. Check back regularly or subscribe to our email newsletter for updates. In the meantime, please contact us if you have any further questions.
Methylammonium iodide MSDS sheet
Grade | Order Code | Quantity | Price |
98% purity | M272 | 10 g | £99.00 |
98% purity | M272 | 25 g | £199.00 |
98% purity | M272 | 100 g | £578.00 |
98% purity | M272 | 500 g | £1740.00 |
>99.9% purity | M271 | 5 g | £111.00 |
>99.9% purity | M271 | 10 g | £179.00 |
>99.9% purity | M271 | 25 g | £356.00 |
Note: Looking for a bulk order (100 g or above of 98% or greater purity)? Please contact us for a quote.
To the best of our knowledge the technical information provided here is accurate. However, Ossila assume no liability for the accuracy of this information. The values provided here are typical at the time of manufacture and may vary over time and from batch to batch.
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