Improving hysteresis of room-temperature air-quenching MAPbI3-xClx solar cells by using mixed-lead halide precursor

This work highlights the utilization of mixed-lead halide precursor for improvement of hysteresis in room-temperature air-quenching perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Room-temperature air-quenching method has been proved as an effective way to improve the morphology of perovskite thin films as well as the efficiency of the PSCs. However, the high hysteresis of the room-temperature air-quenching PSCs is still an obstacle to be overcome. By using mixed-lead halide precursor, the room-temperature air-quenching PSCs exhibited a low hysteresis effect index (HEI) of −0.032. The results of X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL), space charge limited current measurement (SCLC), and capacitance-voltage (C–V) measurement suggested that the improvement of the hysteresis of the room-temperature air-quenching PSCs can be ascribed to smooth film morphology and the low trap density contributed by the mix-lead halide precursor. •Mixed-lead-halide precursor was used to improve the hysteresis of the room-temperature air-quenching MAPbI3-xClx solar cells.•Both the optical and electrical properties of room-temperature air-quenching MAPbI3-xClx films were discussed.•The MAPbI3-xClx perovskite solar cells exhibited a low hysteresis effect index (HEI) of −0.032.