Polar rotor scattering as atomic-level origin of low mobility and thermal conductivity of perovskite CH3NH3PbI3

B Li and Y Kawakita and YC Liu and MC Wang and M Matsuura and K Shibata and S Ohira-Kawamura and T Yamada and SC Lin and KJ Nakajima and SZ Liu, NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, 8, 16086 (2017).

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms16086

Perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 exhibits outstanding photovoltaic performances, but the understanding of the atomic motions remains inadequate even though they take a fundamental role in transport properties. Here, we present a complete atomic dynamic picture consisting of molecular jumping rotational modes and phonons, which is established by carrying out high-resolution time-of-flight quasi-elastic and inelastic neutron scattering measurements in a wide energy window ranging from 0.0036 to 54 meV on a large single crystal sample, respectively. The ultrafast orientational disorder of molecular dipoles, activated at similar to 165 K, acts as an additional scattering source for optical phonons as well as for charge carriers. It is revealed that acoustic phonons dominate the thermal transport, rather than optical phonons due to sub-picosecond lifetimes. These microscopic insights provide a solid standing point, on which perovskite solar cells can be understood more accurately and their performances are perhaps further optimized.

Return to Publications page