Direct observation of dramatically enhanced hole formation in a perovskite-solar-cell material spiro-OMeTAD by Li-TFSI doping

Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy of 2,20,7,70-tetrakis-(N, N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine) 9,90-spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) thin films and perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3)/spiro-OMeTAD layered films are reported. Clear ESR signals (g = 2.0030) were observed by adding a dopant lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (Li-TFSI) to the spiro-OMeTAD thin films, which directly showed the spin (hole) formation in spiro-OMeTAD by the Li-TFSI doping. The number of spins in the spiroOMeTAD thin film has increased by more than two orders of magnitude by the Li-TFSI doping under dark conditions, which demonstrates from a microscopic viewpoint that Li-TFSI has high doping effects for the spiro-OMeTAD thin films. Under simulated solar irradiation, the spin density in the spiro-OMeTAD thin films and the perovskite/spiro-OMeTAD layered films largely increased by the Li-TFST doping due to the formation of long-lived holes in spiro-OMeTAD. The transient responses of the number of photogenerated spins, N-spin, of the layered films upon the light irradiation showed the increase and the decrease in the N-spin due to the hole transfer and recombination at the perovskite/spiro-OMeTAD interface. The states of long-lived holes in the spiro-OMeTAD layers were analyzed using the simulation of the ESR spectra, which reveals the mobile photogenerated holes with a lifetime > 10 mu s. Published by AIP Publishing.