Metal to Metal-Halide Perovskites. By Layla Khateeb, Aviv Dahari.

The existing methods for creating light absorbers in high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) devices, such as GaAs, Si, or CdTe, involve costly purification and fabrication processes. These methods hinder the widespread adoption of PV technologies. Recent advancements have highlighted Halide Perovskites (HaPs) as potential alternatives due to their superior material properties and cost-effectiveness.

High Costs: The existing methods for creating light absorbers in PV devices involve expensive purification and fabrication processes.

Toxicity: Many high-efficiency HaP-based devices incorporate lead, raising significant environmental and health concerns.

Chemical Stability: Current materials used in PV devices face issues with chemical stability, affecting their longevity and performance.

Manufacturing Reproducibility: Inconsistent manufacturing processes lead to variability in the quality and efficiency of the HaP-based devices.

The ultimate goal of this research is to develop a scalable and cost-effective method for converting non-toxic metals like gold and copper directly into metal-halide perovskites (HaPs) for use in high-efficiency solar cells and photovoltaic devices

## Optimizing the Metal-to-HaP (M2H) Conversion Process

1. Improving the conversion efficiency and yield by fine-tuning the reaction parameters, such as precursor solution composition, reaction time, temperature, and pH.

2. Achieving better control over the morphology, crystallinity, and optoelectronic properties of the resulting metal-HaP films to enhance their performance in sola cells.

## Extending the M2H Conversion to Non-Toxic Metals

3. Developing effective conversion methods for non-toxic metals like gold (Au) and copper (Cu), as the current experiments have primarily focused on lead (Pb).

4. Understanding and controlling the oxidation states and reaction mechanisms involved in converting these non-toxic metals into their respective HaPs.

5. Optimizing the conversion process for each metal to achieve high-quality HaP films with desirable properties for solar cell applications.

## Scalability and Integration

6. Ensuring the compatibility and stability of the converted metal-HaP films with other components and processing steps involved in the fabrication of complete solar cell devices.



7. Developing encapsulation and packaging strategies to protect the metal-HaP films from environmental degradation and ensure long-term stability of the solar cells.

The project faces challenges in toxicity and reproducibility when converting non-lead metals like gold and copper into Halide Perovskites for solar energy applications.