TY - JOUR A1 - Flatken, M. A. A1 - Radicchi, E. A1 - Wendt, R. A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Härk, E. A1 - Pascual, J. A1 - Mathies, F. A1 - Shargaieva, O. A1 - Prause, A. A1 - Dallmann, A. A1 - De Angelis, F. A1 - Hoell, A. A1 - Abate, A. T1 - Role of the Alkali Metal Cation in the Early Stages of Crystallization of Halide Perovskites JF - Chemistry of Materials N2 - ABX3 metal halide perovskites revolutionized the research and development of new optoelectronics, including solar cells and light-emitting diodes. Processing polycrystalline thin films from precursor solutions is one of the core advantages of these materials since it enables versatile and cost-effective manufacturing. The perovskite film morphology, that is, continuous substrate coverage and low surface roughness, is of paramount importance for highly efficient solar cells and optoelectronic devices in general. Controlling the chemistry of precursor solutions is one of the most effective strategies to manage the perovskite film morphology. Herein, we show the fundamental influence of the A-site cation composition on the perovskite precursor arrangement and the consequent film formation. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering give unprecedented insights into the complex structural chemistry of the perovskite precursors and, in particular, their repulsive interactions as a crucial parameter for colloidal stability. Combining these techniques with in situ grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering during thin-film formation allows us to identify the mechanism for using alkali metals as a decisive criterion to control the colloidal stability of the perovskite precursor and thus the thin-film morphology. We illustrate the fundamental principle behind the systematic use of alkali metals regardless of whether they are incorporated in the lattice or not. Hence, this work provides tools to selectively control the morphology and crystal growth in present and future systems KW - MAPbI3 perovskites KW - Halide Perovskites KW - X-ray absorption spectroscopy PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c03563 SN - 0897-4756 VL - 34 IS - 3 SP - 1121 EP - 1131 PB - American Chemical Society AN - OPUS4-54713 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - C. Pardo Pérez, L. A1 - Arndt, A. A1 - Stojkovikj, S. A1 - Y. Ahmet, I. A1 - T. Arens,, J. A1 - Dattila, F. A1 - Wendt, R. A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Radtke, Martin A1 - Davies, V. A1 - Höflich, K. A1 - Köhnen, E. A1 - Tockhorn, P. A1 - Golnak, R. A1 - Xiao, J. A1 - Schuck, G. A1 - Wollgarten, M. A1 - López, N. A1 - T. Mayer, M. T1 - Determining Structure-Activity Relationships in Oxide Derived CuSn Catalysts During CO2 Electroreduction Using X-Ray Spectroscopy JF - Advanced Energy Materials N2 - The development of earth-abundant catalysts for selective electrochemical CO2 conversion is a central challenge. Cu-Sn bimetallic catalysts can yield selective CO2 reduction toward either CO or formate. This study presents oxide-derived Cu-Sn catalysts tunable for either product and seeks to understand the synergetic effects between Cu and Sn causing these selectivity trends. The materials undergo significant transformations under CO2 reduction conditions, and their dynamic bulk and surface structures are revealed by correlating observations from multiple methods—X-ray absorption spectroscopy for in situ study, and quasi in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for surface sensitivity. For both types of catalysts, Cu transforms to metallic Cu0 under reaction conditions. However, the Sn speciation and content differ significantly between the catalyst types: the CO-selective catalysts exhibit a surface Sn content of 13 at. % predominantly present as oxidized Sn, while the formate-selective catalysts display an Sn content of ≈70 at. % consisting of both metallic Sn0 and Sn oxide species. Density functional theory simulations suggest that Snδ+ sites weaken CO adsorption, thereby enhancing CO selectivity, while Sn0 sites hinder H adsorption and promote formate production. This study reveals the complex dependence of catalyst structure, composition, and speciation with electrochemical bias in bimetallic Cu catalysts. KW - Electrochemical CO2 conversion KW - Cu catalysts KW - X-ray absorption spectroscopy PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-547116 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202103328 SN - 1614-6832 VL - 12 IS - 5 SP - 2103328 PB - Wiley-VCH GmbH AN - OPUS4-54711 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -