Abstract
The surface properties of many inorganic electronic materials (e.g., MoS2, WSe2, Si) can be substantially modified by treatment with the superacid bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (TFSI). Here we find more generally that solutions based on molecules with trifluoromethanesulfonyl groups, including TFSI, give rise to excellent room temperature surface passivation, with the common factor being the presence of CF3SO2 groups and not the solution’s acidity. The mechanism of passivation comprises two effects: (i) chemical passivation; and (ii) field effect passivation from a negatively charged thin film likely to be physically adsorbed by the surface. Degradation of surface passivation is caused by de-adsorption of the thin film from the surface, and occurs slowly in air and rapidly upon vacuum exposure. The air stability of the passivation is enhanced by the presence of droplets at the surface which act to protect the properties of the film. The finding that nonacidic solutions can provide excellent electrical passivation at room temperature opens up the possibility of using them on materials more sensitive to an acidic environment.
Highlights
Ionic solutions formed from chemicals with trifluoromethanesulfonyl (CF3SO2) groups have recently been shown to provide remarkable effects when they are used to treat the surfaces of a range of inorganic materials
The superacid bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (TFSI) has been shown to enhance photoluminescence (PL) from 2D transition metal dichalcogenides[1] and quantum dots,[2] to control the stability of anodes in lithium-ion batteries,[3] and to provide excellent passivation of the surfaces of silicon for photovoltaic cells.[4−6] For a simple room temperature process the effects which occur are astonishing, with quantum yields from MoS2 improving from 95%7 and with surface recombination velocities achieved for a passivated crystalline silicon surface of
We have argued previously that TFSI binding to the surface is inconsistent with the dangling bond density required to explain the low surface recombination velocities achieved on crystalline silicon.[6]
Summary
Ionic solutions formed from chemicals with trifluoromethanesulfonyl (CF3SO2) groups have recently been shown to provide remarkable effects when they are used to treat the surfaces of a range of inorganic materials. We demonstrate that excellent surface passivation can arise from a whole family of molecules with CF3SO2 groups, and while some have labile hydrogen (e.g., TFSI) others do not, indicating that (super)acidity is not required for excellent passivation This opens up the possibility of using such solutions on materials susceptible to acid damage, such as perovskite solar cells which have recently been found to benefit considerably from passivation treatments.[14] We conduct experimental work to assess the contribution of field effect passivation from charges in the Received: April 24, 2019 Accepted: June 13, 2019 Published: June 13, 2019. Silicon samples were immersed in the solutions for 60 s at room temperature before being removed and allowed to dry This immersion process took place in either the high specification glovebox or a lower specification glovebox with ambient flowing nitrogen (relative humidity
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