First principle insight on optoelectronic and transport characteristics of lead-free inorganic double perovskites Rb2KTlX6 (X = Cl, Br) for solar cell applications

Abstract

The toxicity and instability of lead-based perovskites have been replaced with newly investigated stable lead-free inorganic perovskites. The current study included the comprehensive analysis of electronic behavior, elastic, optical, and transport characteristics of lead-free inorganic double perovskites (DPs) Rb2KTlX6 (X = Cl, Br) halides for possible uses. These physical characteristics were revealed using density functional theory (DFT) based Wien2k code. Using the energy optimization process, we have computed structural parameters comparable to existing data using generalized gradient approximation (PBEsol-GGA). In addition, the elastic parameters, formation energy (−1.94 eV and −1.39 eV), and tolerance factor (0.98 and 0.97) endorsed the cubic stability of both halides. Further, we employed modified Becke-Johnson (mBJ) potential to an accurate value of direct bandgaps of both halides reveal that changing the anions from Cl to Br leads to significant adjustment in the band gap, transitioning from the visible to the IR spectrum, with energy levels ranging from 2.08 to 1.2 eV. Our calculated results of optical parameters indicate that both halides with remarkable optoelectronic working due to low reflectivity, high optical absorption, and conductivity. The study reveals that electronic transport factors are associated with temperature due to small bandgap of the materials. The observed figure of merit near unity indicates the semiconducting behavior of these materials that can be useful in thermoelectric tools.