Origin of High Nonradiative Recombination and Relevant Optoelectronic Properties of Ba2Bi1+xNb1−xO6: Candidate for Photo(electro)catalysis and Photovoltaic Applications?

Abstract

AbstractRecently, perovskite oxides have shown a lot of promise as active materials for photovoltaic (PV) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices. In this article, a series of oxides Ba2Bi1+xNb1−xO6 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) is evaluated for PV/PEC applications via a combined theoretical and experimental study. Ab‐initio calculation reveals that the stoichiometric compound (Ba2BiNbO6) spontaneously induces the formation of BiNb antisites, leading to off‐stoichiometric structure. The electronic structure of off‐stoichiometric compounds confirms mixed valence character of Bi, introducing intermediate bands in the band structure. UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) predicts the bandgap in the visible range (1.5–1.9 eV). Simulation reveals excellent absorption properties, indicating the possibility of high photoconversion efficiency. Lack of sharp peaks in the DRS, however, raises concern about the level of nonradiative recombination. Point defect simulation suggests the possibility of few deep level donors BiBa, NbBi, VO, in high concentrations (≈1018–1019 cm−3), which can act as nonradiative recombination centers. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy confirms majority carriers to be n‐type. Self‐consistent simulation of the Fermi level (EF) suggests an overall cancellation of donors and acceptors, leading to EF pinning at the mid‐gap region explaining the observed high bulk resistivity. This indicates the requirement of extrinsic doping to achieve desired properties for applications.