Challenges, myths, and opportunities of electron microscopy on halide perovskites
Shulin Chen, Peng Gao
Abstract
Organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHPs) have attracted extensive research interest as promising candidates for optoelectronic applications such as solar cells. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-based characterizations hold the key to revealing the morphological, microstructural, physical, and chemical information of OIHPs. However, their extreme sensitivity to the electron beam illumination usually inhibits us from obtaining the intrinsic information or even leads to significant artifacts. In this perspective, recent TEM studies on OIHPs are reviewed, wherein the discussions focus on how the electron beam destabilizes the structure of OIHPs and how to mitigate such effects as well as avoid misinterpretations. This perspective aims to catch researchers' attention on the beam sensitivity of OIHPs, guide the TEM characterization, and inspire electron microscopy development to reveal the working principle and failure mechanism of OIHPs.