Heterojunction interfaces in perovskite solar cells play an important role in enhancing their photoelectric properties and stability. Till date, the precise lattice arrangement at TiO₂/CH₃NH₃PbI₃ heterojunction interfaces has not been investigated clearly. Here, we examined a TiO₂/CH₃NH₃PbI₃ interface and found that a heavy atomic layer exists in such interfaces, which is attributed to the vacancies of methylammonium (MA) cation groups. Further, first-principles calculation results suggested that an MA cation-deficient surface structure is beneficial for a strong heterogeneous binding between TiO₂ and CH₃NH₃PbI₃ to enhance the interface stability. Our research is helpful for further understanding the detailed interface atom arrangements and provides references for interfacial modification in perovskite solar cells.

The particular physicochemical properties of nanomaterials are able to elicit unique biological responses. The property activity relationship is usually established for in-depth understanding of toxicity mechanisms and designing safer nanomaterials. In this study, the toxic role of specific crystallographic facets of a series of polyhedral lead sulfide (PbS) nanocrystals, including truncated octahedrons, cuboctahedrons, truncated cubes, and cubes, was investigated in human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and murine alveolar macrophages (RAW 264.7) cells. {100} facets were found capable of triggering facet-dependent cellular oxidative stress and heavy metal stress responses, such as glutathione depletion, lipid peroxidation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and metallothionein (MT) expression, and mitochondrial dysfunction, while {111} facets remained inert under biological conditions. The {100}-facet-dependent toxicity was ascribed to {100}-facet-dependent lead dissolution, while the low lead dissolution of {111} facets was due to the strong protection afforded by poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) during synthesis. Based on this facet-toxicity relationship, a "safe-by-design" strategy was designed to prevent lead dissolution from {100} facets through the formation of atomically thin lead-chloride adlayers, resulting in safer polyhedral PbS nanocrystals.