Photovoltaic devices based on hybrid perovskite materials have exceeded 22% e ciency due to high charge-carrier mobilities and lifetimes. Properties such as photocurrent generation and open-circuit voltage are influenced by the microscopic structure and orientation of the perovskite crystals, but are di cult to quantify on the intra-grain length scale and are often treated as homogeneous within the active layer. Here, we map the local short-circuit photocurrent, open-circuit photovoltage, and dark drift current in state-of-the-art methylammonium lead iodide solar cells using photoconductive atomic force microscopy. We find, within individual grains, spatially correlated heterogeneity in short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage up to 0.6 V. These variations are related to di erent crystal facets and have a direct impact on the macroscopic power conversion e ciency. We attribute this heterogeneity to a facet-dependent density of trap states. These results imply that controlling crystal grain and facet orientation will enable a systematic optimization of polycrystalline and single-crystal devices for photovoltaic and lighting applications. Photocurrent microscopy to probe local e ciency We used two sets of methylammonium lead iodide chloride (MAPbI 3−x Cl x) thin films, which were processed in parallel. One set was used to fabricate planar solar cells by depositing a hole transport layer (HTL, spiro-OMeTAD) and a gold top contact, resulting in an

Plasmonic nanoparticle catalysts offer improved light absorption and carrier transport compared to traditional photocatalysts. However, it remains unclear how plasmonic excitation affects multi-step reaction kinetics and promotes site-selectivity. Here, we visualize a plasmon-induced reaction at the sub-nanoparticle level in-situ and in real-time. Using an environmental transmission electron microscope combined with light excitation, we study the photocatalytic dehydrogenation of individual palladium nanocubes coupled to gold nanoparticles with sub-2 nanometer spatial resolution. We find that plasmons increase the rate of distinct reaction steps with unique time constants; enable reaction nucleation at specific sites closest to the electromagnetic hot spots; and appear to open a new reaction pathway that is not observed without illumination. These effects are explained by plasmon-mediated population of excited-state hybridized palladium-hydrogen orbitals. Our results help elucidate the role of plasmons in light-driven photochemical transformations, en-route to design of site-selective and product-specific photocatalysts.

Nanoparticle surface structure and geometry generally dictate where chemical transformations occur, with higher chemical activity at sites with lower activation energies. Here, we show how optical excitation of plasmons enables spatially modified phase transformations, activating otherwise energetically unfavorable sites. We have designed a crossed-bar Au-PdHx antenna-reactor system that localizes electromagnetic enhancement away from the innately reactive PdHx nanorod tips. Using optically coupled in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy, we track the dehydrogenation of individual antenna-reactor pairs with varying optical illumination intensity, wavelength, and hydrogen pressure. Our in situ experiments show that plasmons enable new catalytic sites, including dehydrogenation at the nanorod faces. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm that these new nucleation sites are energetically unfavorable in equilibrium and only accessible through tailored plasmonic excitation.

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