Tailoring the Electronic and Structural Properties of Lead-Free A2ZrX6 “Defect” Perovskites: A DFT Study on A-Site Cation and Halogen Substitutions

Lead-free A2ZrX6 “defect” perovskites hold significant potential for many optoelectronic applications due to their stability and tunable properties. Extending a previous work, we present a first-principles density functional theory (DFT) study, utilizing PBE and HSE06 functionals, to systematically investigate the impact of A-site cation and X-site halogen substitutions on the structural and electronic properties of these materials. We varied the A-site cation, considering ammonium, methylammonium, dimethylammonium, trimethylammonium, and phosphonium, and the X-site halogen, trying Cl, Br, and I. Our calculations reveal that both these substitutions significantly affect the band gap and the lattice parameters. Increasing A-site cation size generally enlarges the unit cell, while halogen electronegativity directly correlates with the band gap, yielding the lowest values for iodine-containing systems. We predict a broad range of band gaps (from ~4.79 eV for (PH4)2ZrCl6 down to ~2.11 eV for MA2ZrI6 using HSE06). The (PH4)2ZrX6 compounds maintain cubic crystal symmetry, unlike the triclinic of the ammonium-derived systems. Finally, our calculations show that the MA cation yields the smallest band gap among the ones studied, a result that is attributed to its size and the charges of the hydrogen atoms attached to nitrogen. Thus, our findings offer crucial theoretical insights into A2ZrX6 structure–property relationships, demonstrating how A-site cation and halogen tuning enables control over electronic and structural characteristics, thus guiding future experimental efforts for tailored lead-free perovskite design.