Preparation of Single-Phase Films of CH3NH3Pb(I1-xBrx)3 with Sharp Optical Band Edges

Organometallic lead-halide perovskite-based solar cells now approach 18% efficiency. Introducing a mixture of bromide and iodide in the halide composition allows tuning of the optical bandgap. We prepare mixed bromide-iodide lead perovskite films CH3NH3Pb(I1-xBrx)3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) by spin-coating from solution and obtain films with monotonically varying bandgaps across the full composition range. Photothermal deflection spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and X-ray diffraction show that following suitable fabrication protocols these mixed lead-halide perovskite films form a single phase. The optical absorption edge of the pure triiodide and tribromide perovskites is sharp with Urbach energies of 15 and 23 meV, respectively, and reaches a maximum of 90 meV for CH3NH3PbI1.2Br1.8. We demonstrate a bromide-iodide lead perovskite film (CH3NH3PbI1.2Br1.8) with an optical bandgap of 1.94 eV, which is optimal for tandem cells of these materials with crystalline silicon devices.