Pb-free metal halide perovskites
are excellent light-harvesting
materials for photodetector applications because of their inherent
remarkable optoelectronic properties with lower-temperature processability.
However, to date, the realization of device-quality Pb-free metal
halide films is still a great challenge. Here, using a single-step
spin coating method, we have synthesized Pb-free methylammonium bismuth
iodide [(CH3NH3)3Bi2I9 (MBI)] perovskite films using different solvents, such as
γ-butyrolactone (GBL), 2-methoxyethanol (2ME), dimethyl sulfoxide
(DMSO), and N,N-dimethyl formamide
(DMF). Furthermore, MBI perovskite films were subjected to various
characterization techniques to investigate and analyze morphological,
optical, and structural properties. The formation of MBI thin films
in various solvents was confirmed by XRD analysis and Raman spectroscopy.
As evident from the XRD pattern, MBI belonged to the P63/mmc space group and had a hexagonal crystal structure.
SEM analysis showed that the MBI film synthesized using different
solvents has randomly oriented hexagonal-shaped grains parallel or
orthogonal to the surface of the substrate. The synthesized perovskite
films strongly absorbed light in the visible region with a higher
absorption coefficient (∼105 cm–1) and an optical band gap of ∼1.85 to 2.0 eV, as evident from
UV–vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy. TG analysis showed
that MBI perovskites are thermally stable until ∼325 °C.
It was found that MBI perovskite films prepared using a 2ME solvent
have excellent substrate coverage with the smallest grain size and
excellent optical properties. Finally, a photodetector was fabricated
using an MBI perovskite film, exhibiting the fast rise and decay times
of 0.79 and 0.36 s, with a responsivity of ∼8.0 × 10–2 mA/W and a detectivity of ∼5.0 × 108 Jones at a 0 V bias. The present results open up a new avenue
for Pb-free, highly stable MBI perovskites for future self-biased
photodetectors.
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