Pressure Dependence of Mixed Conduction and Photo Responsiveness in Organolead Tribromide Perovskites

The electrical transport properties of CH 3 NH 3 PbBr 3 (MAPbBr 3 ) polycrystals were in situ investigated by alternating-current impedance spectroscopy under high pressures up to 5.6 GPa. It is confirmed that ionic and electronic conductions coexist in MAPbBr 3 . As pressure below 3.3 GPa ions migration is the predominant process, while above 3.3 GPa electronic conduction becomes the main process. An obvious ionic-electronic transition can be observed. The pressure dependent photo responsiveness of MAPbBr 3 was also studied by in situ photocurrent measurements up to 3.8 GPa. The mixed conduction can be clearly seen in photocurrent measurement. Additionally, the photocurrents remain robust below 2.4 GPa, while they are suppressed with pressure-induced partial amorphization. Interestingly, the photoelectric response of MAPbBr 3 can be enhanced by high pressure, and the strongest photocurrent value appears in the high-pressure phase II at 0.7 GPa, which is similar to previous results in both MAPbI 3 and MASnI 3 .