Optical band gap transition from direct to indirect induced by organic content of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite films

Most of the systematic studies on tuning the band gap in the family of organolead halide perovskites have focused on changing the compositions of halogens. Here, the effects of varying the organic content on the band gap of CH3NH3PbI3 were studied. The methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) films were fabricated with different molar ratios of CH3NH3I to PbI2. We found that the films become compact and the crystalline size decreased from 6.0 to 0.2 μm and the optical band gap of CH3NH3PbI3 could be transferred from direct to indirect with increasing CH3NH3I content in the precursor. The experimental results demonstrated that the existence of the indirect band gap in CH3NH3PbI3 film and the CH3NH3I content plays a key role in adjusting the film morphology and optical band. The investigation of the optical band transition induced by changing organic content could provide a different view on studying CH3NH3PbI3 materials.