Morphology and Photoluminescence of CH3NH3PbI3 Deposits on Nonplanar, Strongly Curved Substrates

Organic-inorganic metal halide perovskites have recently attracted increasing attention as highly efficient light harvesting materials for photovoltaic applications. However, the precise control of crystallization and morphology of organometallic perovskites deposited from solution, considered crucial for enhancing the final photovoltaic performance, remains challenging. In this context, here, we report on growing microcrystalline deposits of CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3), by one-step solution casting on cylinde-shaped quartz substrates (rods). We show that the substrate curvature has a strong influence on morphology of the obtained polycrystalline deposits of MAPbI3. Although the crystalline width and length markedly decreased for substrates with higher curvatures, the photoluminescence (PL) spectral peak positions did not significantly evolve for MAPbI3 deposits on substrates with different diameters. The crystalline size reduction and denser coverage of microcrystalline MAPbI3 deposits on cylinder-shaped substrates with higher curvatures were attributed to two major contributions, both related to the annealing step of the MAPbI3 deposits. In particular, the diameter-dependent variability of the heat capacities and the substrate curvature-enhanced solvent evaporation rate seemed to contribute the most to the crystallization process and the resulting morphology changes of MAPbI3 deposits on cylinder-shaped quartz substrates with various diameters. The longitudinal geometry of cylinder-shaped substrates provided also a facile solution for checking the PL response of the deposits of MAPbI3 exposed to the flow of various gaseous media, such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon. Overall, the approach reported herein inspires novel, cylinder-shaped geometries of MAPbI3 deposits, which can find applications in low-cost photo-optical devices, including gas sensors.