Comparative Study on the Role of Different Precursor Salts on Structural, Morphological, and Optoelectronic Characteristics of CH3NH3PbCl3 Perovskite Semiconductor: An Experimental Study

In perovskite optoelectronics, the quality of the perovskite material directly impacts the optoelectronic devices' performance. This work highlights an easy chemical method to improve the quality of a methylammonium lead chloride (CH3NH3PbCl3) perovskite semiconductor by altering the source of lead (Pb) precursor salt. Two different Pb precursor salts have been taken here to synthesize the homogeneous, less-defective crystalline grains of CH3NH3PbCl3. The x-ray diffraction peaks, diffuse reflectance (DRS)-ultraviolet (UV) spectra, photoluminescence spectra, and microscopic studies reveal the high crystallinity, higher UV light absorption, prominent radiative recombination, and homogeneous surface of lead acetate (Pb(Ac)(2).3H(2)O) based CH3NH3PbCl3 perovskite semiconductor compared to lead chloride (PbCl2) based CH3NH3PbCl3, respectively. The average crystallite sizes are 52.23 nm and 81.17 nm, average particle sizes are 0.22 +/- 0.02 mu m and 0.45 +/- 0.05 mu m, and bandgaps are 3 eV and 2.9 eV for Pb(Ac)(2).3H(2)O and PbCl2 sourced CH3NH3PbCl3, respectively. It is also observed that a change in starting material can cause a change in even Urbach energy. An enhanced Urbach energy of 42.4 meV is witnessed for Pb(Ac)(2).3H(2)O based CH3NH3PbCl3 and it contributes to an increase in the corresponding bandgap of the sample. Additionally, several other structural and optoelectronic characteristics have been analyzed here in this work. The featured results deliver a straightforward approach to improving the quality of the CH3NH3PbCl3 perovskite semiconductor and provide a different angle of view on using the CH3NH3PbCl3 semiconducting perovskite in optoelectronic devices.