Abstract
The surface of a material is not only a window into its bulk physical properties, but also hosts unique phenomena important for understanding the properties of a solid as a whole. Surface sensitive techniques, like ARPES (Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy), STM (Scanning tunneling microscopy), AFM (Atomic force microscopy), pump-probe optical measurements etc. require flat, clean surfaces. These can be obtained by cleaving, which is usually possible for layered materials. Such measurements have proven their worth by providing valuable information about cuprate superconductors, graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, topological insulators and many other novel materials. Unfortunately, this was so far not the case for the cubic, organo-metallic photovoltaic perovskite which morsels during the cleavage. Here we show a method which results in flat, clean surfaces of CH3NH3PbBr3 which allows surface sensitive measurements, badly needed for the understanding and further engineering of this material family.
Highlights
The initial synthesis of the methylammonium lead iodide perovskite[1] lead to interest in its optoelectronic properties[2] and strongly correlated electron physics[3]
We show how to overcome this hurdle in the case of CH3NH3PbBr3 and demonstrate its success by high quality photoemission data in dark and under light illumination
After removing the crystals from the solution, they were dried on laboratory paper wipes at room temperature followed by 30 minutes air drying at 150 °C on a hot plate
Summary
The initial synthesis of the methylammonium lead iodide perovskite[1] lead to interest in its optoelectronic properties[2] and strongly correlated electron physics[3]. Crystals of the methylammonium lead tribromide (CH3NH3PbBr3) were synthesized by solution growth[9]. In a temperature gradient of 15 °C in the acidic media, large (3–10 mm) intergrown orange, transparent crystals were formed in 7–10 days (Fig. 1a).
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