Transformative Evolution of Organolead Triiodide Perovskite Thin Films from Strong Room-Temperature Solid-Gas Interaction between HPbI3-CH3NH2 Precursor Pair.

We demonstrate the feasibility of a nonsalt-based precursor pair--inorganic HPbI3 solid and organic CH3NH2 gas--for the deposition of uniform CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite thin films. The strong room-temperature solid-gas interaction between HPbI3 and CH3NH2 induces transformative evolution of ultrasmooth, full-coverage perovskite thin films at a rapid rate (in seconds) from nominally processed rough, partial-coverage HPbI3 thin films. The chemical origin of this behavior is elucidated via in situ experiments. Perovskite solar cells, fabricated using MAPbI3 thin films thus deposited, deliver power conversion efficiencies up to 18.2%, attesting to the high quality of the perovskite thin films deposited using this transformative process.