Investigating the Tetragonal‐to‐Orthorhombic Phase Transition of Methylammonium Lead Iodide Single Crystals by Detailed Photoluminescence Analysis

Abstract Here, the phase‐transition from tetragonal to orthorhombic crystal structure of the halide perovskite methylammonium lead iodide single crystal is investigated. Temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) measurements in the temperature range between 165 and 100 K show complex PL spectra where in total five different PL peaks can be identified. All observed PL features can be assigned to different optical effects from the two crystal phases using detailed PL analyses. This allows to quantify the fraction of tetragonal phase that still occurs below the phase transition temperature. It is found that at 150 K, 0.015% tetragonal phase remain, and PL signatures are observed from quantum confined tetragonal domains, suggesting their size to be about 7–15 nm down to 120 K. The tetragonal inclusions also exhibit an increased Urbach Energy, implying a high degree of structural disorder. The results first illustrate how a careful analysis of the PL can serve to deduce structural information, and second, how structural deviations in halide perovskites have a significant impact on the optoelectronic properties of this promising class of semiconductors.