Perovskite solar cells have received much attention due to their increased efficiency, and are anticipated to be fabricated at lower costs in the future. The light absorbing layer in the solar cell consists of lead perovskites. It is well known that high quality perovskite precursor boosts the solar cell efficiency with reproducibility.1) Recently, the use of a lead acetate precursor was reported for several perovskite researches. Anhydrous lead acetate (1) allows for dry perovskite solar cell production, although lead acetate trihydrate is typically what is available. Lead acetate affords fast crystal growth of perovskites, and provides ultrasmooth pin-hole free perovskite film.2-7)
Scheme 1. Proposed formation mechanism of CH3NH3PbI3 from Pb(OAc)2 2)