Static and Dynamic Disorder in Formamidinium Lead Bromide Single Crystals

Abstract: We show that formamidinium lead bromide is unique among the halide perovskite crystals because its inorganic sub-lattice exhibits intrinsic local static disorder that co-exists with a well-defined average crystal structure. Our study combines THz-range Raman-scattering with single-crystal X-ray diffraction and first-principles calculations to probe the inorganic sub-lattice dynamics evolution with temperature in the range of 10-300 K. The temperature evolution of the Raman spectra shows that low-temperature, local static disorder strongly affects the crystal's structural dynamics and phase transitions at higher temperatures.