Highly anisotropic colloidal CsPbBr3 nanoplatelets (NPLs) represent an appealing class of colloidal quantum wells with enhanced light emissivity. Strong quantum confinement imposed by the small ...platelet thickness and atomic flatness gives rise to enhanced oscillator strength, higher exciton binding energy, and narrow emission linewidth. While discrete thicknesses manifest themselves in discrete bandgap energies, fine-tuning of the emission energy can be achieved by compositional modulations. Here we address one of the most debated aspects of perovskite nanoplatelets: their crystal structure. Starting with the direct imaging by high-resolution electron microscopy (providing a clue on the pseudocubic faceting of the NPLs), we focus the study on X-ray total scattering techniques, based on the Debye scattering equation (DSE) approach, to obtain better atomistic insight. The nanoplatelets are six-monolayers thick and exhibit an orthorhombic structure. A thorough structure–morphology characterization unveils a specific orientation of the axial and equatorial bromides of the PbBr6 octahedra versus the NPLs thickness; we found that {010} and {101} planes of the orthorhombic CsPbBr3 lattice (Pnma space group) correspond to the six facets of the NPL, with basal planes being of {101} type. The NPLs undergo a lattice relaxation in comparison to cuboidal CsPbBr3 NCs; the major deformation is observed in the axial direction, which suggests a structural origin of the higher compliance along the b axis. The DSE-based analysis also supports a CsBr surface termination model, with half Cs sites and a half (or slightly more) Br sites vacant.
Chemically made colloidal semiconductor quantum dots have long been proposed as scalable and color-tunable single emitters in quantum optics, but they have typically suffered from prohibitively ...incoherent emission. We now demonstrate that individual colloidal lead halide perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) display highly efficient single-photon emission with optical coherence times as long as 80 picoseconds, an appreciable fraction of their 210-picosecond radiative lifetimes. These measurements suggest that PQDs should be explored as building blocks in sources of indistinguishable single photons and entangled photon pairs. Our results present a starting point for the rational design of lead halide perovskite-based quantum emitters that have fast emission, wide spectral tunability, and scalable production and that benefit from the hybrid integration with nanophotonic components that has been demonstrated for colloidal materials.
Metal-halide semiconductors with perovskite crystal structure are attractive due to their facile solution processability, and have recently been harnessed very successfully for high-efficiency ...photovoltaics and bright light sources. Here, we show that at low temperature single colloidal cesium lead halide (CsPbX3, where X = Cl/Br) nanocrystals exhibit stable, narrow-band emission with suppressed blinking and small spectral diffusion. Photon antibunching demonstrates unambiguously nonclassical single-photon emission with radiative decay on the order of 250 ps, representing a significant acceleration compared to other common quantum emitters. High-resolution spectroscopy provides insight into the complex nature of the emission process such as the fine structure and charged exciton dynamics.
Replacement of Li-ion liquid-state electrolytes by solid-state counterparts in a Li-ion battery (LIB) is a major research objective as well as an urgent priority for the industry, as it enables the ...use of a Li metal anode and provides new opportunities to realize safe, non-flammable, and temperature-resilient batteries. Among the plethora of solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) investigated, garnet-type Li-ion electrolytes based on cubic Li
La
Zr
O
(LLZO) are considered the most appealing candidates for the development of future solid-state batteries because of their low electronic conductivity of ca. 10
S cm
(RT) and a wide electrochemical operation window of 0-6 V vs. Li
/Li. However, high LLZO density (5.1 g cm
) and its lower level of Li-ion conductivity (up to 1 mS cm
at RT) compared to liquid electrolytes (1.28 g cm
; ca. 10 mS cm
at RT) still raise the question as to the feasibility of using solely LLZO as an electrolyte for achieving competitive energy and power densities. In this work, we analyzed the energy densities of Li-garnet all-solid-state batteries based solely on LLZO SSE by modeling their Ragone plots using LiCoO
as the model cathode material. This assessment allowed us to identify values of the LLZO thickness, cathode areal capacity, and LLZO content in the solid-state cathode required to match the energy density of conventional lithium-ion batteries (ca. 180 Wh kg
and 497 Wh L
) at the power densities of 200 W kg
and 600 W L
, corresponding to ca. 1 h of battery discharge time (1C). We then discuss key challenges in the practical deployment of LLZO SSE in the fabrication of Li-garnet all-solid-state batteries.
We establish the formula representing cubic nanocrystals (NCs) as hard cubes taking into account the role of the ligands and describe how these results generalize to any other NC shapes. We derive ...the conditions under which the hard cube representation breaks down and provide explicit expressions for the effective size. We verify the results from the detailed potential of mean force calculations for two nanocubes in different orientations as well as with spherical nanocrystals. Our results explicitly demonstrate the relevance of certain ligand conformations, i.e., “vortices”, and show that edges and corners provide natural sites for their emergence. We also provide both simulations and experimental results with single component cubic perovskite nanocrystals assembled into simple cubic superlattices, which further corroborate theoretical predictions. In this way, we extend the Orbifold Topological Model (OTM) accounting for the role of ligands beyond spherical nanocrystals and discuss its extension to arbitrary nanocrystal shapes. Our results provide detailed predictions for recent superlattices of perovskite nanocubes and spherical nanocrystals. Problems with existing united atom force fields are discussed.
Attaining thermodynamic stability of colloids in a broad range of concentrations has long been a major thrust in the field of colloidal ligand-capped semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs). This challenge ...is particularly pressing for the novel NCs of cesium lead halide perovskites (CsPbX3; X = Cl, Br) owing to their highly dynamic and labile surfaces. Herein, we demonstrate that soy lecithin, a mass-produced natural phospholipid, serves as a tightly binding surface-capping ligand suited for a high-reaction yield synthesis of CsPbX3 NCs (6–10 nm) and allowing for long-term retention of the colloidal and structural integrity of CsPbX3 NCs in a broad range of concentrationsfrom a few ng/mL to >400 mg/mL (inorganic core mass). The high colloidal stability achieved with this long-chain zwitterionic ligand can be rationalized with the Alexander–De Gennes model that considers the increased particle–particle repulsion due to branched chains and ligand polydispersity. The versatility and immense practical utility of such colloids is showcased by the single NC spectroscopy on ultradilute samples and, conversely, by obtaining micrometer-thick, optically homogeneous dense NC films in a single spin-coating step from ultraconcentrated colloids.
Nanostructured semiconductors emit light from electronic states known as excitons. For organic materials, Hund's rules state that the lowest-energy exciton is a poorly emitting triplet state. For ...inorganic semiconductors, similar rules predict an analogue of this triplet state known as the 'dark exciton'. Because dark excitons release photons slowly, hindering emission from inorganic nanostructures, materials that disobey these rules have been sought. However, despite considerable experimental and theoretical efforts, no inorganic semiconductors have been identified in which the lowest exciton is bright. Here we show that the lowest exciton in caesium lead halide perovskites (CsPbX
, with X = Cl, Br or I) involves a highly emissive triplet state. We first use an effective-mass model and group theory to demonstrate the possibility of such a state existing, which can occur when the strong spin-orbit coupling in the conduction band of a perovskite is combined with the Rashba effect. We then apply our model to CsPbX
nanocrystals, and measure size- and composition-dependent fluorescence at the single-nanocrystal level. The bright triplet character of the lowest exciton explains the anomalous photon-emission rates of these materials, which emit about 20 and 1,000 times faster than any other semiconductor nanocrystal at room and cryogenic temperatures, respectively. The existence of this bright triplet exciton is further confirmed by analysis of the fine structure in low-temperature fluorescence spectra. For semiconductor nanocrystals, which are already used in lighting, lasers and displays, these excitons could lead to materials with brighter emission. More generally, our results provide criteria for identifying other semiconductors that exhibit bright excitons, with potential implications for optoelectronic devices.
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are revolutionizing display applications. In this aspect, luminescent complexes of precious metals such as iridium, platinum, or ruthenium still playing a ...significant role. Emissive compounds of earth-abundant copper with equivalent performance are desired for practical, large-scale applications such as solid-state lighting and displays. Copper(I)-based emitters are well-known to suffer from weak spin–orbit coupling and a high reorganization energy upon photoexcitation. Here we report a cationic organo-copper cluster Cu4(PCP)3+ (PCP = 2,6-(PPh2)2C6H3) that features suppressed nonradiative decays, giving rise to a robust narrow-band green luminophore with a photoluminescent (PL) efficiency up to 93%. PL decay kinetics corroborated by DFT calculations reveal a complex emission mechanism involving contributions of both thermally activated delayed fluorescence and phosphorescence. This robust compound was solution-processed into a thin film in prototype OLEDs with external quantum efficiency up to 11% and a narrow emission bandwidth (65 nm fwhm).
Solution-processed hybrid organic–inorganic lead halide perovskites are emerging as one of the most promising candidates for low-cost light-emitting diodes (LEDs). However, due to a small exciton ...binding energy, it is not yet possible to achieve an efficient electroluminescence within the blue wavelength region at room temperature, as is necessary for full-spectrum light sources. Here, we demonstrate efficient blue LEDs based on the colloidal, quantum-confined 2D perovskites, with precisely controlled stacking down to one-unit-cell thickness (n = 1). A variety of low-k organic host compounds are used to disperse the 2D perovskites, effectively creating a matrix of the dielectric quantum wells, which significantly boosts the exciton binding energy by the dielectric confinement effect. Through the Förster resonance energy transfer, the excitons down-convert and recombine radiatively in the 2D perovskites. We report room-temperature pure green (n = 7–10), sky blue (n = 5), pure blue (n = 3), and deep blue (n = 1) electroluminescence, with record-high external quantum efficiencies in the green-to-blue wavelength region.
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