The Role of Chloride Incorporation in Lead-Free 2D Perovskite (BA)2SnI4: Morphology, Photoluminescence, Phase Transition, and Charge Transport

Element Regulation and Dimensional Engineering Co-Optimization of Perovskite Memristors for Synaptic Plasticity Applications

Capitalizing on rapid carrier migration characteristics and outstanding photoelectric conversion performance, halide perovskite memristors demonstrate an exceptional resistive switching performance. However, they have consistently faced constraints due to material stability issues. This study systematically employs elemental modulation and dimension engineering to effectively control perovskite memristors with different dimensions and A-site elements. Compared to pure 3D and 2D perovskites, the quasi-2D perovskite memristor, specifically BA0.15MA0.85PbI3, is identified as the optimal choice through observations of resistive switching (HRS current < 10-5 A, ON/OFF ratio > 103, endurance cycles > 1000, and retention time > 104 s) and synaptic plasticity characteristics. Subsequently, a comprehensive investigation into various synaptic plasticity aspects, including paired-pulse facilitation (PPF), spike-variability-dependent plasticity (SVDP), spike-rate-dependent plasticity (SRDP), and spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), is conducted. Practical applications, such as memory-forgetting-memory and recognition of the Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology (MNIST) database handwritten data set (accuracy rate reaching 94.8%), are explored and successfully realized. This article provides good theoretical guidance for synaptic-like simulation in perovskite memristors.

Two-Dimensional Layered Simple Aliphatic Monoammonium Tin Perovskite Thin Films and Potential Applications in Field-Effect Transistors

Two-dimensional (2D) layered organic-inorganic perovskites have great potential for fabricating field-effect transistors due to their unique structure that enables the horizontal transport of charge carriers in metal-halide octahedra, resembling the transport behavior in semiconducting channels. Their electronic band structures are mainly dominated by the metal-halide octahedra, which eventually determine the optical and electrical characteristics, whereas organic cations have no direct contributions but would impact the electronic structures via distorting the octahedra. So far, high performance has been achieved in 2D Sn perovskites compared to their Pb counterparts because the intrinsic differences of Sn promote transport properties. The champion hole mobility has been obtained in single-ring aromatic phenylethylammonium tin iodide perovskite [(PEA)2SnI4]. However, simple aliphatic monoammonium tin perovskites and their device applications have rarely been reported. Herein, 2D layered n-butylammonium tin iodide perovskite [(BA)2SnI4] thin films have been synthesized by a spin-coating approach. A structural phase transition occurs at about 225 K in the films, accompanied by the changes in the photoluminescence peak and exciton binding energy. Longitudinal optical (LO) phonons are found to govern the scattering of charge carriers and excitons via the Fröhlich interactions in the temperature range 77-300 K. The first-principles calculations predict that the perovskite has excellent transport characteristics comparable to those of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPbI3). The (BA)2SnI4 thin film field-effect transistors constructed on polymer dielectrics with a maximum hole mobility of 0.03 cm2 V-1 s-1 in ambient conditions have been successfully demonstrated for the first time. Our findings not only offer a deep insight into the physical properties of 2D layered aliphatic monoammonium tin perovskite thin films but also provide important experimental and theoretical guidance for their potential applications in lateral-type flexible optoelectronic devices.

Using the Diamagnetic Coefficients to Estimate the Reduced Effective Mass in 2D Layered Perovskites: New Insight from High Magnetic Field Spectroscopy

In this work, the current state of research concerning the determination of the effective mass in 2D layered perovskites is presented. The available experimental reports in which the reduced effective mass μ has been directly measured using magneto-absorption spectroscopy of interband Landau levels are reviewed. By comparing these results with DFT computational studies and various other methods, it is concluded that depending on the approach used, the μ found spans a broad range of values from as low as 0.05 up to 0.3 me. To facilitate quick and reliable estimation of μ, a model is proposed based solely on the available experimental data that bypass the complexity of interband Landau level spectroscopy. The model takes advantage of the μ value measured for (PEA)2PbI4 and approximates the reduced effective mass of the given 2D layered perovskites based on only two experimental parameters—the diamagnetic coefficient and the effective dielectric constant. The proposed model is tested on a broad range of 2D layered perovskites and captures well the main experimental and theoretical trends.

Highly Efficient Cool-White Photoluminescence of (Gua)3Cu2I5 Single Crystals: Formation and Optical Properties

Zero-dimensional lead-free organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides have drawn attention as a result of their local metal ion confinement structure and photoelectric properties. Herein, a lead-free compound of (Gua)₃Cu₂I₅ (Gua = guanidine) with a different metal ion confinement has been discovered, which possesses a unique [Cu₂I₅]^3- face-sharing tetrahedral dimer structure. First-principles calculation demonstrates the inherent nature of a direct band gap for (Gua)₃Cu₂I₅, and its band gap of ∼2.98 eV was determined by experiments. Worthy of note is that (Gua)₃Cu₂I₅ exhibits a highly efficient cool-white emission peaking at 481 nm, a full-width at half-maximum of 125 nm, a large Stokes shift, and a photoluminescence quantum efficiency of 96%, originating from self-trapped exciton emission. More importantly, (Gua)₃Cu₂I₅ single crystals have a reversible thermoinduced luminescence characteristic due to a structural transition scaled by the electron-phonon coupling coefficients, which can be converted back and forth between cool-white and yellow color emission by heating or cooling treatment within a short time. In brief, as-synthesized (Gua)₃Cu₂I₅ shows great potential for application both in single-component white solid-state lighting and sensitive temperature scaling.

Lead-Free Perovskite Materials for Solar Cells

The toxicity issue of lead hinders large-scale commercial production and photovoltaic field application of lead halide perovskites. Some novel non- or low-toxic perovskite materials have been explored for development of environmentally friendly lead-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This review studies the substitution of equivalent/heterovalent metals for Pb based on first-principles calculation, summarizes the theoretical basis of lead-free perovskites, and screens out some promising lead-free candidates with suitable bandgap, optical, and electrical properties. Then, it reports notable achievements for the experimental studies of lead-free perovskites to date, including the crystal structure and material bandgap for all of lead-free materials and photovoltaic performance and stability for corresponding devices. The review finally discusses challenges facing the successful development and commercialization of lead-free PSCs and predicts the prospect of lead-free PSCs in the future.

Investigation of strain behavior and carrier mobility of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites: (C4H9NH3)2GeI4 and (C4H9NH3)2SnI4

Two dimensional (2D) organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have attracted great interest due to their tunable band gap and structural stability. In this study, biaxial strain behavior and carrier mobility of monolayers (C₄H₉NH₃)₂GeI₄ and (C₄H₉NH₃)₂SnI₄ are investigated by first principles calculations. (C₄H₉NH₃)₂GeI₄ and (C₄H₉NH₃)₂SnI₄ still retain their structural stability at ε = 13% and ε = 15%, respectively. Ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulation has confirmed that the system at 300 K is still thermodynamically stable at a biaxial strain of ε = 8%. The band gaps of (C₄H₉NH₃)₂GeI₄ and (C₄H₉NH₃)₂SnI₄ calculated from the HSE06 functional are increased from 2.427 and 1.953 eV at zero strain to 3.002 and 2.626 eV at ε = 8%. Deformation potential (DP) models based on longitudinal acoustic phonon (LAP) and optical phonon (OP) scattering are used to investigate mobility. The mobility of (C₄H₉NH₃)₂GeI₄ is lower than that of (C₄H₉NH₃)₂SnI₄. It is mainly determined by the scattering from OP with lower energy and decreases sharply with an increase in biaxial strain. Compared with Pb based perovskites, (C₄H₉NH₃)₂SnI₄ exhibits high carrier mobility and thermodynamic stability.

Highly Efficient Self-Trapped Exciton Emission of a (MA)4Cu2Br6 Single Crystal

Recently, low-dimensional organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites have attracted a great deal of attention due to their outstanding tunable broadband emission, while the toxicity of lead hinders their further application in the photoelectric field. Here, we report a novel lead-free Cu(I)-based organic-inorganic perovskite-related material of a (MA)₄Cu₂Br₆ single crystal with zero-dimensional clusters, which is a unique Cu₂Br₆^4- corner-sharing tetrahedron dimer structure consisting of two connected tetrahedra. The single crystal displays a bright broadband green emission with a high photoluminescence with a quantum yield of ≤93%, a large Stokes shift, and a very long (microsecond) photoluminescence (PL) lifetime, resulting from self-trapped exciton emission. The direct band gap characteristic of (MA)₄Cu₂Br₆ was proven by density functional theory calculation, and its band gap was determined by experiments to be ∼3.87 eV. In the temperature range of 98-258 K, the PL intensity increases gradually with an increase in temperature due to the deep trapping out of strong electro-phonon coupling, while the PL decreases when the temperature increases over 258 K due to phonon scattering. It is worth mentioning that this new material has high chemical and light stability, in contrast to the lead perovskite.

Aqueous Synthesis of Low-Dimensional Lead Halide Perovskites for Room-Temperature Circularly Polarized Light Emission and Detection

Low-dimensional lead halide perovskite materials are an emerging class of solution-processable semiconductors with promising potential applications in optoelectronic devices. Unfortunately, it is impossible to synthesize high-crystalline-quality low-dimensional perovskite single crystals without using chemotoxic solutions such as dimethylformamide/dimethyl sulfoxide or applying heating. Herein we report an economical and universal aqueous method to synthesize 2D layered and 1D chain perovskite single crystals at room temperature. The resultant chiral 2D perovskites can efficiently and selectively emit and detect circularly polarized light at room temperature. The as-synthesized 1D perovskite single crystals exhibit strong quantum confinement and enhanced self-trapped states that give efficient warm circularly polarized white-light emission. This aqueous synthetic method is general for other high-quality low-dimensional lead halide perovskite single crystals, and thus our findings would motivate more fundamental investigations on low-dimensional perovskites for potential optoelectronic applications.

Temperature-Dependent Band Gap in Two-Dimensional Perovskites: Thermal Expansion Interaction and Electron-Phonon Interaction

Two-dimensional organic-inorganic perovskites have attracted considerable interest recently. Here, we present a systematic study of the temperature-dependent photoluminescence on phase pure (n-BA)₂(MA) _n-1Pb _nI_{3 n+1} ( n = 1-5) and (iso-BA)₂(MA) _n-1Pb _nI_{3 n+1} ( n = 1-3) microplates obtained by mechanical exfoliation. The photoluminescence peak position gradually changes from a red-shift for n = 1 to a blue-shift for n = 5 with an increase in temperature in the (n-BA)₂(MA) _n-1Pb _nI_{3 n+1} ( n = 1-5) series, while only a monotonous blue-shift has been observed for the (iso-BA)₂(MA) _n-1Pb _nI_{3 n+1} ( n = 1-3) series, which can be attributed to the competition between the thermal expansion interaction and electron-phonon interaction. In the (n-BA)₂(MA) _n-1Pb _nI_{3 n+1} ( n = 1-5) series, the thermal expansion interaction and electron-phonon interaction are both gradually enhanced and the former progressively dominates the latter from n = 1 to n = 5, resulting in the band gap versus temperature changing from a red-shift to a blue-shift. In contrast, both of these factors show a weaker layer thickness dependence, leading to the monotonous blue-shift in the (iso-BA)₂(MA) _n-1Pb _nI_{3 n+1} ( n = 1-3) series.