Mechanism of Photoluminescence Intermittency in Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Nanocrystals

Real-Time Blinking Suppression of Perovskite Quantum Dots by Halide Vacancy Filling

Despite the excellent optoelectronic properties of halide perovskites, the ionic and electronic defects adversely affect the stability and durability of perovskites and their devices. These defects, intrinsic or produced by environmental factors such as oxygen, moisture, or light, not only cause chemical reactions that disintegrate the structure and properties of perovskites but also induce undesired photoluminescence blinking to perovskite quantum dots and nanocrystals. Blinking is also caused by the nonradiative Auger processes in the photocharged quantum dots or nanocrystals. Herein, we find real-time suppression of halide vacancy-assisted nonradiative exciton recombination and photoluminescence blinking in MAPbBr₃ and MAPbI₃ perovskite quantum dots by filling the vacancies using halide precursors (MABr and MAI). Also, halide vacancy filling increases the photoluminescence quantum efficiencies and lifetimes of the quantum dots. We estimate the rates of halide vacancy-assisted nonradiative recombination at 1 × 10⁸ s^-1 for MAPbBr₃ and 1.9 × 10⁹ s^-1 for MAPbI₃ quantum dots. The real-time blinking suppression using the halide precursors and statistical analysis of the ON/OFF blinking time reveal that the halide vacancies contribute to the type-A blinking through charging and discharging. Conversely, the blinking of the quantum dots after halide vacancy filling is dominated by the type-B mechanism.

Revealing Dynamic Effects of Mobile Ions in Halide Perovskite Solar Cells Using Time-Resolved Microspectroscopy

Halide perovskites are promising candidate materials for the next generation high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Since perovskites are electronic-ionic mixed conductors, ion dynamics have a critical impact on the performance and stability of perovskite-based applications. However, comprehensively understanding ionic dynamics is challenging, particularly on nanoscale imaging of ionic dynamics in perovskites. In this review, mobile ion dynamics in halide perovskites investigated via luminescence spectroscopy combined with confocal microscopy are discussed, including mobile ion induced fluorescence quenching, phase segregation in mixed halide hybrid perovskite, and mobile ion accumulation at the interface in perovskite devices. Steady-state and time-resolved luminescence imaging techniques, combined with confocal microscopy, are unique tools for probing ionic dynamics in perovskites, providing invaluable insights on ionic dynamics in nanoscale resolution, along with a wide temporal range from picoseconds to hours. The works in this review are not only for understanding mobile ions to improve the design of perovskite-based devices but also foster the development of microspectroscopic methodologies in a broader solid-state physics context of investigating ionic transports in polycrystalline materials.

Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence and Spectroelectrochemistry Characteristics of Blue Photoluminescence Perovskite Quantum Dots

Lead-based perovskite MAPbX₃ (MA = CH₃NH₃, X = Cl and Br) has shown great potential benefits to advance modern optoelectronics and clean energy harvesting devices. Poor structural stability is one of the major challenges of MAPbX₃ perovskite materials to overcome to achieve desired device performance. Here, we present the electrochemical stability study of CH₃NH₃PbCl_1.08Br_1.92 quantum dots (QDs) by electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroelectrochemistry methods. Electrochemical anodization of pristine MAPbX₃ QD film results in the disproportionate loss of methylammonium and halide ions (X = Cl and Br). ECL efficiency and stability of perovskite QDs in the presence of coreactant tripropyl amine (TPrA) can be greatly improved after being incorporated into a polystyrene (PS) matrix. Mass spectrum and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were used to provide chemical composition variation details of QDs, which are responsible for the ECL and PL characteristics (e.g., wavelength redshift) of perovskite QDs in an electrochemical cell.

Memories in the photoluminescence intermittency of single cesium lead bromide nanocrystals

Single cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr₃) nanocrystals show strong photoluminescence intermittency, with on- and off- dwelling times following power-law distributions. We investigate the correlations for successive on-times and successive off-times, and find a memory effect in the photoluminescence intermittency of such inorganic perovskite nanocrystals. This memory effect is not sensitive to the nature of the surface capping ligand and the embedding polymer. These observations suggest that photoluminescence intermittency and its memory are mainly controlled by intrinsic traps in the nanocrystals. Our findings will help optimizing light-emitting devices based on these perovskite nanocrystals.

Single-Particle Organolead Halide Perovskite Photoluminescence as a Probe for Surface Reaction Kinetics

Photoluminescence (PL) of organolead halide perovskites (OHPs) is sensitive to OHPs' surface conditions and is an effective way to report surface states. Literature has reported that at the ensemble level, the PL of photoexcited OHP nanorods declines under an inert nitrogen (N₂) atmosphere and recovers under subsequent exposure to oxygen (O₂). At the single-particle level, we observed that OHP nanorods photoblink at rates dependent on both the excitation intensity and the O₂ concentration. Combining the two sets of information with the charge-trapping/detrapping mechanism, we are able to quantitatively evaluate the interaction between a single surface defect and a single O₂ molecule using a new kinetic model. The model predicts that the photodarkening of OHP nanorods in the N₂ atmosphere has a different mechanism than conventional PL quenching, which we call photo-knockout. This model provides fundamental insights into the interactions of molecular O₂ with OHP materials and helps design a suitable OHP interface for a variety of applications in photovoltaics and optoelectronics.