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We develop a better understanding of the many contributing factors that give rise to extreme optical anisotropy in 2D perovskites, and we then show that spin-coated films can exhibit excellent order comparable with exfoliated crystals.
This work explores the utilization of a photoactive organic cation for the preparation of R 2 MCl 4 (M = Zn, Cd; R = (E)-4-styrylpyridinium, C 13 H 12 N + ). Here, the zero-dimensional crystal structures of R 2 MCl 4 contain isolated tetrahedral anions [MCl 4 ] 2– separated by the organic cations R + , leading to flat bands around the optical band gap. In R 2 MCl 4 , the inorganic band gaps are sufficiently large to accommodate the organic molecular levels within, and therefore, the optical properties of R 2 MCl 4 are determined by the organic cation. Our combined optical spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) studies confirm the attribution of the bright green photoluminescence demonstrated by R 2 MCl 4 to the organic molecular emission. Importantly, the incorporation of the photoemissive organic cation R + into the hybrid framework in R 2 MCl 4 leads to a nearly two-fold enhancement of the light emission efficiency with the measured photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) values of 6.04%, 10.40% and 11.21% for RCl, R 2 ZnCl 4 and R 2 CdCl 4 , respectively. In addition, the crystal structure of the hybrid R 2 MCl 4 ensures a stabilized PL emission, preventing the occurrence of the harmful organic photodimerization, which is a notorious problem for this class of organic emitters.
Amorphous sulfides are among the most promising candidates for solid electrolytes (SEs) owing to their excellent deformability and acceptable Li-ion conductivity (σion) at room temperature. However, the complex atomic structure of these amorphous materials without long-range ordering results in a lack of structural understanding and difficulties in tuning material properties. Here, in this study, we performed structural mapping of glassy sulfide SEs composed of various anion clusters using a combinatorial atomic level analysis of synchrotron X-ray-based pair distribution function (PDF) and reverse Monte-Carlo (RMC) methods, demonstrating the potential to tune σ ion in glass SEs. First, we prepared a new glassy sulfide with a mixed anion framework of two halogens (Br and I) as atomic anions, with PS 4 3- molecular anions in a Li 2 S–P 2 S 5 -based glass SE. At a specific Br content, [(Li 2 S) 0.658 (LiI 0.9 LiBr 0.1 ) 0.342 ] 0.825 [P 2 S 5 ] 0.175 recorded a σ ion of 2.27 mS cm -1 , the highest value for any glass sulfides reported to date; however, its elastic modulus was still suppressed to 14.48 GPa. PDF and RMC calculations successfully provided structural mapping of anion clusters, including two halogens. Molecular dynamics simulations of each composition confirmed that flexible coordination caused by the rattling of small polarizable Br ions in the mixed halogens of glassy SEs contributed to the superior σ ion . Our results may provide new insights into the design of superior glassy SEs that play key roles in all-solid-state batteries requiring fast Li-ion conduction and high deformability.
Single crystals of A 3 MF 6 (A = Rb, Cs; M = Al, Ga) were grown from mixed alkali chloride/fluoride fluxes in sealed silver tubes. For Cs 3 AlF 6 and Cs 3 GaF 6 , two polymorphs were observed at room temperature: m-Cs 3 MF 6 and o-Cs 3 MF 6 . For the two Rb containing compositions, only one room temperature polymorph was observed: o-Rb 3 AlF 6 and t-Rb 3 GaF 6 , respectively. Simultaneous TGA/DSC and high temperature SCXRD/PXRD were used to study the high temperature behavior of A 3 MF 6 . Here, the compounds of all four compositions were found to undergo structure transitions upon heating to the same cubic structure type, c-A 3 MF 6 .
Continuous Flash Sublimation (CFS) is a vapor deposition technique that shows commercially relevant deposition rates, is amenable to continuous operation, and exceeds previously reported efficiencies for the same material class.
Broadband emissions in a series of alkali chlorides are achieved by doping NaCl, KCl, and RbCl with Sb 3+ .
Perovskite-based photocatalytic water splitting is an efficient and sustainable technology to produce high-purity hydrogen gas for clean energy using solar energy.
Perovskite grain boundaries exhibit slow fluctuations and transient charge trap states. Pb interstitials lead to boundary reconstruction and long-lived trap states due to Pb trimers.
Pb vacancies slow down hot carrier cooling dynamics in MAPbI 3 perovskites by introducing intraband states that can trap holes and by decreasing the deformation of the [PbI 6 ] 4− octahedron, which leads to weakened electron–phonon coupling.
Molecular simulations are used to compare the structure and dynamics of conventional and radioactive aqueous electrolytes: chloride solutions with sodium, potassium, cesium, calcium, and strontium. The study of Cs{sup +} and Sr{sup 2+} is important because these radioactive ions can be extremely harmful and are often confused by living organisms for K{sup +} and Ca{sup 2+}, respectively. Na{sup +}, Ca{sup 2+}, and Sr{sup 2+} are strongly bonded to their hydration shell because of their large charge density. We find that the water molecules in the first hydration shell around Na{sup +} form hydrogen bonds between each other, whereas molecules in the first hydration shell around Ca{sup 2+} and Sr{sup 2+} predominantly form hydrogen bonds with water molecules in the second shell. In contrast to these three ions, K{sup +} and Cs{sup +} have low charge densities so that they are weakly bonded to their hydration shell. Overall, the structural differences between Ca{sup 2+} and Sr{sup 2+} are small, but the difference between their coordination numbers relative to their surface areas could potentially be used to separate these ions. Moreover, the different decays of the velocity-autocorrelation functions corresponding to these ions indicates that the difference in mass could be used to separate these cations. In this work, we also propose a new definition of the pairing time that is easy to calculate and of physical significance regardless of the problem at hand.
We report optically pumped random lasing in planar methylammonium lead iodide perovskite microcrystal networks that form spontaneously from spin coating. Low thresholds (<200 μJ/cm{sup 2}) and narrow linewidths (Δλ < 0.5 nm) reflect lasing from closed quasi-modes that result from ballistic waveguiding in linear network segments linked by scattering at the junctions. Spatio-spectral imaging indicates that these quasi-modes extend over lateral length scales >100 μm and spatially overlap with one another, resulting in chaotic pulse-to-pulse intensity fluctuations due to gain competition. These results demonstrate this class of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite as a platform to study random lasing with well-defined, low-level disorder, and support the potential of these materials for use in semiconductor laser applications.
Using extensive equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations we determine the dielectric spectra of aqueous solutions of NaF, NaCl, NaBr, and NaI. The ion-specific and concentration-dependent shifts of the static dielectric constants and the dielectric relaxation times match experimental results very well, which serves as a validation of the classical and non-polarizable ionic force fields used. The purely ionic contribution to the dielectric response is negligible, but determines the conductivity of the salt solutions. The ion-water cross correlation contribution is negative and reduces the total dielectric response by about 5%-10% for 1 M solutions. The dominating water dielectric response is decomposed into different water solvation shells and ion-pair configurations, by this the spectral blue shift and the dielectric decrement of salt solutions with increasing salt concentration is demonstrated to be primarily caused by first-solvation shell water. With rising salt concentration the simulated spectra show more pronounced deviations from a single-Debye form and can be well described by a Cole-Cole fit, in quantitative agreement with experiments. Our spectral decomposition into ionic and different water solvation shell contributions does not render the individual contributions more Debye-like, this suggests the non-Debye-like character of the dielectric spectra of salt solutions not to be due to the superposition of different elementary relaxation processes with different relaxation times. Rather, the non-Debye-like character is likely to be an inherent spectral signature of solvation water around ions.
Lanthanide tetrahalide molecules LnX{sub 4} (Ln = Ce, Pr, Tb; X = F, Cl, Br, I) have been investigated by density functional theory at the levels of the relativistic Zero Order Regular Approximation and the relativistic energy-consistent pseudopotentials, using frozen small- and medium-cores. The calculated bond lengths and vibrational frequencies are close to the experimental data. Our calculations indicate 4f shell contributions to bonding in LnX{sub 4}, in particular for the early lanthanides, which show significant overlap between the Ln 4f-shell and the halogen np-shells. The 4f shells contribute to Ln-X bonding in LnX{sub 4} about one third more than in LnX{sub 3}.
Solution-processable methylammonium lead trihalide perovskites exhibit remarkable high-absorption and low-loss properties for solar energy conversion. Calculation from density functional theory indicates the presence of non-equivalent halogen atoms in the unit cell because of the specific orientation of the organic cation. Considering the 〈100〉 orientation as an example, I{sub 1}, one of the halogen atoms, differs from the other iodine atoms (I{sub 2} and I{sub 3}) in terms of its interaction with the organic cation. The valance-band-maximum (VBM) and conduction-band-minimum (CBM) states are derived mainly from 5p orbital of I{sub 1} atom and 6p orbital of Pb atom, respectively. The spatially separated charge densities of the electrons and holes justify the low recombination rate of the pure iodide perovskite. Chlorine substitution further strengthens the unique position of the I{sub 1} atom, leading to more localized charge density around the I{sub 1} atom and less charge density around the other atoms at the VBM state. The less overlap of charge densities between the VBM and CBM states explains the relatively lower carrier recombination rate of the iodine-chlorine mixed perovskite. Chlorine substitution significantly reduces the effective mass at a direction perpendicular to the Pb-Cl bond and organic axis, enhancing the carrier transport property of the mixed perovskite in this direction.
A simple “cast-capping” method is adopted to prepare single-crystal perovskites of methyl ammonium lead bromide (CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbBr{sub 3}). By capping a CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbBr{sub 3} solution casted on one substrate with another substrate such as glass, mica, and distributed Bragg reflector (DBR), the slow evaporation of solvent enables large-size cubic crystals to grow between the two substrates. Under optical pumping, edge-emitting lasing is observed based on Fabry–Pérot resonation between parallel side facets of a strip-shaped crystal typically with a lateral cavity length of a few tens of μm. On the other hand, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasing (VCSEL) is obtained from a planar crystal grown between two DBRs with a cavity thickness of a few μm. Simultaneous detection of those edge- and surface-emissions reveals that the threshold excitation fluence of VCSEL is higher than that of the edge-emitting lasing due to thickness gradient in the planar crystal.
Rotation of methylammonium (CH 3 NH 3 or MA) molecules is believed to govern the excellent transport properties of photocarriers in the MA lead iodide (MAPbI 3 ) perovskite. Of particular interest is its cubic phase, which exists in industrially important films at room temperature. In order to investigate the rotational behaviors of the MA molecules, we have performed ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of cubic-MAPbI 3 at room temperature. There are two types of rotational motions of MA molecules in a crystalline PbI 3 cage: reorientation of a whole molecule and intramolecular rotation around the C–N bond within MA molecules. Using a cubic symmetry-assisted analysis (CSAA), we found that the prominent orientation of the C–N bond is the crystalline ❬110❭directions, rather than the ❬100❭ and ❬111❭ directions. Rapid rotation around the C–N bond is also observed, which easily occurs when the rotational axis is parallel to the ❬110❭ directions according to the CSAA. To explain the atomistic mechanisms underlying these CSAA results, we have focused on the relation between H–I hydrogen bonds and the orientation of an MA molecule. Here, the hydrogen bonds were defined by population analysis, and it has been found that, while H atoms in the CH 3 group (HC) hardly interacts with I atoms, those in the NH3 group (HN) form at least one hydrogen bond with I atoms and their interatomic distances are in a wide range, 2.2–3.7 Å. Based on these findings, we have given a possible explanation to why the ❬110❭ directions are preferred. Namely, the atomic arrangement and interatomic distance between MA and surrounding I atoms are most suitable for the formation of hydrogen bonds. In addition to films, these results are potentially applicable to the rotational behaviors in bulk MAPbI 3 as well, considering that the atomistic structure and time constants regarding the rotation of MA molecules statistically agree with bulk experiments.
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