Synthesis, structural, thermal and optical studies of inorganic-organic hybrid semiconductors, R-PbI4

Wide varieties of naturally self-assembled two-dimensional inorganic-organic (IO) hybrid semiconductors, (4-ClC6H4NH3)(2)PbI4, (C6H9C2H4NH3)(2)PbI4, (CnH2n+1NH3)(2)PbI4 (where n = 12, 16, 18), (CnH2n-1NH3)(2)PbI4 (where n = 3, 4, 5), (C6H5C2H4NH3)(2)PbI4, NH3(CH2)(12)NH3PbI4, and (C4H3SC2H4NH3)(2)PbI4, were fabricated by intercalating structurally diverse organic guest moieties into lead iodide perovskite structure. The crystal packing of all these fabricated IO-hybrids comprises of well-ordered organic and inorganic layers, stacked-up alternately along c-axis. Almost all these hybrids are thermally stable upto 200 degrees C and show strong room-temperature exciton absorption and photoluminescence features. These strongly confined optical excitons are highly influenced by structural deformation of PbI matrix due to the conformation of organic moiety. A systematic correlation of optical exciton behavior of IO-hybrids with the organic/inorganic layer thicknesses, intercalating organic moieties, and various structural disorders were discussed. This systematic study clearly suggests that the PbI layer crumpling is directly responsible for the tunability of optical exciton energy. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4792667]