Room Temperature Fabrication of Stable, Strongly Luminescent Dion-Jacobson Tin Bromide Perovskite Microcrystals Achieved through Use of Primary Alcohols

Lead-free two-dimensional metal halide perovskites have recently emerged as promising light-emitting materials due to their improved stability and attractive optical properties. Herein, a facile room temperature wet milling method has been developed to make Dion-Jacobson (DJ) phase ODASnBr(4) perovskite microcrystals, whose crystallization was accomplished via the aid of introduced primary alcohols: ethanol, butanol, pentanol, and hexanol. Due to the strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding, the use of ethanol promoted the formation of non-doped ODASnBr(4) microcrystals, with an emission peaked at 599 nm and a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) of 81%. By introducing other primary alcohols with weaker intermolecular hydrogen bonding such as butanol, pentanol, and hexanol, [SnBr6](4-) octahedral slabs of the DJ perovskite microcrystals experienced various degrees of expansion while forming O-H horizontal ellipsis Br hydrogen bonds. This resulted in the emission spectra of these alcohol-doped microcrystals to be adjusted in the range from 572 to 601 nm, while keeping the PL QY high, at around 89%. Our synthetic strategy provides a viable pathway towards strongly emitting lead-free DJ perovskite microcrystals with an improved stability.

Automated summary

A facile room temperature wet milling method was developed to synthesize lead-free Dion-Jacobson (DJ) phase ODASnBr(4) perovskite microcrystals, with the assistance of primary alcohols. The emission spectra of the microcrystals could be adjusted by introducing different primary alcohols, while maintaining a high photoluminescence quantum yield. This synthetic strategy provides a viable pathway towards strongly emitting and stable lead-free DJ perovskite microcrystals.