Designable Layer Edge States in Quasi-2D Perovskites Induced by Femtosecond Pulse Laser

The low-energy layer edge states (LESs) from quasi 2D hybrid perovskite single crystals have shown great potential because of their nontrivial photoelectrical properties. However, the underlying formation mechanism of the LESs still remains controversial. Also, the presence or creation of the LESs is of high randomness due to the lack of proper techniques to manually generate these LESs. Herein, using a single crystals platform of quasi-2D (BA)(2)(MA)(n-1)PbnI3n+1 (n > 1) perovskites, the femtosecond laser ablation approach to design and write the LESs with a high spatial resolution is reported. Fundamentally, these LESs are of smaller bandgap 3D MAPbI(3) nanocrystals which are formed by the laser-induced BA escaping from the lattice and thus the lattice shrinkage from quasi-2D to 3D structures. Furthermore, by covering the crystal with tape, an additional high-energy emission state corresponding to the reformation of (BA)(2)PbI4 (n = 1) within the irradiation region is generated. This work presents a simple and efficient protocol to manually write LESs on single crystals and thus lays the foundation for utilizing these LESs to further enhance the performance of future photoelectronic devices.

Automated summary

This study reports a method to design and write low-energy layer edge states (LESs) on quasi-2D hybrid perovskite single crystals using femtosecond laser ablation with high spatial resolution. The LESs are formed by laser-induced BA escaping from the lattice, resulting in the transformation of the quasi-2D structure to smaller bandgap 3D MAPbI(3) nanocrystals. Additionally, covering the crystal with tape generates an additional high-energy emission state.