Engineering Interfacial Charge Transfer in CsPbBr3 Perovskite Nanocrystals by Heterovalent Doping.

Since compelling device efficiencies of perovskite solar cells have been achieved, investigative efforts have turned to understand other key challenges in these systems, such as engineering interfacial energy-level alignment and charge transfer (CT). However, these types of studies on perovskite thin-film devices are impeded by the morphological and compositional heterogeneity of the films and their ill-defined surfaces. Here, we use well-defined ligand-protected perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) as model systems to elucidate the role of heterovalent doping on charge-carrier dynamics and energy level alignment at the interface of perovskite NCs with molecular acceptors. More specifically, we develop an in situ doping approach for colloidal CsPbBr3 perovskite NCs with heterovalent Bi3+ ions by hot injection to precisely tune their band structure and excited-state dynamics. This synthetic method allowed us to map the impact of doping on CT from the NCs to different molecular acceptors. Using time-resolved spectroscopy with broadband capability, we clearly demonstrate that CT at the interface of NCs can be tuned and promoted by metal ion doping. We found that doping increases the energy difference between states of the molecular acceptor and the donor moieties, subsequently facilitating the interfacial CT process. This work highlights the key variable components not only for promoting interfacial CT in perovskites, but also for establishing a higher degree of precision and control over the surface and the interface of perovskite molecular acceptors.

Tailoring ruthenium exposure to enhance the performance of fcc platinum@ruthenium core-shell electrocatalysts in the oxygen evolution reaction.

The catalytic properties of noble metal nanocrystals are a function of their size, structure, and surface composition. In particular, achieving high activity without sacrificing stability is essential for designing commercially viable catalysts. A major challenge in designing state-of-the-art Ru-based catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is a key step in water splitting, is the poor stability and surface tailorability of these catalysts. In this study, we designed rapidly synthesizable size-controlled, morphology-selective, and surface-tailored platinum-ruthenium core-shell (Pt@Ru) and alloy (PtRu) nanocatalysts in a scalable continuous-flow reactor. These core-shell nanoparticles with atomically precise shells were produced in a single synthetic step with carbon monoxide as the reducing agent. By varying the metal precursor concentration, a dendritic or layer-by-layer ruthenium shell can be grown. The synthesized Pt@Ru and PtRu nanoparticles exhibit noticeably higher electrocatalytic activity in the OER compared to that of pure Pt and Ru nanoparticles. Promisingly, Pt@Ru nanocrystals with a ∼2-3 atomic layer Ru cuboctahedral shell surpass conventional Ru nanoparticles in terms of both durability and activity.

Trapping shape-controlled nanoparticle nucleation and growth stages via continuous-flow chemistry.

Continuous flow chemistry is used to trap the nucleation and growth stages of platinum-nickel nano-octahedra with second time resolution and high throughputs to probe their properties ex situ. The growth starts from poorly crystalline particles (nucleation) at 5 seconds, to crystalline 1.5 nm particles bounded by the {111}-facets at 7.5 seconds, followed by truncation and further growth to octahedral nanoparticles at 20 seconds.

Shape-Tunable Charge Carrier Dynamics at the Interfaces between Perovskite Nanocrystals and Molecular Acceptors.

Hybrid organic/inorganic perovskites have recently emerged as an important class of materials and have exhibited remarkable performance in photovoltaics. To further improve their device efficiency, an insightful understanding of the interfacial charge transfer (CT) process is required. Here, we report the first direct experimental observation of the tremendous effect that the shape of perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) has on interfacial CT in the presence of a molecular acceptor. A dramatic change in CT dynamics at the interfaces of three different NC shapes, spheres, platelets, and cubes, is recorded. Our results clearly demonstrate that the mechanism of CT is significantly affected by the NC shape. More importantly, the results demonstrate that complexation on the NC surface acts as an additional driving force not only to tune the CT dynamics but also to control the reaction mechanism at the interface. This observation opens a new venue for further developing perovskite NCs-based applications.

Highly Efficient Perovskite-Quantum-Dot Light-Emitting Diodes by Surface Engineering.

A two-step ligand-exchange strategy is developed, in which the long-carbon- chain ligands on all-inorganic perovskite (CsPbX3 , X = Br, Cl) quantum dots (QDs) are replaced with halide-ion-pair ligands. Green and blue light-emitting diodes made from the halide-ion-pair-capped quantum dots exhibit high external quantum efficiencies compared with the untreated QDs.