Origin of the Substitution Mechanism for the Binding of Organic Ligands on the Surface of CsPbBr₃ Perovskite Nanocubes

Abstract

Optoelectronic properties of CsPbBr₃ perovskite nanocubes (NCs) depend strongly on the interaction of the organic passivating molecules with the inorganic crystal. To understand this interaction, we employed a combination of synchrotron-based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and first-principles density functional theory (DFT)-based calculations. Variable energy XPS elucidated the internal structure of the inorganic part in a layer-by-layer fashion, whereas NMR characterized the organic ligands. Our experimental results confirm that oleylammonium ions act as capping ligands by substituting Cs⁺ ions from the surface of CsPbBr₃ NCs. DFT calculations shows that the substitution mechanism does not require much energy for surface reconstruction and, in contrast, stabilizes the nanocrystal by the formation of three hydrogen bonds between the -NH₃⁺ moiety of oleylammonium and surrounding Br^- on the surface of NCs. This substitution mechanism and its origin are in stark contrast to the usual adsorption of organic ligands on the surface of typical NCs.