Interfacial Synthesis of Highly Stable CsPbX₃/Oxide Janus Nanoparticles

Abstract

The poor stability of CsPbX₃ (X = Cl, Br, I) nanocrystals (NCs) has severely impeded their practical applications. Although there are some successful examples on encapsulating multiple CsPbX₃ NCs into an oxide or polymer matrix, it has remained a serious challenge for the surface modification/encapsulation using oxides or polymers at a single particle level. In this work, monodisperse CsPbX₃/SiO₂ and CsPbBr₃/Ta₂O₅ Janus nanoparticles were successfully prepared by combining a water-triggered transformation process and a sol-gel method. The CsPbBr₃/SiO₂ NCs exhibited a photoluminescence quantum yield of 80% and a lifetime of 19.8 ns. The product showed dramatically improved stability against destruction by air, water, and light irradiation. Upon continuous irradiation by intense UV light for 10 h, a film of the CsPbBr₃/SiO₂ Janus NCs showed only a slight drop (2%) in the PL intensity, while a control sample of unmodified CsPbBr₃ NCs displayed a 35% drop. We further highlighted the advantageous features of the CsPbBr₃/SiO₂ NCs in practical applications by using them as the green light source for the fabrication of a prototype white light emitting diode, and demonstrated a wide color gamut covering up to 138% of the National Television System Committee standard. This work not only provides a novel approach for the surface modification of individual CsPbX₃ NCs but also helps to address the challenging stability issue; therefore, it has an important implication toward their practical applications.