Arm‐Length‐Controlled CsPbBr <sub>3</sub> Nanocrystals for Tunable Optical and Assembly Behavior
Abstract
ABSTRACT Colloidal cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr 3 ) nanocrystals (NCs) are excellent candidates for various photonic and optoelectronic applications due to their bright and stable green emission. Here, we establish arm length control as a central structural parameter that governs both the optical properties of individual CsPbBr 3 NCs and their self‐assembly behavior. Armed NCs, featuring a cubic core with multiple protruding arms, are synthesized by controlling seed size, concentration, and injection temperature, while arm length is tuned via cesium oleate concentration. Prolonged storage in toluene is shown to lead to a time‐dependent morphological evolution from armed NCs to 26‐faceted rhombicuboctahedra, with short‐armed structures as intermediates. NCs with a longer arm length yield enhanced radiative efficiency, extended photoluminescence (PL) lifetimes, and suppressed blinking, making such NCs suitable for light‐emitting devices and quantum photonic applications. In contrast, short‐armed NCs exhibit faster recombination, stronger PL intermittency, and increased surface accessibility, which are favorable for sensing and high‐speed single‐photon emission. The arm length also governs self‐assembly behavior, hereby opening new possibilities for applications. Armed NCs form densely 3D‐packed assemblies with tunable configurations. This work demonstrates how arm length tuning expands the functional potential of CsPbBr 3 NCs by linking morphological control to both optical response and self‐assembly characteristics.
Article Details
Authors (14)
Irina Skvortsova
Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
Sudipta Seth
Juliette Zito
Robin Girod
EMAT University of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium
Bob Van Hout
Department of Chemistry KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
Annick De Backer
Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) & NANOlight Center of Excellence University of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium
Tom Stoops
Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) & NANOlight Center of Excellence University of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium
Sergey Abakumov
Department of Chemistry KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
Evgenii Vlasov
Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) & NANOlight Center of Excellence University of Antwerp Antwerp Belgium
Tejmani Behera
Department of Chemistry KU Leuven Leuven Belgium
Sandra Van Aert
EMAT and NANOlab Center of Excellence Department of Physics University of Antwerp Antwerp 2020 Belgium
Elke Debroye
Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
Johan Hofkens
Department of Chemistry, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
Sara Bals
Electron Microscopy for Materials Research and NanoLight Center of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium