Designing stable lead halide perovskite nanocrystals: From a single particle to nanocomposites

• Published in: Applied materials today 2023-04, Vol.31, p.101775, Article 101775
• Main Authors: Collantes, Cynthia, Teixeira, William, González Pedro, Victoria, Bañuls, Maria-José, Maquieira, Ángel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Core-shell nanoparticles; Lead halide perovskite; Nanocomposites; Stability drawbacks; Surface chemistry
• ISSN: 2352-9407; 2352-9415
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apmt.2023.101775

•Understanding of surface chemistry of lead halide perovskite nanocrystals and stability issues.•Synthetic approaches to prepare lead halide perovskite nanoparticles dispersible in a water medium at a single particle level are critically discussed.•Approaches for improving the stability of lead halide perovskites by embedding nanoparticles in host matrices.•Assessment of application-targeted surface engineering.•Strengths and weaknesses of the described methodologies highlighting the most promising research directions from a chemical perspective. Metal halide perovskite nanocrystals have attracted substantial interest given their easy manufacturing, superior Photoluminiscence Quantum Yield and striking optical properties. Despite the huge potential of such materials, their practical implementation and future technological applications need to overcome stability drawbacks: spontaneous degradation, which is accelerated by external stressors (i.e., moisture, oxygen, heat, light, and their combinations), poor phase stability and loss of their colloidal stability due to ligand lability. Within this framework, the understanding of their surface chemistry features and ligand-binding patterns plays a key role in improving the robustness and stability of perovskite nanocrystals. This review presents a comprehensive study of state-of-the-art and current challenges in surface chemistry, interface engineering and encapsulation methodologies for stabilizing lead halide perovskite nanoparticles. We first introduced lead halide perovskite structural and optical properties and a brief discussion of synthesis methods. Next, we explored recent developments in encapsulation methods in different protective matrices comprising from core-shell to macroscale nanocomposites. We also analyzed the advantages and shortcomings of each approach according to their final applications. Finally, we concluded with a discussion of open research challenges and future directions in the aforementioned aspects. [Display omitted]