Defect passivation with spectral shift for improved efficiency and stability of quasi-2D blue perovskite light emitting diodes

Abstract

Metal halide perovskites are emerging as promising materials for next-generation light-emitting diodes (LEDs), owing to their cost-effectiveness, facile manufacturing, and excellent optoelectronic properties including a narrow emission-line full width at half maximum, high photoluminescence quantum yield, and spectral stability. However, blue-emission perovskite LEDs (PeLEDs) exhibit perovskite phase segregation and halogen ion migration during operation, attributed to crystal defects, halogen vacancies, and phase instability of mixed-halide perovskites. These defects compromise the spectral stability of blue-emitting PeLEDs, resulting in an undesirable color shift toward longer wavelengths. In this study, we introduce a dynamic treatment with phenylphosphonic dichloride (PPOCl2) to address these challenges and achieve blue-emitting PeLEDs. The chloride in PPOCl2 penetrates the quasi-2D sky-blue perovskite, reducing halide defects. Meanwhile, the phosphonic group forms covalent bonds with undercoordinated Pb on the perovskites, effectively passivating defects. PPOCl2-treated perovskite exhibits a spectral blue shift toward a deep-blue wavelength (≤467 nm), enhancing electroluminescence performance. The quasi-2D PPOCl2-treated PeLEDs achieve a maximum external quantum efficiency of 2.31 % with an emission peak at 488 nm. Dynamic treatment with PPOCl2 shows the potential to improve the performance and stability of blue emission perovskite-based LEDs, providing a spectral shift mechanism to achieve deep-blue emission in PeLEDs.