Superhydrophobic luminous nanocomposites from CsPbX3 perovskite nanocrystals encapsulated in organosilica

Abstract

All-inorganic (CsPbX3, X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) demonstrate promising optoelectronic properties, provided their poor stabilities can be overcome. Herein, a facile in-situ encapsulating strategy is proposed to form super-hydrophobic nanocomposites (abbr. PNC@SSiP) on a large scale by incorporating CsPbBr3 NCs into organosilica nanoparticles, which reduces degradation and improves the environmental stabilities. The resulting nanocomposites demonstrated monodispersed CsPbBr3 NCs (5–6 nm) embedded homogeneously in the organosilica matrix, and a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY over 50%). The PNC@SSiP exhibited extraordinary stability towards water, enhanced thermal stability and photostability. However, photoluminescent (PL) decay of less than 20% can be monitored if the PNC@SSiP nanocomposites are immersed in water for 60 days. In addition, a high static contact angle for water (152.44 ± 0.97°) further indicates excellent super-hydrophobicity of the nanocomposites. The super-hydrophobic PNC@SSiP nanocomposites can be used for fabricating luminous devices, such as white light emitting diode (WLED), further demonstrating the potential value of the obtained nanocomposites as a stable luminophore in optoelectronic applications. This novel synthesis strategy greatly widens the methods for fabricating highly stable perovskite materials in optoelectronic applications.