Metal Halide Clusters Research Articles

Strong ferroelectricity in one-dimensional materials self-assembled by superatomic metal halide clusters

Strong ferroelectricity in one-dimensional materials self-assembled by superatomic metal halide clusters

Lead Bromide Complex in Tri-n-Octylphosphine Oxide Matrix with Bright Photoluminance and Exceptional Thermoplasticity.

Metal halide materials have recently drawn increasing research interest for their excellent opto-electronic properties and structural diversity, but their resulting rigid structures render them brittle and poor formability during manufacturing. Here we demonstrate a thermoplastic luminant hybrid lead halide solid by integrating lead bromide complex into tri-n-octylphosphine oxide (TOPO) matrix. The construction of the hybrid materials can be achieved by a simple dissolution process, in which TOPO molecules act as the solvents and ligands to yield the monodispersed clusters. The combination of these functional units enables the near-room-temperature melt-processing of the materials into targeted geometry by simple molding or printing techniques, which offer possibilities for fluorescent writing inks with outstanding self-healing capacity to physical damage. The intermarriage between metal halide clusters with functional molecules expands the range of practical applications for hybrid metal halide materials.

Photocycloaddition of Zero-Dimensional Metal Halide Hybrids with Reversible Photochromism.

In this work, two zero-dimensional (0D) metal halide hybrids L2ZnBr4 [1, L = (E)-4-(2-(1H-pyrrol-3-yl)vinyl)-1-methylpyridin-1-ium] and L6Pb3Br12 (2) were prepared, which demonstrated photochromism and photoinduced cracking. Upon irradiation at 450 nm, a single crystal-to-single crystal transformation occurred as a result of the [2 + 2] photocycloaddition of L. Interestingly, compared to the complete photocycloaddition of L in 1, only two-thirds of L monomers could be photodimerized in 2 because of the difference in L orientation. 1 shows reversible photochromic behavior including rapid response time, few cracks, high conversion rate, and good reaction reversibility, while 2 exhibits no significant color change but distinct photoinduced cracking because of the large local lattice strain induced by inhomogeneous and anisotropic deformation. Moreover, the photocycloaddition of L results in the distinct shift of photoluminescence of 1 and 2, attributed to the variation in conjugation of π electrons and distortion of metal halide clusters. As a proof-of-concept, reversible optical writing is demonstrated for 1. These findings provide new insights into the design of stimuli-responsive multifunctional materials.

Organic hybrid tetranuclear clusteroluminogens: Blue-light-excitable LED with ultrahigh luminous efficacy

The development of highly emissive luminescent materials is vital for future light-emitting diodes, display, and scintillation applications. A series of novel organic hybrid metal halide clusters are presented here, that is, non-emission (C4H12N2)3(NH4)4Cd4Cl18 (namely, 1), pink-emission (C4H12N2)3(NH4)4Mn4Cl18 (namely, 2) and 1–2 alloy (namely, Mn-1). The crystal structure of alloy compound provides a clear insight into the Mn(II) effect. Mn(II) alloying in the host lattice successfully induces large octahedral distortion, hybrid of d/p orbitals and lower local symmetry resulting in a breaking d-d forbidden transition. The intense blue light absorption and high PLQY (92.6 %) inspire us to assemble Mn-1 as a blue-light-excited white light-emitting diode (WLED). The WLED has a minimized trade-off among luminous efficacy (182 lm/W), color-rendering index (82) and CCT (4536 K), which is achieved by the trichromatic combination (blue light chip, green (Ba, Sr)2SiO4:Eu2+, red Mn-1) and the red emission edge below 700 nm. The luminous efficacy of 182 lm/W is the highest among the previous WLEDs based on the lead-free metal halides, comparable to the market standard (185 lm/W) in 2020 set by The United States Department of Energy. In addition, the water-soluble Mn-1 further gives potential applications in X-ray scintillators, luminescent ceramics, flexible films and luminescent imaging agents. The discovery of tetranuclear metal halide clusters establishes a new strategy for constructing promising emissive materials.

Achieving Highly Efficient Orange Emission in Tin (IV)‐Based Metal Halides with Outstanding Anti‐Water Stability Through Antimony Doping and Reasonable Structural Modulation

AbstractRecently, 0D metal halides have attracted widespread interest because of their diverse structures and rich luminescence properties. Nevertheless, the controllable synthesis of metal halide clusters with the ideal configuration using chemical methods remains a great challenge. In addition, the relationship between the coordination configuration and the optical properties of 0D metal halides is not well understood. In this study, two homologous Sb3+‐doped 0D Sn (IV)‐based metal halides with different coordination configurations are developed by inserting a single organic ligand, tetrabutylphosphonium chloride (TBPCl), into a SnCl4 lattice, resulting in different optical properties. Under photoexcitation, Sb3+‐doped (TBP)SnCl5·DMF shows a negligible luminescence from the organic cation of TBP+, while Sb3+‐doped (TBP)2SnCl6 shows a bright orange emission band at 650 nm with a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 99%. The above two compounds show quite different optical properties, which should be due to the too‐large lattice distortion of Sb3+‐doped (TBP)SnCl5·DMF, and the DMF will cause the efficient non‐radiation relaxation. In particular, Sb3+‐doped (TBP)2SnCl6 exhibits remarkable anti‐water stability, which shows stability in water for 48 h without structural degradation, and the luminous intensity remains at a high level. Combined with its excellent optical properties and impressive stability, Sb3+‐doped (TBP)2SnCl6 is used in white‐light‐emitting diodes (WLED).

Boosting Solid-State Luminescence of Thiazolothiazole Viologen by Incorporating Metal Halide Clusters to Hinder π-Stacking.

A new strategy is developed herein to improve the solid fluorescence of thiazolothiazole viologen by using the ZnCl42- cluster as a scaffold to hinder π-stacking. Importantly, the Cl···H bonds are formed in the solid state to sustain the framework and can be automatically dissociated when dissolved in H2O, thus having no impact on the strong emission in aqueous solution. As such, the first case of organic-inorganic viologen-zinc halide named 4PV·ZnCl4 was designed and synthesized, and a significant increase in photoluminescence quantum yield (ΦF) is realized from 4PV·2Br (ΦF = 0%) to 4PV·ZnCl4 (ΦF = 27.0%) in solid and from 97% to 98% in H2O. 4PV·ZnCl4 also displays pH stimuli-responsive naked-eye chromic behavior and photoluminescence with different coloring states and intensities. The multifunctional performance of 4PV·ZnCl4 provides a prerequisite for carrying different information, expanding their promising application in multilevel information encryption.

Color-Tunable and Stable Copper Iodide Cluster Scintillators for Efficient X-Ray Imaging.

The search for color-tunable, efficient, and robust scintillators plays a vital role in the development of modern X-ray radiography. The radioluminescence tuning of copper iodide cluster scintillators in the entire visible region by bandgap engineering is herein reported. The bandgap engineering benefits from the fact that the conduction band minimum and valence band maximum of copper iodide cluster crystals are contributed by atomic orbitals from the inorganic core and organic ligand components, respectively. In addition to high scintillation performance, the as-prepared crystalline copper iodide cluster solids exhibit remarkable resistance toward both moisture and X-ray irradiation. These features allow copper iodide cluster scintillators to show particular attractiveness for low-dose X-ray radiography with a detection limit of 55 nGy s-1 , a value ≈100 times lower than a standard dosage for X-ray examinations. The results suggest that optimizing both inorganic core and organic ligand for the building blocks of metal halide cluster crystals may provide new opportunities for a new generation of high-performance scintillation materials.

Stabilization of Octahedral Metal Halide Clusters by Host-Guest Complexation with γ-Cyclodextrin: Toward Nontoxic Luminescent Compounds.

γ-Cyclodextrin (γ-CD) interacts in aqueous solution with octahedral halide clusters Na2[{M6X8}Cl6] (M = Mo, W; X = Br, I) to form robust inclusion supramolecular complexes [{M6X8}Cl6@2γ-CD]2-. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses revealed two conformational organizations within the adduct depending on the nature of the inner halide X within the {M6X8} core. Using 35Cl NMR and UV-vis as complementary techniques, the kinetics of the hydrolysis process were shown to increase with the following order: {W6I8} < {W6Br8} ≈ {Mo6I8} < {Mo6Br8}. The complexation with γ-CD drastically enhances the hydrolytic stability of luminescent [{M6X8}Cl6]2- cluster-based units, which was quantitatively proved by the same techniques. The resulting host-guest complexation provides a protective shell against contact with water and offers promising horizons for octahedral clusters in biology as revealed by the low dark cytotoxicity and cellular uptake.

0D Perovskites: Unique Properties, Synthesis, and Their Applications.

0D perovskites have gained much attention in recent years due to their fascinating properties derived from their peculiar structure with isolated metal halide octahedra or metal halide clusters. However, the systematic discussion on the crystal and electronic structure of 0D perovskites to further understand their photophysical characteristics and the comprehensive overview of 0D perovskites for their further applications are still lacking. In this review, the unique crystal and electronic structure of 0D perovskites and their diverse properties are comprehensively analyzed, including large bandgaps, high exciton binding energy, and largely Stokes‐shifted broadband emissions from self‐trapped excitons. Furthermore, the photoluminescence regulation are discussed. Then, the various synthetic methods for 0D perovskite single crystals, nanocrystals, and thin films are comprehensively summarized. Finally, the emerging applications of 0D perovskites to light‐emitting diodes, solar cells, detectors, and some others are illustrated, and the outlook on future research in the field is also provided.

Highly Efficient Self-Trapped Bluish White-Light Emission from [Pb 4 Cl 5 ] 3+ Nodes in a Moisture-Tolerant Metal–Organic Framework

Highly luminescent zero-dimensional (0D) metal halide clusters attract widespread attention owing to strong exciton confinement and populated self-trapped states but often exhibit narrow emission a...

Sulfolane-Induced Supercharging of Electrosprayed Salt Clusters: An Experimental/Computational Perspective.

It is well-known that supercharging agents (SCAs) such as sulfolane enhance the electrospray ionization (ESI) charge states of proteins, although the mechanistic origins of this effect remain contentious. Only very few studies have explored SCA effects on analytes other than proteins or peptides. This work examines how sulfolane affects electrosprayed NaI salt clusters. Such alkali metal halide clusters have played a key role for earlier ESI mechanistic studies, making them interesting targets for supercharging investigations. ESI of aqueous NaI solutions predominantly generated singly charged [NanI(n-1)]+ clusters. The addition of sulfolane resulted in abundant doubly charged [NanI(n-2)Sulfolanes]2+ species. These experimental data for the first time demonstrate that electrosprayed salt clusters can undergo supercharging. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of aqueous ESI nanodroplets containing Na+/I- with and without sulfolane were conducted to obtain atomistic insights into the supercharging mechanism. The simulations produced [NanIi]z+ and [NanIiSulfolanes]z+ clusters similar to those observed experimentally. The MD trajectories demonstrated that these clusters were released into the gas phase upon droplet evaporation to dryness, in line with the charged residue model. Sulfolane was found to evaporate much more slowly than water. This slow evaporation, in conjunction with the large dipole moment of sulfolane, resulted in electrostatic stabilization of the shrinking ESI droplets and the final clusters. Hence, charge-dipole stabilization causes the sulfolane-containing droplets and clusters to retain more charge, thereby providing the mechanistic foundation of salt cluster supercharging.

Bulk Assemblies of Lead Bromide Trimer Clusters with Geometry-Dependent Photophysical Properties

Single crystalline bulk assemblies of metal halide clusters show great potential as highly efficient light emitters with tunable photophysical properties. However, synthetic control of the geometry of the clusters in a rational manner has not been well established, and the relationships between the photophysical properties and structures of this emerging class of zero-dimensional materials are still not well understood. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of two bulk assemblies of lead bromide clusters, (bmpy)6[Pb3Br12] (T1) and (bmpy)9[ZnBr4]2[Pb3Br11] (T2) (bmpy: 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium), which contain metal halide trimer clusters with different geometries. T1 with chain-shaped [Pb3Br12]6– clusters is not emissive at room temperature, whereas T2 with triangle-shaped [Pb3Br11]5– clusters exhibits yellowish-green emission peaked at 564 nm with a photoluminescence quantum efficiency of 7% at room temperature. Detailed analysis of the structural and photophysical properties show that the photophysical properties and excited-state dynamics of these materials are highly dependent on the geometry of the metal halide clusters.

Green Emitting Single-Crystalline Bulk Assembly of Metal Halide Clusters with Near-Unity Photoluminescence Quantum Efficiency

Organic metal halide hybrids with zero-dimensional (0D) structure at the molecular level, or single-crystalline bulk assemblies of metal halides, are an emerging class of light-emitting materials w...

Impact of metal ns2 lone pair on luminescence quantum efficiency in low-dimensional halide perovskites

Based on first-principles calculations, we show that chemically active metal ns2 lone pairs play an important role in exciton relaxation and dissociation in low-dimensional halide perovskites. We studied excited-state properties of several recently discovered luminescent all-inorganic and hybrid organic-inorganic zero-dimensional (0D) Sn and Pb halides. The results show that, despite the similarity in ground-state electronic structure between Sn and Pb halide perovskites, the chemically more active Sn2+ lone pair leads to stronger excited-state structural distortion and larger Stokes shift in Sn halides. The enhanced Stokes shift hinders excitation energy transport, which reduces energy loss to defects and increases the photoluminescence quantum efficiency (PLQE). The presence of the ns2 metal cations in the 0D halide perovskites also promotes the exciton dissociation into electron and hole polarons especially in all-inorganic compounds, in which the coupling between metal-halide clusters is significant.

Recent Advances in Zeolite-like Cluster Organic Frameworks.

During the past decade, research on the design and synthesis of zeolite-like metal-organic frameworks (ZMOFs) has developed greatly. As an important subclass of ZMOFs, zeolite-like cluster organic frameworks (ZCOFs) built from 4-connected metal-cluster secondary building units (SBUs) and appropriate linear organic ligand bridges have attracted sustained interest, because such materials not only integrate the merits of inorganic zeolites, ZMOFs, and metal clusters, including interesting topologies, high surface areas, extra-large cavities and channels, structural tunability, and unique physicochemical properties from various metal clusters, but also open up a new avenue to design and fabricate hybrid zeolite-like materials that have many potential applications in material sciences. In this review, recent developments in ZCOFs are summarized by classifying the ZCOFs into four categories according to the composition of the SBUs: 1) ZCOFs based on metal-halide cluster SBUs, 2) ZCOFs based on metal-oxygen cluster SBUs, 3) ZCOFs based on metal-chalcogen cluster SBUs, and 4) ZCOFs based on mixed types of metal-cluster SBUs. Besides, challenges associated with the design and synthesis of ZCOFs and the vast potential of this area are also discussed.

Blue Emitting Single Crystalline Assembly of Metal Halide Clusters.

The rich chemistry of organic-inorganic metal halide hybrids has enabled the development of a variety of crystalline structures with controlled morphological and molecular dimensionalities. Here we report for the first time a single crystalline assembly of metal halide clusters, (C9NH20)7(PbCl4)Pb3Cl11, in which lead chloride tetrahedrons (PbCl42-) and face-sharing lead chloride trimer clusters (Pb3Cl115-) cocrystallize with organic cations (C9NH20+) to form a periodical zero-dimensional (0D) structure at the molecular level. Blue light emission peaked at 470 nm with a photoluminescence quantum efficiency (PLQE) of around 83% was realized for this single crystalline hybrid material, which is attributed to the individual lead chloride clusters. Our discovery of single crystalline assembly of metal halide clusters paves a new path to functional cluster assemblies with highly tunable structures and remarkable properties.

Self-Activated Low-Dimensional Metal Halide Phosphors and Scintillators

We report theoretical studies of exciton excitation and emission in low-dimensional metal halides, (C4N2H14X)4SnX6 (X = Br, I), Cs4PbBr6, (Ph4P)2SbCl5 (Ph4P = tetraphenylphosphonium), (C9NH20)2SnBr4, and (C4N2H14)PbCl4. These are bulk crystalline materials, in which isolated metal halide clusters/wires are separated from each other by large inorganic or organic countercations, forming 0D/1D structures. For example, in (C9NH20)2SnBr4, the anionic (SnBr4)2- clusters are separated from each other by (C9NH20)+ molecular countercations. The metal halides shown above all have 0D structures except (C4N2H14)PbCl4, which has a 1D wire structure. High photoluminescence quantum efficiencies (PLQE) (close to 100% in some cases) have been reported for the 0D metal halides. We calculated exciton excitation and emission energies in these low-dimensional metal halides; the results are in excellent agreement with the experimental values. This enables us to study the luminescence mechanisms and suggest new compounds for synthesis. We show that exciton self-trapping in the metal-halide cluster/wire leads to localized excitons, which is important for efficient radiative recombination. The relatively low PLQE (6% - 18%) in 1D (C4N2H14)PbCl4 is likely due to the exciton diffusion along the wire and the subsequent nonradiative recombination at defects. The large organic countercations in hybrid organic-inorganic 0D halides plays the important role of decoupling metal halide clusters (which are luminescent centers), leading to highly immobile excitons and high PLQE. On the other hand, in all inorganic 0D Cs4PbBr6, the significant electronic coupling between PbBr6 clusters and the small Stokes shift should enable resonant transfer of excitation energy and the subsequent energy loss at defects, which explains the strong thermal quenching of luminescence in Cs4PbBr6. We further suggest that Cs4EuX6 (X = Br,I), which are analogs to Cs4PbBr6, should exhibit improved luminescent properties compared to Cs4PbBr6 due to stronger exciton localization at Eu2+ than at Pb2+. Indeed, recent synthesis and characterization of these compounds show high light yields under gamma-ray irradiation at room temperature. In particular, the light yield of Cs4EuBr6 (78,000 photons/MeV) is the highest among the self-activated scintillators.

Low-Dimensional-Networked Metal Halide Perovskites: The Next Big Thing

Low-dimensional-networked (low-DN) perovskite derivatives are bulk quantum materials in which charge carriers are localized within ordered metal halide sheets, rods, or clusters that are separated by cationic lattices. After two decades of hibernation, this class of semiconductors reemerged in the past two years, largely catalyzed by the interest in alternative, more stable absorbers to CH3NH3PbI3-type perovskites in photovoltaics. Whether low-DN perovskites will surpass other photovoltaic technologies remains to be seen, but their impressively high photo- and electroluminescence yields have already set new benchmarks in light emission applications. Here we offer our perspective on the most exciting advances in materials design of low-DN perovskites for energy- and optoelectronic-related applications. The next few years will usher in an explosive growth in this tribe of quantum materials, as only a few members have been synthesized, while the potential library of compositions and structures is believed to...

Quasi-epitaxial Metal-Halide Perovskite Ligand Shells on PbS Nanocrystals.

Epitaxial growth techniques enable nearly defect free heterostructures with coherent interfaces, which are of utmost importance for high performance electronic devices. While high-vacuum technology-based growth techniques are state-of-the art, here we pursue a purely solution processed approach to obtain nanocrystals with eptaxially coherent and quasi-lattice matched inorganic ligand shells. Octahedral metal-halide clusters, respectively 0-dimensional perovskites, were employed as ligands to match the coordination geometry of the PbS cubic rock-salt lattice. Different clusters (CH3NH3+)(6-x)[M(x+)Hal6](6-x)- (Mx+ = Pb(II), Bi(III), Mn(II), In(III), Hal = Cl, I) were attached to the nanocrystal surfaces via a scalable phase transfer procedure. The ligand attachment and coherence of the formed PbS/ligand core/shell interface was confirmed by combining the results from transmission electron microscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction. The lattice mismatch between ligand shell and nanocrystal core plays a key role in performance. In photoconducting devices the best performance (detectivity of 2 × 1011 cm Hz 1/2/W with > 110 kHz bandwidth) was obtained with (CH3NH3)3BiI6 ligands, providing the smallest relative lattice mismatch of ca. -1%. PbS nanocrystals with such ligands exhibited in millimeter sized bulk samples in the form of pressed pellets a relatively high carrier mobility for nanocrystal solids of ∼1.3 cm2/(V s), a carrier lifetime of ∼70 μs, and a low residual carrier concentration of 2.6 × 1013 cm-3. Thus, by selection of ligands with appropriate geometry and bond lengths optimized quasi-epitaxial ligand shells were formed on nanocrystals, which are beneficial for applications in optoelectronics.

Composite Hybrid Cluster Built from the Integration of Polyoxometalate and a Metal Halide Cluster: Synthetic Strategy, Structure, and Properties

A step-by-step synthetic strategy, setting up a bridge between the polyoxometalate (POM) and metal halide cluster (MHC) systems, is demonstrated to construct an unprecedented composite hybrid cluster built up from one high-nuclearity cationic MHC [Cu8I6](2+) and eight Anderson-type anionic POMs [HCrMo6O18(OH)6](2-) cross-linked by a tripodal alcohol derivative.