Recent progress of zero-dimensional luminescent metal halides

Zero-dimensional (0D) all-inorganic/organic-inorganic metal halides, as emerging luminescent materials, have attracted unparalleled interest from versatile perspectives due to their unique crystallographic/electronic structures with isolated building units and fascinating optical characteristics. However, significant challenges still exist for 0D metal halides, including their chemical molecular design, photoluminescence (PL) mechanism, PL modification and applications. In this review, we summarize the 0D metal halides through the classification of all-inorganic and organic-inorganic hybrid metal halides, and further emphasize the unique role of B-site cations with different electronic configurations in the PL process. Furthermore, the PL mechanisms focusing on the self-trapped excitons (STEs) model and PL regulation engineering are examined to explore their extraordinary PL properties and further reveal new application prospects. This review aims to provide in-depth insight into the structure-luminescence-application relationship of 0D metal halides and pave the way for the realization of next-generation high-performance luminescent materials.