Electrochemical p-Doping of CsPbBr₃ Perovskite Nanocrystals

Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals have drawn attention as active light-absorbing or -emitting materials for opto-electronic applications due to their facile synthesis, intrinsic defect tolerance, and color-pure emission ranging over the entire visible spectrum. To optimize their application in, e.g., solar cells and light-emitting diodes, it is desirable to gain control over electronic doping of these materials. However, predominantly due to the intrinsic instability of perovskites, successful electronic doping has remained elusive. Using spectro-electrochemistry and electrochemical transistor measurements, we demonstrate here that CsPbBr3 nanocrystals can be successfully and reversibly p-doped via electrochemical hole injection. From an applied potential of ∼0.9 V vs NHE, the emission quenches, the band edge absorbance bleaches, and the electronic conductivity quickly increases, demonstrating the successful injection of holes into the valence band of the CsPbBr3 nanocrystals.