Light-induced transformation of all-inorganic mixed-halide perovskite nanoplatelets: ion migration and coalescence

When exposed to light, the colloidal perovskite nanoplatelets (NPLs) in the film can fuse into larger grains, and this phenomenon was thought to be closely related to ion migration. However, the available CsPbBr 3 NPLs are not conducive to directly distinguishing this hypothesis. Herein, we prepare mixed-halide perovskite CsPbBr 2.7 I 0.3 NPLs by a ligand-assisted reprecipitation method and investigate the photoluminescence evolution of NPLs under laser irradiation. At a low-irradiation intensity, 4.5-monolayer NPLs exhibit blue-shifted photoluminescence peaks due to the migration of iodide ions. Under higher laser fluence, a new photoluminescence component appears in the long wavelength region after the spectral blue shift, which is attributed to the coalescence of NPLs according to transmission electron microscopy analysis. A similar spectral evolution is also observed in 8-monolayer NPLs, while only the spectral blue shift caused by ion migration is detected in cuboidal CsPbBr 2.7 I 0.3 nanocrystals. The use of strong bonding ligands can inhibit the fusion process of the NPLs, but not to impede ion migration, suggesting that fusion requires ligand detachment rather than ion migration. Similar suppression effects can be achieved in a vacuum atmosphere. Moreover, we demonstrate that mixed-halide NPLs can be used to realize anti-counterfeiting applications with superior photosensitivity.