Water-induced nucleation growth kinetics enhancement of cesium lead bromide perovskite nanocrystals

A water-assisted strategy can improve the optoelectronic properties and stability of lead halide perovskites by regulating crystal growth and phase transition. However, studying the role of water in the nucleation growth kinetics of perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) is still a significant challenge. Here, water-induced nucleation growth kinetics enhancement of CsPbBr3 PNCs is revealed by multiple in situ cryogenic measurements. Water could lower the nucleation and growth barrier of PNCs to greatly increase their nucleation growth rate. Kinetically fast nucleation and growth processes result in the formation of large nanoplatelets for PNCs synthesized by adding a certain volume of water. PNCs synthesized with water added exhibit excellent photoluminescence performance in comparison to PNCs without water due to nucleation growth kinetics enhancement. This work provides a rich insight into the nucleation growth kinetics mechanism of PNCs, which paves the way for synthesizing high-quality PNCs and designing ligand engineering strategies.