Colloidal Organohalide Perovskite Nanoplatelets Exhibiting Quantum Confinement

Abstract

We prepare colloidal nanoplatelets of methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr3) perovskite and compare the optical signatures of excitons in these two-dimensional systems to spherical perovskite nanocrystals and the corresponding bulk phase. We find that excitonic features that had previously been attributed to quantum confinement in MAPbBr3 nanocrystals are in fact a property of the bulk perovskite phase. Furthermore, we find that higher-energy absorption features originate from two-dimensional nanoplatelets, which are present in the nanocrystal reaction product. Upon further purification, we obtain colloidal nanoplatelets with predominantly single unit cell thickness and submicron lateral dimensions, which are stable in solution and exhibit a sharp excitonic absorption feature 0.5 eV blue-shifted from that of the three-dimensional bulk MAPbBr3 phase, representing a new addition to the growing family of colloidal two-dimensional nanostructures.

Keywords: bulk perovskite phase; colloidal nanoplatelets; colloidal two-dimensional nanostructures; methylammonium lead bromide.