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A computational investigation is presented, in conjunction with synthesis and experimental characterization, into the structural, electronic, and optical properties of layered two‐dimensional organic lead bromide perovskites. Materials based on the chiral (R/S)‐4‐fluoro‐α‐methylbenzylammonium (R/S‐FMBA), which have been shown to lead to bright room‐temperature circularly polarized luminescence, are contrasted with the similar achiral 4‐fluorobenzylammonium (FBA). Using density functional theory (DFT) with van der Waals (vdW) corrections, relaxed structures (compared with X‐ray diffraction, XRD) and optical absorption spectra (compared with experiments) are studied, as well as band structure and orbital character of transitions. A Python code is developed and provided to calculate octahedral distortions and compare DFT and XRD results, finding that vdW corrections are important for accuracy and that DFT overestimates octahedral tilt angles. (FMBA)2PbBr4shows among the largest tilt angle differences (often termed ) reported, 14°–15°, indicating strong inversion symmetry‐breaking, which enables its chiral emission. A large resulting Dresselhaus spin‐splitting effect is found. The lowest‐energy optical transitions involve the perovskite only and are polarized within the layer. This work furthers understanding of structure‐property relations with applications to optoelectronics and spintronics.
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Enhancing Chiroptoelectronic Activity in Chiral 2D Perovskites via Chiral–Achiral Cation Mixing
Abstract Rational design of chiral two‐dimensional hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites is crucial to achieve chiroptoelecronic, spintronic, and ferroelectric applications. Here, an efficient way to manipulate the chiroptoelectronic activity of 2D lead iodide perovskites is reported by forming mixed chiral (R‐ or S‐methylbenzylammonium (R‐MBA+or S‐MBA+)) and achiral (n‐butylammonium (nBA+)) cations in the organic layer. The strongest and flipped circular dichroism signals are observed in (R/S‐MBA0.5nBA0.5)2PbI4films compared to (R/S‐MBA)2PbI4. Moreover, the (R/S‐MBA0.5nBA0.5)2PbI4films exhibit pseudo‐symmetric, unchanged circularly polarized photoluminescence peak as temperature increases. First‐principles calculations reveal that mixed chiral–achiral cations enhance the asymmetric hydrogen‐bonding interaction between the organic and inorganic layers, causing more structural distortion, thus, larger spin‐polarized band‐splitting than pure chiral cations. Temperature‐dependent powder X‐ray diffraction and pair distribution function structure studies show the compressed intralayer lattice with enlarged interlayer spacing and increased local ordering. Overall, this work demonstrates a new method to tune chiral and chiroptoelectronic properties and reveals their atomic scale structural origins.
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- PAR ID:
- 10548309
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Optical Materials
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue:
- 35
- ISSN:
- 2195-1071
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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