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Despite the impressive development of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs), it is still challenging to achieve high-efficiency deep-blue PeLEDs using colloid perovskite quantum dots (PQDs). The efficiency of PQDs with a wavelength below 460 nm, which meets the requirements for deep-blue emission in the Telecommunication Union UHD television standard (ITU REC. 2020), lags far behind those of their sky-blue counterparts. To address this issue, a novel strategy of fast anion-exchange & cation-doping inter-promotion (FAECDIP) is proposed to achieve highly efficient deep-blue PQDs by introducing CaBr2 into the CsPbCl3 PQDs. Owing to the presence of Ca2+, the speed of ion exchange is increased, driven by the smaller cation, Ca2+, improving the preparation efficiency. Additionally, Ca2+ was doped on the surface of PQDs. Based on studies of fast anion-exchange and theoretical calculations, Ca2+ improves the optical performance by decreasing the number of traps and increasing the crystallinity of target PQDs, facilitating the stability of treated films and PeLEDs by enhancing the formation energy of halogen vacancies. Here, a high PLQY of 80.3 % CaBr2-induced CsPb(Cl/Br)3 deep-blue PQDs (~446 nm) was achieved. The correspondent PeLEDs (~447 nm) achieved a superior EQE of 5.88 %, which is the state-of-the-art among the reported deep-blue PeLEDs. Our strategy provides a potential route to achieve deep-blue PeLEDs, which differs from the previous tedious-complex methods. 

To stabilize and transport them through complex systems, nanoparticles are often encapsulated in polymeric nanocarriers, which are tailored to specific environments. For example, a hydrophilic polymer capsule maintains circulation and stability of nanoparticles in aqueous environments. A more highly-designed nanocarrier might have a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell to allow transport of hydrophobic nanoparticles and pharmaceuticals through physiological media. Polydimethylsiloxane, PDMS, is a hydrophobic material in a liquidlike state at room temperature. The preparation of stable, aqueous dispersions of PDMS droplets in water is problematic due to the intense mismatch in surface energies between PDMS and water. The present work describes the encapsulation of hydrophobic metal- and metal oxide nanoparticles within PDMS nanodroplets using flash nanoprecipitation. The PDMS is terminated by amino groups and the nanodroplet is capped with a layer of poly(styrene sulfonate), forming a glassy outer shell. The hydrophobic nanoparticles nucleate PDMS droplet formation, decreasing the droplet size. The resulting nanocomposite nanodroplets are stable in aqueous salt solutions without the use of surfactants. The hierarchical structuring, elucidated with small angle x-ray scattering, offers a new platform for the isolation and transport of hydrophobic molecules and nanoparticles through aqueous systems. 

Colloidal lead halide perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) are relatively new semiconductor nanocrystals with great potential for use in optoelectronic applications. They also present a set of new scientifically challenging fundamental problems to investigate and understand. One of them is to address the rather poor colloidal and structural stability of these materials under solution phase processing and/or transfer between solvents. In this contribution, we detail the synthesis of a new family of multi-coordinating, bromide-based polysalt ligands and test their ability to stabilize CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals in polar solutions. The ligands present multiple salt groups involving quaternary cations, namely ammonium and imidazolium as anchors for coordination onto PQD surfaces, along with several alkyl chains with varying chain length to promote solubilization in various conditions. The ligands provide a few key benefits including the ability to repair damaged surface sites, allow rapid ligand exchange and phase transfer, and preserve the crystalline structure and morphology of the nanocrystals. The polysalt-coated PQDs exhibit near unity PLQY and significantly enhanced colloidal stability in ethanol and methanol. 

We designed a novel multicoordinating ligand based on the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) anchoring molecules and applied them for stabilizing luminescent quantum dots in aqueous media. The ligand is synthesized via nucleophilic addition reaction between amine-appended imidazole/poly(ethylene glycol) compounds and poly(isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PIMA), followed by carbene generation. We find that these NHC-based polymers exhibit fast and robust coordinating affinity to CdSe QDs overcoated with ZnS shells. The removal of hydrophobic coating and the generation of carbene are demonstrated by 1H NMR spectroscopy. 13C NMR spectroscopy confirms the existence of carbene-Zn complexes which is crucial for binding transition-metals on QD surfaces. These QDs exhibit absorption and emission features with little to no change before and after cap exchange, and their PL intensity is increased under light exposure. Excellent colloidal stability of these QD samples is observed in a wide range of competitive conditions over long period of time. Agarose gel electrophoresis indicates that the polymer coating imparts QDs with good compatibility in different aqueous buffers, and it prevents protein adsorption.