Super-Bandgap Electroluminescence from Cesium Lead Bromide

Abstract: Halide perovskites is a new class of semiconductors with exceptional optoelectronic properties. Among many advantages offered by halide perovskites, the bandgap energy can be tuned in a much broader range than what was possible in conventional semiconductors. This was commonly achieved in previous research by mixing different species of halides into solid solutions. The tuned bandgap using this method, however, often underwent an energy shift under optical or electrical stimuli due to halide segregation. In this work, we discovered an alternative approach to achieve super-bandgap electroluminescence from CsPbBr3. The peak energy of the light emission can be 0.7 eV higher than the reported bandgap energy. Evidence pointed to the radiative recombination at the perovskite-PEDOT:PSS interface being responsible for the unexpected blueshift of electroluminescence. We speculated that perovskite nanocrystals were formed therein and produced higher-energy photons due to quantum confinement. The results suggested an alternative strategy to manipulate and stabilize the color of electroluminescence and achieve particularly blue emission in perovskite-based LEDs.