Ionization and Neutralization Dynamics of CsPbBr₃ Perovskite Nanocrystals Revealed by Double-Pump Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

Ionization of nanocrystals (NCs) causes both photoluminescence intermittency and a reduction in luminescence quantum efficiency and thus plays a critical role in the optoelectronic performance of NC-based devices. Here, we study the ionization and neutralization processes of CsPbBr 3 perovskite NCs under strong photoexcitation by means of double-pump transient absorption spectroscopy. A strong initial pulse is used to generate ionized NCs, and their optical responses are investigated by varying the excitation intensity and delay time of the second pump pulse. We find that charging can occur either via nonradiative Auger recombination of biexcitons or via any possible recombination of trions. The presence of the extra charge inside of an ionized perovskite NC significantly reduces its absorption cross section. The experiments reveal that ionized NCs exhibit two types of neutralization processes with time constants on the order of nanoseconds and microseconds. These results are useful for the optimal design of NC-based photonic devices.