Decreasing Structural Dimensionality of Double Perovskites for Phase Stabilization toward Efficient X-ray Detection

Halide double perovskites have attracted substantial attention for optoelectronic applications owing to their low toxicity and high stability. However, double perovskites have strict requirements in terms of the halide type, thus rendering many of their properties unchangeable, including the band gap, atomic number, and carrier transport. By introducing long-chain organic amines, the chloride site of double perovskites can be completely replaced by bromide. Using this strategy, two dimensions silver–indium–bromide double perovskites (PEA)4AgInBr8 and (i-BA)4AgInBr8 were successfully synthesized [(PEA)+ = C6H5(CH2)2NH3+, (i-BA)+ = CH(CH3)2CH2NH3+]. Density functional theory calculations and spectroscopy characterizations were performed to unveil the semiconducting behaviors and photoluminescence properties of the title compounds. Electrical characterization confirms their good carrier-transport property (μτ product: 2.0 × 10–3 cm2 V–1) and low dark current. Moreover, the presence of heavy atoms, together with the ultrastable baseline contributes to a high X-ray detection sensitivity (185 μC Gyair–1 cm–2), greater than that of most previous double-perovskite detectors. Our work lays the foundation for broadening the family of potential double perovskites, creating a new path for the realization of long-sought perovskites with low toxicity and high stability that retain good optoelectronic performance.