Deconvoluting the energy transport mechanisms in all-inorganic CsPb2Br5/CsPbBr3 perovskite composite systems

CsPb2Br5/CsPbBr3 composite systems have received considerable attention among numerous lead halide perovskite materials due to their significantly enhanced photoluminescence intensity and stability against moisture. However, the luminescence mechanism of CsPb2Br5 based materials remains controversial, which significantly hinders the further material design and utilization for optoelectronic devices. In this work, to deconvolute their luminescent mechanisms, high-quality CsPb2Br5 crystals without any undesired by-products and impurities have been first prepared by a microwave-assisted synthesis method. The luminescence-inactive characteristics of the material are then confirmed by the steady-state absorption, photoluminescence, transient absorption spectra, and time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy. The prepared CsPb2Br5 crystals exhibit excellent crystallinity and enhanced thermal stability, particularly that they can maintain their crystalline structures in polar organic solvents. By simply manipulating the ratios of different precursor materials, it is witnessed that the green emission comes from the CsPbBr3 adhered, nucleated, and grown on the CsPb2Br5 crystals. Ultrafast transient absorption measurements in visible and terahertz spectral regions reveal that with the help of phonon scattering-assisted hopping at interfacial states, intersystem crossing dominates the electron transfer process in the composite crystals. As a result, the CsPb2Br5 and CsPbBr3 interact extensively with each other. Meanwhile, the Auger recombination rate and the defect-related non-radiative process are suppressed in the composite crystals, thereby enhancing the fluorescence of composite crystals. This work has not only deconvoluted the controversial and unclear luminescent mechanisms of CsPb2Br5 materials but also established a pathway to design and enhance the fluorescence of materials for technological applications.