Investigating a simple and sustainable photoluminescence improvement approach for a highly applicable perovskite-ZIF-8 hybrid material by using water

Abstract

Photoluminescent materials' importance for daily human life attracts researchers to develop them. As one of the highly applicable photoluminescent materials, cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr₃) perovskite quantum dots must be designed to overcome their instability when exposed to moisture in the air. Herein, we utilized zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) to enhance the perovskite photoluminescence intensity and stability to prepare a hybrid perovskite-ZIF-8 material for better performance. This material was developed by improving its photoluminescence uniquely by stirring in water as perovskite is unstable in water. Here, we also focused on the possible reasons behind this phenomenon. Energy transfer from ZIF-8 to perovskite, the ability of zinc from ZIF-8 to dope and de-dope the perovskite crystal, perovskite re-crystallization into another type, size, and morphology, and the formation of some supporting byproducts after stirring in water might be responsible for this enhancement in the hybrid material. The stability of this improved photoluminescence hybrid material lasted for three months, and even when its luminescence intensity decreased, it could be restored by stirring it in water and drying it again. Finally, this approach can contribute to green technology implementation as it does not need harmful chemicals, instead only water, and is suitable for photoluminescence-related applications such as light emitting diodes and fluorescence sensors.