Thermodynamically guided kilogram-scale precipitation of copper iodide clusters for efficient solution-processed light-emitting diodes.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42127171.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aef2453 and PMC identifier 13170651.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Copper halide clusters are emerging as attractive electroluminescent materials due to their strong emission and heavy metal-free nature, but their cost-effective practical application has been limited by the inherent trade-off between scalable synthesis and solution processability. This dilemma motivates us to design a universal thermodynamically motivated molecular design strategy. Alkyl-free aromatic ligand diphenyl-2-pyridylphosphine (Ph<sub>2</sub>PPy) reduces the entropy gain and increases the enthalpy change in dissolution, which maximizes the tunability of solubility and allows the coexistence of scalable single-step precipitation and solution processability. The kilogram-scale synthesis demonstrates near-unity yield, high reproducibility, operational robustness, and high product purity, while also being applicable to other alkyl-free precursors. We achieve uniform crystalline films with a photoluminescence quantum yield of 85.49% by kinetically controlled hot solution process. The electroluminescent devices achieve a record external quantum efficiency of 21.08% and a maximum luminance of 66,388 candela per square meter-the highest among doping-free, solution-processed copper halides, paving the way toward cost-effective light-emitting technologies.