Doping the Smallest Shannon Radii Transition Metal Ion Ni(II) for Stabilizing α-CsPbI3 Perovskite Nanocrystals

Red emitting alpha-CsPbI3 nanocrystals are highly phase sensitive to ambient exposure, and B-site doping with suitable cations is adopted as one of the most feasible approaches for their phase stability. There are several reports herein: Ni(II) ions having the smallest transition metal Shannon radii were explored for doping in these nanocrystals. This successfully stabilized the cubic phase and retained the intense emission of nanocrystals for nearly 2 months. Being the smallest ion, the halide octahedra in the perovskite lattice were expected to provide high restraint ability toward delta-CsPbI3. Comparing with postsynthesis iodide treatments, the importance of doping in high temperature reaction was discussed. Finally, these doped nanocrystals were explored for photovoltaic devices and showed comparable efficiency (9.1%) to different other similar doped nanocrystals. Hence, the finding reported here is a step forward for understanding the insights of phase stability of alpha-CsPbI3 perovskite nanocrystals.