Precursor silanization assisted synthesis and optical tuning of dual-phase perovskite nanocrystals embedded in silica matrix with high environmental stability

Ligand-assisted re-precipitation (LARP) is one of the most practicing techniques for synthesizing colloidal nanocrystals (NCs). But due to its fast reaction kinetics, it offers limited synthesis control. In the present study, we report a novel, precursor silanization-based room temperature technique unveiling slow crystallization of Cs4PbBr6/CsPbBr3 dual-phase nanocrystals (DPNCs) protected with a dense silica cloud-like matrix. Unlike conventional LARP, we can observe the tuneable optical bandgap of the DPNCs as a function of reaction time because of the slow reaction kinetics. The as-synthesized DPNCs exhibit a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 76% with ultrahigh stability while retaining ∼ 100% of their initial PLQY in an ambient environment with a relative humidity of 55% for more than 1 year. DPNCs demonstrates ambient photostability of 560 h, and water stability of 25 days. This interesting precursor silanization technique developed here can be extended for the synthesis of other nanomaterials.