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Self-trapped exciton emission in inorganic copper(I) metal halides

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Abstract

The broad emission and high photoluminescence quantum yield of self-trapped exciton (STE) radiative recombination emitters make them an ideal solution for single-substrate, white, solid-state lighting sources. Unlike impurities and defects in semiconductors, the formation of STEs requires a lattice distortion, along with strong electron-phonon coupling, in low electron-dimensional materials. The photoluminescence of inorganic copper(I) metal halides with low electron-dimensionality has been found to be the result of STEs. These materials were of significant interest because of their lead-free, all-inorganic structures, and high luminous efficiencies. In this paper, we summarize the luminescence characteristics of zero- and one-dimensional inorganic copper(I) metal halides with STEs to provide an overview of future research opportunities.

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Acknowledgements

Q. Hu acknowledges the support from the National Key Research and Development Plan of China (No. 2019YFE0107200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11705277), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (No. 2020CFB700), the Doctoral Research Foundation Project of Hubei University of Arts and Science (No. kyqdf2020023), and Innovation Research Team Project of Hubei University of Arts and Science (No. 2020kypytd001).

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  1. B. Zhang and X. Wu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang, 441053, China

    Boyu Zhang, Xian Wu, Shuxing Zhou, Guijie Liang & Qingsong Hu

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  1. Boyu Zhang
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  2. Xian Wu
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  3. Shuxing Zhou
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  4. Guijie Liang
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Correspondence to Qingsong Hu.

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Boyu Zhang is currently a postgraduate student of the Hubei Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Hubei University of Arts and Science, China. His research interests are focused on optoelectronic materials and ultrafast spectroscopy.

Xian Wu is currently a postgraduate student of the Hubei Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Hubei University of Arts and Science, China. His research interests are focused on the optoelectronic materials and ultrafast spectroscopy.

Shuxing Zhou is currently a lecturer of Hubei University of Arts and Science, China. He received his Ph.D. degree in Electronics from Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China in 2016. His current research interests are focused on the electronic material devices and their reliability.

Guijie Liang is currently a professor and vice-director of the Hubei Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Hubei University of Arts and Science, China. He obtained his Ph.D. degree from the Department of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China in 2011. His current research interests include low dimensional optoelectronic materials and ultrafast spectroscopy.

Qingsong Hu received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry and Material from Zhejiang University of Technology, China in 2016. He then completed his post-doctoral research at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China from 2016 to 2020. He is currently an associate professor of Hubei University of Arts and Science, China. His research interests are focused on the novel luminescent material, phenomena, and mechanism.

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Zhang, B., Wu, X., Zhou, S. et al. Self-trapped exciton emission in inorganic copper(I) metal halides. Front. Optoelectron. 14, 459–472 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-021-1133-4

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