Ultrasound-assisted Zn-doped CsPbCl3 perovskite nanocrystals through Mn co-doping approach with bright luminescence and stability

The commercial applications of lead halide perovskites are limited by their adverse environmental hazards and intrinsic instability. One promising strategy to mitigate the Pb 2+ content is the doping of X 2+ transition metal ions into cesium lead halide CsPbX 3 (where X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs). In this study, an ultrafast high-power ultrasonic synthesis method is employed to ensure uniform nucleation and growth of co-doped (Zn, Mn): CsPbCl 3 PNCs. Various analytical techniques are utilized to investigate the phase purity, microstructure, chemical composition, and photo-luminescence properties of the co-doped PNCs. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the significantly enhanced optical performance of co-doped (Zn, Mn): CsPbCl 3 PNCs is primarily due to the increased formation energy resulting from the successful incorporation of Zn 2+ into Mn-doped CsPbCl 3 PNCs, without introducing new defect states. Additionally, the co-doped (Zn, Mn): CsPbCl 3 PNCs exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity in detecting Cu 2+ ions. Our findings propose a novel approach for tuning the optical properties of co-doped (Zn, Mn): CsPbCl 3 PNCs, highlighting their potential for applications in fluorescence sensors.