Non-equilibrium water quenching regulated Mn2+-assisted crystallization of CsPbCl3 microcrystalline glass for enhanced orange-red Mn2+ emission

Spectroscopic screening of Mn:CsPbX 3 (X = Cl, Br, I) nanocrystals embedded in a B–Si–Zn–Al glass matrix identifies CsPbCl 3 as a suitable sensitizing host for Mn 2+ emission because of its favorable energy-level alignment. However, achieving efficient Mn 2+ luminescence in CsPbCl 3 -based microcrystalline glass remains challenging due to the intrinsically weak spin-forbidden d–d excitation of Mn 2+ and the difficulty of precipitating CsPbCl 3 nanocrystals within a rigid glass network. In this work, Mn 2+ incorporation is proposed as an effective strategy to facilitate the local crystallization of CsPbCl 3 nanocrystals, as supported by HRTEM lattice-fringe observations, XPS analysis, and photoluminescence evolution. Combined with non-equilibrium kinetic control, rapid water quenching helps preserve a larger population of small and dispersed Mn:CsPbCl 3 luminescent units, thereby enhancing the macroscopic orange-red emission. The corresponding spectral behavior is consistent with host-mediated sensitization of Mn 2+ . Compared with thermodynamic annealing, which improves intrinsic radiative efficiency through structural relaxation and defect reduction, the water-quenched sample exhibits stronger steady-state photoluminescence despite a lower absolute quantum efficiency. This contrast indicates that the enhanced brightness mainly originates from the increased population of active sensitized Mn 2+ -emitting centers rather than from improved intrinsic efficiency of individual centers. These results suggest that coupling Mn 2+ -assisted local crystallization with non-equilibrium water-quenching control provides a feasible route for designing high-brightness orange-red luminescent microcrystalline glasses.