Understanding size dependence of phase stability and band gap in CsPbI₃ perovskite nanocrystals

Inorganic halide perovskites CsPbX₃ (X = Cl, Br, I) have been widely studied as colloidal quantum dots for their excellent optoelectronic properties. Not only is the long-term stability of these materials improved via nanostructuring, their optical bandgaps are also tunable by the nanocrystal (NC) size. However, theoretical understanding of the impact of the NC size on the phase stability and bandgap is still lacking. In this work, the relative phase stability of CsPbI₃ as a function of the crystal size and the chemical potential is investigated by density functional theory. The optically active phases (α- and γ-phase) are found to be thermodynamically stabilized against the yellow δ-phase by reducing the size of the NC below 5.6 nm in a CsI-rich environment. We developed a more accurate quantum confinement model to predict the change in bandgaps at the sub-10 nm regime by including a finite-well effect. These predictions have important implications for synthesizing ever more stable perovskite NCs and bandgap engineering.