Lead-free cesium tin halide nanocrystals for light-emitting diodes and color down conversion

Organometal halide perovskites are attracting a great deal of attention because of their long carrier diffusion lengths, wide wavelength tunability, and narrow-band emission. However, the toxicity of lead has caused considerable environmental and health concerns. In this work, lead-free cesium tin halide nanocrystals are synthesized and investigated. CsSnBr₃ and CsSnI₃ nanocrystals, 25 and 7 nm in size, are synthesized by a facile hot injection method. Absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction were used to understand their structural and optical properties. CsSnBr₃ and CsSnI₃ nanocrystals show emission peaks at 683 and 938 nm, respectively. These nanocrystals show shelf stability for a few months. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence is utilized to know more about fundamental physical parameters, such as exciton binding energy, charge carrier-phonon interactions and band gap. Light-emitting diodes and color down-conversion films are also demonstrated using these lead free perovskite nanocrystals.