Facile synthesis of Sb³⁺-doped (Bmim)₂InCl₅(H₂O) through a grinding method for light-emitting diodes

Organic-inorganic metal hybrid halides (OIMHs) as a new kind of photoelectric material have gained much attention in recent years because of their excellent performance in solid-state lighting applications. However, the preparation of most OIMHs is complex and requires a long preparation time in addition to the solvent providing the reaction environment. This greatly limits their further applications. Here, we synthesized zero-dimensional lead-free OIMH (Bmim)₂InCl₅(H₂O) (Bmim = 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) by a facile grinding method at room temperature. Through Sb³⁺ doping, Sb³⁺:(Bmim)₂InCl₅(H₂O) shows a bright broadband emission centered at 618 nm under UV excitation, which could be attributed to the self-trapped exciton (STE) emission of Sb³⁺ ions. To explore their ability in the field of solid-state lighting, a white-light-emitting diode (WLED) device based on Sb³⁺:(Bmim)₂InCl₅(H₂O) with a high color rendering index of 90 was fabricated. This work enriches In³⁺-based OIMHs and provides a new direction for the simple fabrication of OIMHs.