Bandgap and Photoluminescence Tunability of Lead-Free Cs3Bi2(Br,I)9 Solid Solution Compounds

Herein, lead-free, mixed-halide perovskites of cesium bismuth bromide/iodide are synthesized by a hydrothermal method, and their structures and optical properties of the solid solution compounds are examined. The synthesized compounds exhibit X-ray diffraction patterns similar to that of trigonal Cs3Bi2Br9 (CBB), whose reflections are shifted to lower angles depending on the experimental iodine content. Very interestingly, even with the excessive introduction of iodine content in nominal, the symmetry of the crystals is kept to be trigonal, indicating that bromide CBB and iodide Cs3Bi2I9 (CBI) are crystallographically mixed in a facile way, although the stable crystal form of CBI is hexagonal. The optical properties of bandgap energy E-g and photoluminescence (PL) for the synthesized crystals are also examined. It is found that E-g decreases and PL peak position is correspondingly shifted to a longer wavelength with an increase in the experimental iodine content due to their band-to-band transitions. Moreover, first-principles calculation suggests the reduction of E-g with iodine content and the varied nature of band structure from direct (trigonal CBB) to indirect (trigonal CBI) transition. These novel findings can make the proposed strategy successful for developing lead-free, mixed-halide Bi-based perovskite crystals with the tunability of their optical properties.