Publication date: 22nd July 2026
Colloidal perovskite nanocrystals have emerged as building blocks for light-coupled nanomaterials. As the structure of their ordered assemblies (superlattices) becomes better understood, the next challenge is to use this knowledge to engineer functionality, and eventually, some use. In this talk, I will discuss CsPbBr3 perovskite nanocrystal superlattices as structurally coherent, yet soft and disorder-rich, materials whose properties are shaped by surfaces, ligands, and interfaces.
Perovskite nanocrystal superlattices are unusually ordered colloidal nanomaterials. Structural coherence, normally associated with epitaxial materials and single crystals, is a feature of perovskite nanocrystal superlattices, including those made from cubes and nanoplatelets. Combined with quantitative diffraction analysis, this coherence provides access to interparticle spacing, average nanocrystal size, disorder, surface passivation, and information about ligands located between nanocrystals.
This structural understanding opens new directions. First, improved self-assembly and superlattice formation enable structural characterization at the single-superlattice level, using X-ray diffraction to extract information beyond what is accessible in ensemble-averaged experiments. Second, by taking advantage of mild solvent evaporation nanocrystal assembly, colloidal superlattices can be combined with two-dimensional metal halides to form heterostructures with directed energy transfer.
D.B. acknowledges the support from the European Union, ERC Starting Grant PROMETHEUS, project no. 101039683. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
