We report a facile solution-based approach to the in situ growth of perovskite films consisting of monolayers of CsPbBr nanoplates passivated by bulky phenylbutylammonium (PBA) cations, that is, two-dimensional layered PBA(CsPbBr)PbBr perovskites. Optimizing film formation processes leads to layered perovskites with controlled n values in the range of 12-16. The layered perovskite emitters show quantum-confined band gap energies with a narrow distribution, suggesting the formation of thickness-controlled quantum-well (TCQW) structures. The TCQW CsPbBr films exhibit smooth surface features, narrow emission line widths, low trap densities, and high room-temperature photoluminance quantum yields, resulting in high-color-purity green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with remarkably high external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of up to 10.4%. The solution-based approach is extended to the preparation of TCQW CsPbI films for high-color-purity red perovskite LEDs with high EQEs of up to 7.3%.

Dion–Jacobson (DJ) phase halide perovskites have attracted extensive attention in photovoltaic devices due to their significantly enhanced stability when compared with conventional 3D analogs. However, fundamental questions concerning the quantum well (QW) barrier thicknesses, which are critical to design efficient DJ phase perovskite photovoltaics, remain unknown. Herein, it is unambiguously demonstrated that QW barrier thickness, depending on bulky organic ammonium spacers with different chain lengths, such as 1.3‐propanediamine (PDA), 1.4‐butanediamine (BDA), 1.5‐pentamethylenediamine (PeDA), and 1.6‐hexamethylenediamine (HDA), allows the control of orientation and QW distribution. The DJ phase perovskites based on PDA and BDA have suitable QW barrier thicknesses, which exhibit excellent orientation and more uniform QW distribution, allowing a smooth bandgap transition that leads to longer carrier diffusion length, higher charge mobility, and lower defect density. Conversely, PeDA and HDA, with thicker QW barriers, result in lower orientation and multiple DJ perovskite phases. DJ phase perovskite photovoltaic devices based on PDA and BDA show significantly improved power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 14.16% and 16.38% compared with PCEs of 12.95% and 10.55% for PeDA and HDA analogs, respectively.

Luminogens with colorful ultralong organic phosphorescence (UOP) are in high demand because of various potential applications in optoelectronics. Herein, we report a concise approach to tune UOP based on the same chromophores of carbazole and phthalimide units through alkyl engineering. With flexible alkyl increase, UOP emission colors can be controllably tuned from green to orange along with lifetime variation. Furthermore, these phosphors were endowed with unexpected visible-light excitation, mechanochromism, and mechanoluminescence properties simultaneously. Additionally, colorful UOP with diverse emission lifetime was first applied to the 4D code for information encryption. These findings will open a door to explore multifunctional organic phosphorescence materials and expand their potential applications.

Since the discovery of graphene, van der Waals (vdW) two-dimensional (2D) materials have attracted considerable attention for various potential applications. Recently, a Se-terminated bismuth oxychalcogenide, Bi2O2Se, has been fabricated using the vapor deposition method. Bi2O2Se is not a vdW 2D material, but the as-grown substance shows 2D characteristics. For example, Bi2O2Se exhibits layer number-dependent absorption spectra in experiments, but until now, there has been no reasonable explanation as to why. Here, we propose a 50% Se-passivation surface model, which elucidates the production of such spectra. Our model is also consistent with recent observations using scanning tunneling microscopy. Moreover, high-resolution transmission electron microcopy observations show a broken zipper-like structure in Bi2O2Se. We ascribe Bi2O2Se as a zipper 2D material, and we summarize the characteristics of zipper 2D materials while proposing the development of others. Zipper 2D materials not only are an important subset of 2D materials but also bridge the gap between vdW 2D materials and traditional 3D materials. Because they are a big family, including insulators, semiconductors, and magnetic metals, zipper 2D materials lend themselves to a plethora of applications.