Controlled synthesis of colloidal all-inorganic lead halide perovskite semiconductor nanocrystals, such as CsPbBr, with tunable size, shape, composition, and crystalline phase have recently attracted wide interest for photonic and optoelectronic applications. Herein, we report a new strategy for using alkyl-thiols to induce the transformation of CsPbBr to perovskite-related cesium lead halide (CsPbBr) with controlled morphology and a crystalline phase at room temperature. By rational tuning the ratios of the alkyl-thiol ligands to alkyl-amines or to alkyl-acids, the as-synthesized colloidal nanocrystals can be rationally controlled from orthorhombic crystalline-phase CsPbBr to tetragonal-phase CsPbBr nanosheets and nanowires with high yield. Significantly, the tetragonal CsPbBr nanowires and nanosheets have high stability in high-temperature and high-humidity environments. These findings may open new directions for large-scale synthesis of shape- and crystalline phase-controlled perovskite nanocrystals for high-performance, low-cost optical electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Lead halide perovskites exhibit outstanding optoelectronic and optical properties. However, some applications of perovskites are hindered by their instability in polar environments; thus, how to balance stability with conductivity is a great challenge. Here, we report a new approach of using X-type ligands to address this issue. Surface treatments containing multi-step ligand exchanges and ion filling were necessary to obtain X-type ligand-protected perovskites. Performances of this material show that: (1) the crystal structure of perovskites is stable in ethanol; (2) surface defects can be fixed by a photoactivation process and photoluminescence intensity can be enhanced to 136%; and (3) electronic devices fabricated from such materials show stabilility even after washing with ethanol. X-type ligand-protected perovskites with high stability and good conductivity are promising new materials for wide applications in electronic and optoelectronics devices.

There is a great need to develop heterostructured nanocrystals which combine two or more different materials into single nanoparticles with combined advantages. Lead halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) have attracted much attention due to their excellent optical properties but their biological applications have not been much explored due to their poor stability and short penetration depth of the UV excitation light in tissues. Combining perovskite QDs with upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) to form hybrid nanocrystals that are stable, NIR excitable and emission tunable is important, however, this is challenging because hexagonal phase UCNP can not be epitaxially grown on cubic phase perovskite QDs directly or vice versa. In this work, one-pot synthesis of perovskite-UCNP hybrid nanocrystals consisting of cubic phase perovskite QDs and hexagonal phase UCNP is reported, to form a watermelon-like heterostructure using cubic phase UCNP as an intermediate transition phase. The nanocrystals are NIR-excitable with much improved stability.