Mixed-halide (Cl and Br) perovskite nanocrystals (NCs)
are of particular
interest because they hold great potential for use in high-efficiency
blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Generally, mixed-halide compounds
are obtained by either a one-step synthesis with simultaneous addition
of both halide precursors or a postsynthetic anion exchange using
the opposite halogen. However, both strategies fail to prevent the
formation of deep-level Cl vacancy defects, rendering the photoluminescence
quantum yields (PLQYs) typically lower than 30%. Here, by optimizing
both thermodynamic and kinetic processes, we devise a two-step hot-injection
approach, which simultaneously realizes Cl vacancy filling and efficient
anion exchange between Cl– and Br–. Both the identity of Br precursors and their injection temperature
are revealed to be critical in transforming those highly defective
CsPbCl3 NCs to defect-free CsPb(Cl/Br)3. The
optimally synthesized NCs exhibit a saturated blue emission at ∼460
nm with a near-unity PLQY and a narrow emission bandwidth of 18 nm,
which represents one of the most efficient blue emitters reported
so far. The turn-on voltage of the ensuing LEDs is ∼4.0 V,
which is lower than those of most other mixed-halide perovskites.
In addition, LEDs exhibit a stable electroluminescence peak at 460
nm under a high bias voltage of 8.0 V. We anticipate that our findings
will provide new insights into the materials design strategies for
producing high-optoelectronic-quality Cl-containing perovskites.