Research Highlights 2016

Luminescent Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals Embedded in Mesoporous Silica

By soaking mesoporous silica with perovskite precursor solutions followed by drying, lead halide perovskite nanocrystals are formed inside the silica pores (Figure: HAADF-STEM image of a SiO₂ sample with 7 nm pores partially filled with CsPbI₃ nanoparticles). This material shows very bright photoluminescence (inset).

Harnessing Defect-Tolerance at the Nanoscale: Highly Luminescent Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals in Mesoporous Silica Matrices
D. N. Dirin, L. Protesescu, D. Trummer, I. V. Kochetygov, S. Yakunin, F. Krumeich, N. P. Stadie, and M. V. Kovalenko
Nano Letters 16 (2016) 5866−5874, DOI

In-Situ Heating of Carbon-Coated LiFePO₄

The thermal behavior of core-shell carbon-coated LiFePO₄ nanoparticles, a promising battery material made by flame spray pyrolysis, during annealing was investigated by in-situ TEM. At a temperature of T = 700 °C, LiFePO₄ starts to diffuse through the carbon shell resulting in cavities inside the mostly intact carbon shell. By increasing the temperature to T = 800 °C, the initial core-shell morphology is converted into open carbon shells and bulky LiFePO₄ particles.

Thermal Annealing Dynamics of Carbon-Coated LiFePO₄ Nanoparticles Studied by In-Situ Analysis
F. Krumeich, O. Waser, and S. E. Pratsinis
J. Solid State Chem. 242 (2016) 96–102, DOI