Acceleration of radiative recombination for efficient perovskite LEDs

The increasing demands for more efficient and brighter thin-film light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in flat-panel display and solid-state lighting applications have promoted research into three-dimensional (3D) perovskites. These materials exhibit high charge mobilities and low quantum efficiency droop^1–6, making them promising candidates for achieving efficient LEDs with enhanced brightness. To improve the efficiency of LEDs, it is crucial to minimize nonradiative recombination while promoting radiative recombination. Various passivation strategies have been used to reduce defect densities in 3D perovskite films, approaching levels close to those of single crystals³. However, the slow radiative (bimolecular) recombination has limited the photoluminescence quantum efficiencies (PLQEs) of 3D perovskites to less than 80% (refs. ^1,3), resulting in external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) of LED devices of less than 25%. Here we present a dual-additive crystallization method that enables the formation of highly efficient 3D perovskites, achieving an exceptional PLQE of 96%. This approach promotes the formation of tetragonal FAPbI₃ perovskite, known for its high exciton binding energy, which effectively accelerates the radiative recombination. As a result, we achieve perovskite LEDs with a record peak EQE of 32.0%, with the efficiency remaining greater than 30.0% even at a high current density of 100 mA cm⁻². These findings provide valuable insights for advancing the development of high-efficiency and high-brightness perovskite LEDs.