Elevating Charge Transport Layer for Stable Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes

Ion migration is a major factor affecting the long term stability of perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which limits their commercialization potential. The accumulation of excess halide ions at the grain boundaries of perovskite films is a primary cause of ion migration in these devices. Here, it is demonstrated that the channels of ion migrations can be effectively impeded by elevating the hole transport layer between the perovskite grain boundaries, resulting in highly stable perovskite LEDs. The unique structure is achieved by reducing the wettability of the perovskites, which prevents infiltration of the upper hole-transporting layer into the spaces of perovskite grain boundaries. Consequently, nanosized gaps are formed between the excess halide ions and the hole transport layer, effectively suppressing ion migration. With this structure, perovskite LEDs with operational half-lifetimes of 256 and 1774 h under current densities of 100 and 20 mA cm⁻² respectively are achieved. These lifetimes surpass those of organic LEDs at high brightness. It is further found that this approach can be extended to various perovskite LEDs, showing great promise for promoting perovskite LEDs toward commercial applications.