The slow bimolecular recombination that drives three-dimensional lead-halide perovskites' outstanding photovoltaic performance is conversely a fundamental limitation for electroluminescence. Under electroluminescence working conditions with typical charge densities lower than 1015 cm−3, defect-states trapping in three-dimensional perovskites competes effectively with the bimolecular radiative recombination. Herein, we overcome this limitation using van-der-Waals-coupled Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite multi-quantum-wells. Injected charge carriers are rapidly localized from adjacent thin few layer (n≤4) multi-quantum-wells to the thick (n≥5) multi-quantum-wells with extremely high efficiency (over 85%) through quantum coupling. Light emission originates from excitonic recombination in the thick multi-quantum-wells at much higher decay rate and efficiency than bimolecular recombination in three-dimensional perovskites. These multi-quantum-wells retain the simple solution processability and high charge carrier mobility of two-dimensional lead-halide perovskites. Importantly, these Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites offer new functionalities unavailable in single phase constituents, permitting the transcendence of the slow bimolecular recombination bottleneck in lead-halide perovskites for efficient electroluminescence.

rapidly (within hundreds of femtoseconds), making HCs extraction extremely challenging. A reduced HC cooling rate in solar absorbers is therefore a key material criterion for realizing HCSC.Halide perovskites possess novel slow HC cooling properties favorable for development as HCSC. Since the first reports of slow HC cooling (≈0.4 ps) in MAPbI 3 polycrystalline thin films, [7,8] there have been growing interests about this novel phenomenon. Li et al. reported a drastic slowdown of HC cooling by a further two orders in MAPbBr 3 colloidal nanocrystals (≈30 ps) at high pump fluence and demonstrated efficient (≈83%) extraction of HCs with an energy-selective organic layer. [9] Long HC transport lengths (≈600 nm) in MAPbI 3 thin films were visualized by Huang et al. [10] These exciting findings forebode the potential of perovskite HCSCs that could dramatically boost perovskite solar cell efficiencies beyond their SQ limits. Presently, the origins and mechanisms of slow HC cooling in halide perovskites remain fragmented and confusing with disparate models being proposed. A clear understanding of the intrinsic photophysics of HC cooling is essential for further technological developments.In this review, we examine the milestones and advancements of slow HC cooling in halide perovskites and distill their photophysical mechanisms. We begin with a brief introduction of the operation principles of HCSCs and carrier relaxation processes, followed by highlighting the seminal experimental and theoretical works on slow HC cooling in halide perovskites, before explicating their origins and mechanisms. A developmental toolbox for engineering slow HC cooling in halide perovskites and developing new perovskite materials with slower HC cooling will also be discussed. Lastly, we highlight the challenges and opportunities for perovskite HCSCs. How Hot Carriers Can Be Used?We begin with a quick overview of the several concepts for highefficiency solar cells. Figure 1a illustrates the energy band diagram of a typical single junction solar cell with its major energy loss processes following light illumination. [11,12] In all solar cells, photons possessing energies greater than the semiconductor bandgap can create free carriers or excitons with excess energies above the bandgap. These carriers or excitons with a temperature higher than the lattice temperature are termed "hot Rapid hot-carrier cooling is a major loss channel in solar cells. Thermodynamic calculations reveal a 66% solar conversion efficiency for single junction cells (under 1 sun illumination) if these hot carriers are harvested before cooling to the lattice temperature. A reduced hot-carrier cooling rate for efficient extraction is a key enabler to this disruptive technology. Recently, halide perovskites emerge as promising candidates with favorable hot-carrier properties: slow hot-carrier cooling lifetimes several orders of magnitude longer than conventional solar cell absorbers, longrange hot-carrier transport (up to ≈600 nm), and highly efficient hot-carrier extractio...

Multiple exciton generation (MEG) or carrier multiplication, a process that spawns two or more electron–hole pairs from an absorbed high-energy photon (larger than two times bandgap energy Eg), is a promising way to augment the photocurrent and overcome the Shockley–Queisser limit. Conventional semiconductor nanocrystals, the forerunners, face severe challenges from fast hot-carrier cooling. Perovskite nanocrystals possess an intrinsic phonon bottleneck that prolongs slow hot-carrier cooling, transcending these limitations. Herein, we demonstrate enhanced MEG with 2.25Eg threshold and 75% slope efficiency in intermediate-confined colloidal formamidinium lead iodide nanocrystals, surpassing those in strongly confined lead sulfide or lead selenide incumbents. Efficient MEG occurs via inverse Auger process within 90 fs, afforded by the slow cooling of energetic hot carriers. These nanocrystals circumvent the conundrum over enhanced Coulombic coupling and reduced density of states in strongly confined nanocrystals. These insights may lead to the realization of next generation of solar cells and efficient optoelectronic devices.

Although multiphoton-pumped lasing from a solution of chromophores is important in the emerging fields of nonlinear optofluidics and bio-photonics, conventionally used organic dyes are often rendered unsuitable because of relatively small multiphoton absorption cross-sections and low photostability. Here, we demonstrate highly photostable, ultralow-threshold multiphoton-pumped biexcitonic lasing from a solution of colloidal CdSe/CdS nanoplatelets within a cuvette-based Fabry–Pérot optical resonator. We find that colloidal nanoplatelets surprisingly exhibit an optimal lateral size that minimizes lasing threshold. These nanoplatelets possess very large gain cross-sections of 7.3 × 10−14 cm2 and ultralow lasing thresholds of 1.2 and 4.3 mJ cm−2 under two-photon (λexc=800 nm) and three-photon (λexc=1.3 μm) excitation, respectively. The highly polarized emission from the nanoplatelet laser shows no significant photodegradation over 107 laser shots. These findings constitute a more comprehensive understanding of the utility of colloidal semiconductor nanoparticles as the gain medium in high-performance frequency-upconversion liquid lasers.

Two‐dimensional lead and tin halide perovskites were prepared by intercalating the long alkyl group 1‐hexadecylammonium (HDA) between the inorganic layers. We observed visible‐light absorption, narrow‐band photoluminescence, and nanosecond photoexcited lifetimes in these perovskites. Owing to their hydrophobicity and stability even in humid air, we applied these perovskites in the decarboxylation and dehydrogenation of indoline‐2‐carboxylic acids. (HDA)2PbI4 or (HDA)2SnI4 were investigated as photoredox catalysts for these reactions, and quantitative conversion and high yields were observed with the former.

The fast hot‐carrier cooling process in the solar‐absorbers fundamentally limits their photon‐conversion efficiencies. It is highly desirable to develop a solar absorber with long‐lived hot‐carriers at sun‐illumination intensity, which can be used to develop the hot‐carrier solar cells with enhanced efficiency. Herein, we reveal that zinc‐doped (0.34 %) halide perovskites have the slower hot‐carrier cooling compared with the pristine sample through the transient absorption spectroscopy measurements and theoretical calculations. The hot‐carrier energy loss rate at the low photoexcitation level of 1017 cm−3 is found to be ≈3 times smaller than that of un‐doped perovskites for T=500 K hot carriers, and up to ten times when the hot‐carrier temperature approaches the lattice temperature. The incorporation of zinc‐dopant into perovskites can reduce the nonadiabatic couplings between conduction bands, which retards the photogenerated hot‐carriers relaxation processes. Our findings present a practical strategy to slow down the hot‐carrier cooling in perovskites at low carrier densities, which would be invaluable for the further development of practical hot‐carrier photovoltaics based on perovskites.

The origins of the commonly observed green emission (GE) from ZnO nanostructures remain highly controversial despite extensive studies over the past few decades. Herein, through a comprehensive ultrafast optical spectroscopy study, new insights into its origin and the charge trapping dynamics at the GE centers in ZnO nanowires prepared by the vapor transport method are gained. Transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) revealed a sub-band-gap absorption bleaching band arising from the state filling of the electrons in the conduction band and holes trapped in the GE centers. The GE originates from the recombination between the electrons in the conduction band and/or shallow donor levels and the holes trapped at the GE centers (which are located at ∼0.88 eV above the valence band). Importantly, an ultrafast excitonic Auger-type hole trapping process to the GE centers occurring in a subpicosecond time scale was also uncovered by TAS-shedding new light on the mechanism behind the fast and efficient charge trapping of photoexcited carriers. The knowledge gained is crucial for the development of ZnO-based optoelectronic devices.

We fabricated a single active layer quantum dot light-emitting diode device based on colloidal CdSe (core)/CdS (arm) tetrapod nanostructures capable of simultaneously producing room temperature electroluminesence (EL) peaks at two spectrally distinct wavelengths, namely, at ∼500 and ∼660 nm. This remarkable dual EL was found to originate from the CdS arms and CdSe core of the tetrapod architecture, which implies that the radiative recombination of injected charge carriers can independently take place at spatially distinct regions of the tetrapod. In contrast, control experiments employing CdSe-core-seeded CdS nanorods showed near-exclusive EL from the CdSe core. Time-resolved spectroscopy measurements on tetrapods revealed the presence of hole traps, which facilitated the localization and subsequent radiative recombination of excitons in the CdS arm regions, whereas excitonic recombination in nanorods took place predominantly within the vicinity of the CdSe core. These observations collectively highlight the role of morphology in the achievement of light emission from the different material components in heterostructured semiconductor nanoparticles, thus showing a way in developing a class of materials which are capable of exhibiting multiwavelength electroluminescence.