Superhydrophobic luminous nanocomposites from CsPbX₃ perovskite nanocrystals encapsulated in organosilica

All-inorganic (CsPbX₃, X = Cl, Br, I) perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) demonstrate promising optoelectronic properties, provided their poor stabilities can be overcome. Herein, a facile in-situ encapsulating strategy is proposed to form super-hydrophobic nanocomposites (abbr. PNC@SSiP) on a large scale by incorporating CsPbBr₃ NCs into organosilica nanoparticles, which reduces degradation and improves the environmental stabilities. The resulting nanocomposites demonstrated monodispersed CsPbBr₃ NCs (5–6 nm) embedded homogeneously in the organosilica matrix, and a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY over 50%). The PNC@SSiP exhibited extraordinary stability towards water, enhanced thermal stability and photostability. However, photoluminescent (PL) decay of less than 20% can be monitored if the PNC@SSiP nanocomposites are immersed in water for 60 days. In addition, a high static contact angle for water (152.44 ± 0.97°) further indicates excellent super-hydrophobicity of the nanocomposites. The super-hydrophobic PNC@SSiP nanocomposites can be used for fabricating luminous devices, such as white light emitting diode (WLED), further demonstrating the potential value of the obtained nanocomposites as a stable luminophore in optoelectronic applications. This novel synthesis strategy greatly widens the methods for fabricating highly stable perovskite materials in optoelectronic applications.