Unraveling the Origin of Unusual Shift in the Electroluminescence of 1D CsCu2I3 Light-Emitting Diodes

Lead-free low-dimensional copper-based metal halides are promising luminescent materials for broadband LEDs owing to their broad self-trapped exciton (STE) emission. However, recently in 1D CsCu2I3, a discrepancy between their electroluminescence (EL) and photoluminescence (PL) has been observed. As a result, the overall output color from LEDs is significantly different than the anticipated emission. To unveil the origin of this discrepancy, here, we provide comprehensive analyses and show that the shift in the EL is neither caused by any structural/optical interactions between CsCu2I3 and electron transport layers (ETL) nor by the degradation of 1D CsCu2I3. Instead, it depends on the carrier imbalance on CsCu2I3, mainly due to the difference in electron mobility of the ETLs and the electron density on the CsCu2I3 layer. By varying the ETLs, different colored 1D CsCu2I3 LEDs with peaks at 556 nm, 590 nm, and 620 nm are fabricated, and a maximum luminance of over 2000 Cd/m2 is achieved for a 556 nm LED. Further, by limiting the electron mobility and injection to 1D CsCu2I3 using an insulating LiF layer at the CsCu2I3/ETL interface, more red-shifted LEDs are achieved confirming the critical role of electron density on the EL characteristics of 1D CsCu2I3.