Ultraviolet Emission from Cerium‐Based Organic‐Inorganic Hybrid Halides and Their Abnormal Anti‐Thermal Quenching Behavior

Rare earth elements are widely employed and investigated as dopants in luminescent materials because of their ability to modulate hosts’ specific physical and chemical properties. However, stable phosphors crystallized with pure rare earth elements are few and hence their potential for wider utilization is largely limited. Herein, two examples of cerium (Ce)‐based organic–inorganic hybrid halides, (DFPD)4CeX7 (DFPD+ = 4,4‐difluoropiperidinium; X− = Cl− and Br−) and (DFPD)CeCl4·2MeOH are demonstrated. The Cl compositions of both examples are capable of emitting the fascinating ultraviolet (UV) light (350–375 nm), which represents the shortest emission wavelength ever reported in existing metal halide perovskites. Moreover, the resulting crystals are of high quality, which have intrinsic photoluminescence quantum yields of 95%–100%. Besides, in contrast to their all‐inorganic counterparts like Ce3CeBr6, the proposed two forms of Ce3+‐based halides show abnormal anti‐thermal quenching behavior (≈128% of emission intensity at 420 K relative to 80 K), being particularly applicable for practical use in a heated environment. A phosphor‐converted light‐emitting diode fabricated with (DFPD)4CeCl7 demonstrates stable UV emission (840 min) and has a high external quantum efficiency of 1%. This study opens up the way to a possible design of robust UV‐emitting structures based on rare earth hybrid metal halides. Two novel compounds of “perovskite‐inspired” organic–inorganic metal halides are reported, both emit strong short‐wavelength UV light (350–375 nm) with a high intrinsic photoluminescence quantum yield of ≈100%. Besides, the proposed two kinds of Ce3+ complexes show abnormal anti‐thermal quenching behavior, whose photoluminescence intensity increases monotonically with the increase of temperature, rendering them practically feasible for use in a heated environment.