Mechanism of Photoluminescence Intermittency in Organic–Inorganic Perovskite Nanocrystals

Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals have demonstrated their potential as active materials for optoelectronic applications over the past few years. Nevertheless, one issue that hampers their applicability has to do with the observation of photoluminescence intermittency, commonly referred to as “blinking”, as in their inorganic counterparts. Such behavior, reported for structures well above the quantum confinement regime, has been discussed to be strongly related to the presence of charge carrier traps. In this work, we analyze the characteristics of this intermittency and explore the dependence on the surrounding atmosphere, showing evidence for the critical role played by the presence of oxygen. We discuss a possible mechanism in which a constant creation/annihilation of halide-related carrier traps takes place under light irradiation, with the dominant rate being determined by the atmosphere.