Zero-dimensional organic–inorganic hybrid zinc halide with stable broadband blue light emissions†

Blue light emitters are an important composition of the three primary colors. Considering the instability and toxicity of three-dimensional (3D) lead halide perovskites, it is significant to explore lead-free hybrid metal halides with high luminescence efficiency and green and pollution-free synthesis processes as solid blue light-emitting materials. In this work, a novel family of zero-dimensional (0D) hybrid zinc-based halides AZnX₄ (A = N-EtPipz, DMPZ, DAPr-Pipz, and MPPZ; X = Cl and Br) based on discrete [ZnX₄]²⁻ tetrahedrons were prepared by a simple method. When excited by UV light, all the four compounds exhibited bright blue light emissions, and among them, [DAPr-Pipz]ZnBr₆ had a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 27.68%, indicating their potential as high-efficiency blue phosphors for assembling white light-emitting diodes (LEDs).