Deep-blue narrow-band emissive cesium europium bromide perovskite nanocrystals with record high emission efficiency for wide-color-gamut backlight displaysElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d3mh01631e

Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are highly promising for backlighting display applications due to their high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) and wide color gamut values. However, the practical applications of blue emitters are limited due to the toxicity of lead, unstable structure, and unsatisfactory PLQY. Herein, we report the successful synthesis of divalent europium-based perovskite CsEuBr3NCs using a modified hot injection method. By optimizing the reaction conditions, the CsEuBr3NCs display a deep-blue emission at 443 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 28.5 nm, a color purity of 99.61%, and a record high PLQY of 93.51% for deep-blue narrow-band emissive lead-free perovskite NCs as far as we know. The emission mechanism of CsEuBr3NCs is proved through first-principles calculations and spectral analysis. Notably, the CsEuBr3NCs exhibit remarkable stability when exposed to high temperature, UV irradiation, and long-term sealed storage. The incorporation of CsEuBr3NCs into polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) serving as a converter is utilized for white light-emitting devices (WLEDs). WLEDs for backlight displays achieves a wide color gamut of 127.1% of the National Television System Committee standard (NTSC), 94.9% coverage of the ITU-R Recommendation BT.2020 (Rec.2020), and their half-lifetime is up to 1677 h, providing a promising pathway for highly efficient, environment-friendly and practical liquid crystal display backlights.