In this paper, the phase formation mechanism of formamidinium (FA)-based Dion-Jacobson (DJ) perovskites is uncovered for the first time, which includes the formation of the n1 domain (n = 1 perovskite phase) and a trace amount of the large n domain in the spin-coating process and the growth of the n2 domain and the large n domain during the thermal annealing stage. The phase formation mechanism clearly reveals the different phase distributions between FA-based Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) and FA-based DJ perovskite films at different stages of film preparation due to the larger formation energy of the DJ perovskites. According to this phase formation mechanism, we put forward an effective strategy of the small A-site cation compositional engineering. Then, excess perovskitizer cations (FA+) are introduced to increase the crystallinity, modulate the phase distribution and passivate defects without disturbing the structure of DJ perovskites simultaneously. The final green-light DJ PeLED devices show a maximum luminance of 41 520 cd/m2 and a maximum current efficiency of 31.1 cd/A (EQE: 8.5%), which are the record values so far. The final DJ PeLEDs show an improved operational lifetime of ca. 15 min at an initial luminance of ca. 800 cd/m2. Our results suggest that DJ perovskites can be promising for light-emitting applications.
Keywords: Dion-Jacobson perovskite light-emitting diodes; compositional engineering; mixed antisolvent; phase distribution; phase formation mechanism.