Reversible photo-switching optical functionality in two-dimensional mixed-halide hybrid perovskites

Abstract

Ion migration in halide perovskites is often associated with defects, irreversible processes, and structural instability, making them largely impractical for photo-switching applications. Here, we demonstrate a physical mechanism for reversible, defect-free light-induced halide-ion swapping in two-dimensional mixed-halide perovskites. We find that the halide-ion swapping process arises from strong light-lattice coupling rather than defects. By combining nudged elastic band and photo-force calculations, we show that photo-induced forces perform non-equilibrium work that drives halide ions along the halide-exchange path without reaching the fully swapped configuration. Thus, the cumulative light-induced work can only partially overcome the ground-state activation energy barrier in the presence of light. Analysis of lattice dynamics identifies a few soft phonon modes, two of which are IR-active with oscillator strength $\approx -0.14$ e/(amu)$^{1/2}$, which may be considered the microscopic origin of light-induced halide-ion swapping. This microscopic origin is further supported by band-edge-selective electron-phonon coupling, which amplifies interactions among excited carriers under illumination and with halide-ion motion without inducing a uniform dynamical instability. Using GW (G-Green's function and W-screened Coulomb interaction) calculations, we accurately reproduce the experimentally observed optical absorption spectra in the absence of light, enabling us to describe the light-induced excited state reliably. We demonstrate a clear redshift in the optical spectra in the presence of light, which is due to light-induced bandgap renormalization. Overall, these findings not only establish an intrinsic, defect-free mechanism for photoswitchable optical functionality in 2D mixed-halide perovskites but also demonstrate an intrinsic self-resetting feature in the absence of light.