Temperature-Dependent Raman Signatures of Local Symmetry Breaking in Vacancy Double Perovskite Cs$_2$SnI$_6$

Abstract

Understanding and controlling the optical, thermal and mechanical properties of K$_2$PtCl$_6$-type double perovskites is essential for the design of lead-free, high-performance thermoelectric and optoelectronic materials. In this study, we investigate Cs$_2$SnI$_6$ using temperature-dependent near-resonance Raman scattering, complemented by density functional theory-based phonon calculations. The appearance of Raman-forbidden phonon modes in the Raman response at cryogenic temperatures provides strong evidence for local symmetry breaking that does not develop into a global structural phase transition. Through detailed analysis of phonon intensities, energies, and spectral lineshapes, we characterize the temperature evolution of the symmetry-broken structural response of Cs$_2$SnI$_6$. Below 200 K, multi-phonon scattering is strongly enhanced, and symmetry-forbidden Raman modes emerge. The temperature dependence of phonon intensities follows a phenomenological Arrhenius behavior, revealing an activation energy of 15-20 meV. These results establish temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy as a sensitive probe of local structural distortions and anharmonic structural dynamics in Cs$_2$SnI$_6$, providing a robust experimental basis for discussing the microscopic origins of symmetry breaking and electron-phonon coupling in halide double perovskites.