Small Crystals, Big Physics: What Nanocrystals Teach Us About Halide Perovskites

Date

May 7, 2026

Time

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Speaker

Prof. Dr. Alexander Urban

Affiliation

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)

Language

en

Main Topic

Materialien

Host

Ines Firlle

Description

Halide perovskites have transformed solar energy, but controlling their properties with precision remains a central challenge. In this talk, I will show how we can move beyond trial-and-error synthesis toward a more predictive and programmable approach to perovskite nanocrystals. Using chemistry-aware machine learning, we establish a data-efficient framework that enables nanometer-precise control over emission wavelength, linewidth, and quantum yield—effectively allowing us to “dial in” optical properties on demand. Combined with a mechanistic understanding of nanocrystal growth, this provides a pathway toward reproducible and targeted materials design. But what ultimately determines these optical properties? To answer this, we turn to nanoscale spectroscopy. By systematically varying nanocrystal size and shape, we uncover a surprisingly simple picture: light absorption is governed by volume, while carrier recombination and many-body interactions depend sensitively on geometry. Pushing further, new cavity-enhanced techniques allow us to directly measure absorption at the level of just a few nanocrystals, linking structure, emission, and absorption within the same nanoscale object. These insights reveal a unifying perspective: precise synthesis and nanoscale physics are not separate challenges, but two sides of the same problem. And together they define how we design the next generation of perovskite optoelectronic materials.

Links

• Seminars at the IFW

Last modified: May 7, 2026, 7:38:33 AM