Biexciton Auger recombination in mono-dispersed, quantum-confined CsPbBr₃ perovskite nanocrystals obeys universal volume-scaling

Auger recombination has been a long-standing obstacle to many prospective applications of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) ranging from lasing, light-emitting diodes to bio-labeling. As such, understanding the physical underpinnings and scaling laws for Auger recombination is essential to these applications. Previous studies of biexciton Auger recombination in various QDs established a universal scaling of biexciton lifetime (τ_XX) with QD volume (V): τ_XX = γV. However, recent measurements on perovskite nanocrystals (NCs), an emerging class of enablers for light harvesting and emitting applications, showed significant deviations from this universal scaling law, likely because the measured NCs are weakly-confined and also have relatively broad size-distributions. Here we study biexciton Auger recombination in mono-dispersed (size distributions within 1.7%-9.0%), quantum-confined CsPbBr₃ NCs (with confinement energy up to 410 meV) synthesized using a latest approach based on thermodynamic equilibrium control. Our measurements clearly reproduce the volume-scaling of τ_XX in confined CsPbBr₃ QDs. However, the scaling factor γ (0.085 ± 0.001 ps/nm³) is one order of magnitude lower than that reported for CdSe and PbSe QDs (1.00 ± 0.05 ps/nm³), suggesting unique mechanisms enhancing Auger recombination rate in perovskite NCs.