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Two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper hybrid lead halide perovskites have become a major topic in perovskite optoelectronics. Here, we aim to unravel the ultrafast dynamics governing the evolution of charge carriers and excitons in these materials. Using a combination of ultrabroadband time-resolved THz (TRTS) and fluorescence upconversion spectroscopies, we find that sequential carrier cooling and exciton formation best explain the observed dynamics, where exciton-exciton interactions play an important role in the form of Auger heating and biexciton formation. We show that the presence of a longer-lived population of carriers is due to these processes and not to a Mott transition. Therefore, excitons still dominate at laser excitation densities. We use kinetic modeling to compare the phenethylammonium and butylammonium organic cations while investigating the stability of the resulting films. In addition, we demonstrate the capability of using ultrabroadband TRTS to study excitons in large binding energy semiconductors through spectral analysis at room temperature.

The outstanding photovoltaic performances of lead halide perovskite (LHP) thin film solar cells are due in particular to the large diffusion length of photocarriers. The mechanism behind this property and its dependence on the various anions and cations in the LHP material composition are still an active topic of debate. Here, we apply ultrabroadband terahertz spectroscopy with a time resolution < 200 fs to probe the early carrier mobility dynamics of photoexcited perovskite samples of different chemical compositions. An increase in the carrier mobility with time constants in the range of 0.3 to 0.7 ps is observed for different LHPs, in which the signal amplitude is larger at shorter excitation wavelengths. This feature is assigned to the relaxation of hot carriers from low-curvature regions of the band structure to the bottom of the valley, where their effective mass accounts for the maximum mobility. The dependence of the mobility dynamics on the initial photogenerated carrier population shows that carrier cooling competes with a dynamic screening effect associated with polaron formation and relaxation. A kinetic model that considers all competing processes is proposed. Simulations based on this model allow us to fit the experimental data well and evidence a composition dependence of the dynamic screening lifetime., Comment: Main text: 17 pages, 3 figures, 2 schemes, 2 tables. Attached supplementary information: 6 pages, 4 figures

Organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites containing a mixture of iodide and bromide anions consistently perform better in donor-acceptor heterojunction solar cells than the standard methylammonium lead triiodide material. This observation is counterintuitive, as it is generally expected for photovoltaic materials that heterogeneities and compositional disorder cause reduced carrier diffusion length and conversion efficiency. Here, we combine ultrafast photoinduced electroabsorption and broadband fluorescence up-conversion spectroscopy measurements to scrutinize the carrier dynamics in mixed-cations, mixed-halide lead perovskite thin films. Our results evidence the formation of charge transfer excitons (CTE) across the boundaries of domains of various halide compositions. A global analysis of photoinduced transient Stark signals shows that CTE evolve gradually from Br-rich to I-rich domains over tens to hundreds of picoseconds. Rather than constituting recombination centres, boundaries between domains of various halide compositions appear then to favour charge carrier separation by driving photogenerated holes along channels of decreasing bromide content., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures

Wave packet propagation succeeding electron transfer (ET) from alizarin dye molecules into the nanocrystalline TiO2 semiconductor has been studied by ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. Due to the ultrafast time scale of the ET reaction of about 6 fs the system shows substantial differences to molecular ET systems. We show that the ET process is not mediated by molecular vibrations and therefore classical ET theories lose their applicability. Here the ET reaction itself prepares a vibrational wave packet and not the electromagnetic excitation by the laser pulse. Furthermore, the generation of phonons during polaron formation in the TiO2 lattice is observed in real time for this system. The presented investigations enable an unambiguous assignment of the involved photoinduced mechanisms and can contribute to a corresponding extension of molecular ET theories to ultrafast ET systems like alizarin/TiO2., Comment: This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) (Hu 1006/6-1, WA 1850/6-1) and European Union projects FDML-Raman (FP7 ERC StG, contract no. 259158) and ENCOMOLE-2i (Horizon 2020, ERC CoG no. 646669)

Iodine added to iodide-based ionic liquids leads to extraordinarily efficient charge transport, vastly exceeding that expected for such viscous systems. Using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy, in conjunction with dc conductivity, diffusivity and viscosity measurements we unravel the conductivity pathways in 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium iodide melts. This study presents evidence of the Grotthuss mechanism as a significant contributor to the conductivity, and provides new insights into ion pairing processes as well as the formation of polyiodides. The terahertz and transport results are reunited in a model providing a quantitative description of the conduction by physical diffusion and the Grotthuss bond-exchange process. These novel results are important for the fundamental understanding of conduction in molten salts and for applications where ionic liquids are used as charge-transporting media such as in batteries and dye-sensitized solar cells., Comment: Article: 17 pages, 3 figures. Supplementary information: 14 pages, 6 figures. Table of contents figure: 1 page. Accepted for publication in ChemPhysChem