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Sinusoidal Displacement Describes Disorder in CsPbBr3 Nanocrystal Superlattices

Filippi, Umberto LU ; Toso, Stefano LU ; Gomes Ferreira, Matheus LU orcid ; Tallarini, Lorenzo LU ; Ivanov, Yurii P. ; Scattarella, Francesco ; Lauciello, Simone ; Haghighat, Vahid LU ; Chen, Huaiyu LU and Landberg, Megan LU , et al. (2026) In ACS Nano 20(4). p.3867-3877
Abstract
Disorder is an intrinsic feature of all solids, from crystals of atoms
to superlattices of colloidal nanoparticles. Unlike atomic crystals, in
nanocrystal superlattices, a single misplaced particle can affect the
positions of neighbors over long distances, leading to cumulative
disorder. This elusive form of collective particle displacement leaves
clear signatures in diffraction, but little is known about how it
accumulates and propagates throughout the superlattice. Here we
rationalize the propagation and accumulation of disorder in a series of
CsPbBr3 nanocrystal superlattices by using synchrotron grazing incidence small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. CsPbBr3 nanocrystals... (More)
Disorder is an intrinsic feature of all solids, from crystals of atoms
to superlattices of colloidal nanoparticles. Unlike atomic crystals, in
nanocrystal superlattices, a single misplaced particle can affect the
positions of neighbors over long distances, leading to cumulative
disorder. This elusive form of collective particle displacement leaves
clear signatures in diffraction, but little is known about how it
accumulates and propagates throughout the superlattice. Here we
rationalize the propagation and accumulation of disorder in a series of
CsPbBr3 nanocrystal superlattices by using synchrotron grazing incidence small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. CsPbBr3 nanocrystals of colloidal softness S
in the range of 0.3–0.7 were obtained by preparing particles with
different sizes and ligand mixtures consisting of oleic acid and primary
amines of variable lengths. Most diffraction patterns showed clear
signatures of anisotropic disorder, with multilayer diffraction
characteristics of high structural coherence visible only for the {100}
axial directions and lost in all other directions. As the softness
decreased, the superlattices transitioned to a more ordered regime where
small-angle diffraction peaks became resolution-limited, and
superlattice multilayer diffraction appeared for the (110) diagonal
reflections. To rationalize these anisotropies in structural coherence
and their dependence on superlattice softness, we propose a sinusoidal
displacement model where longitudinal and transverse displacements
modulate nanocrystal positions. The model explains experimental
observations and advances the understanding of disorder in
mesocrystalline systems as they approach the limits of structural
perfection. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
ACS Nano
volume
20
issue
4
pages
11 pages
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • pmid:41546635
ISSN
1936-086X
DOI
10.1021/acsnano.5c20745
project
Engineering of Superfluorescent Nanocrystal Solids
Superlattices of Perovskite Quantum-Dots for the Digital-age
eSSENCE@LU 8:2 - Coherent 3D X-ray imaging of nanoparticles with unknown orientation
High resolution X-ray detectors based on nanowire arrays
Heterostructured metal halide perovskite nanowires
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8b622d0f-fff5-4385-8a40-729a83405195
date added to LUP
2026-02-03 21:03:02
date last changed
2026-02-24 09:01:47
@article{8b622d0f-fff5-4385-8a40-729a83405195,
  abstract     = {{Disorder is an intrinsic feature of all solids, from crystals of atoms <br>
to superlattices of colloidal nanoparticles. Unlike atomic crystals, in <br>
nanocrystal superlattices, a single misplaced particle can affect the <br>
positions of neighbors over long distances, leading to cumulative <br>
disorder. This elusive form of collective particle displacement leaves <br>
clear signatures in diffraction, but little is known about how it <br>
accumulates and propagates throughout the superlattice. Here we <br>
rationalize the propagation and accumulation of disorder in a series of <br>
CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> nanocrystal superlattices by using synchrotron grazing incidence small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> nanocrystals of colloidal softness <i>S</i><br>
 in the range of 0.3–0.7 were obtained by preparing particles with <br>
different sizes and ligand mixtures consisting of oleic acid and primary<br>
 amines of variable lengths. Most diffraction patterns showed clear <br>
signatures of anisotropic disorder, with multilayer diffraction <br>
characteristics of high structural coherence visible only for the {100} <br>
axial directions and lost in all other directions. As the softness <br>
decreased, the superlattices transitioned to a more ordered regime where<br>
 small-angle diffraction peaks became resolution-limited, and <br>
superlattice multilayer diffraction appeared for the (110) diagonal <br>
reflections. To rationalize these anisotropies in structural coherence <br>
and their dependence on superlattice softness, we propose a sinusoidal <br>
displacement model where longitudinal and transverse displacements <br>
modulate nanocrystal positions. The model explains experimental <br>
observations and advances the understanding of disorder in <br>
mesocrystalline systems as they approach the limits of structural <br>
perfection.}},
  author       = {{Filippi, Umberto and Toso, Stefano and Gomes Ferreira, Matheus and Tallarini, Lorenzo and Ivanov, Yurii P. and Scattarella, Francesco and Lauciello, Simone and Haghighat, Vahid and Chen, Huaiyu and Landberg, Megan and Divitini, Giorgio and Wallentin, Jesper and Giannini, Cinzia and Manna, Liberato and Baranov, Dmitry}},
  issn         = {{1936-086X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{02}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{3867--3877}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{ACS Nano}},
  title        = {{Sinusoidal Displacement Describes Disorder in CsPbBr<sub>3</sub> Nanocrystal Superlattices}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5c20745}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acsnano.5c20745}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}