Manchen Hu

All Publications

• Bulk Heterojunction Upconversion Thin Films Fabricated via One-Step Solution Deposition. ACS nano Hu, M., Belliveau, E., Wu, Y., Narayanan, P., Feng, D., Hamid, R., Murrietta, N., Ahmed, G. H., Kats, M. A., Congreve, D. N. 2023

  Abstract

  Upconversion of near-infrared light into the visible has achieved limited success in applications due to the difficulty of creating solid-state films with high external quantum efficiency (EQE). Recent developments have expanded the range of relevant materials for solid-state triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion through the use of a charge-transfer state sensitization process. Here, we report the single-step solution-processed deposition of a bulk heterojunction upconversion film using organic semiconductors. The use of a bulk heterojunction thin film enables a high contact area between sensitizer and annihilator materials in this interface-triplet-generation mechanism and allows for a facile single-step deposition process. Demonstrations of multiple deposition and patterning methods on glass and flexible substrates show the promise of this materials system for solid-state upconversion applications.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsnano.3c06955

  View details for PubMedID 37963265

• Spatially Controlled Uv Light Generation at Depth Using Upconversion Micelles. Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) Zhou, Q., Wirtz, B. M., Schloemer, T. H., Burroughs, M. C., Hu, M., Narayanan, P., Lyu, J., Gallegos, A. O., Layton, C., Mai, D. J., Congreve, D. N. 2023: e2301563

  Abstract

  Ultraviolet (UV) light can trigger a plethora of useful photochemical reactions for diverse applications, including photocatalysis, photopolymerization, and drug delivery. These applications typically require penetration of high energy photons deep into materials, yet delivering these photons beyond the surface is extremely challenging due to absorption and scattering effects. Triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) shows great promise to circumvent this issue by generating high energy photons from incident lower energy photons. However, molecules that facilitate TTA-UC usually have poor water solubility, limiting their deployment in aqueous environments. To address this challenge, a nanoencapsulation method is leveraged to fabricate water-compatible UC micelles, enabling on-demand UV photon generation deep into materials. Two iridium-based complexes are presented for use as TTA-UC sensitizers with increased solubilities that facilitate the formation of highly emissive UV-upconverting micelles. Furthermore, this encapsulation method is shown to be generalizable to nineteen UV-emitting UC systems, accessing a range of upconverted UV emission profiles with wavelengths as low as 350 nm. As a proof-of-principle demonstration of precision photochemistry at depth, UV-emitting UC micelles are used to photolyze a fluorophore at a focal point nearly a centimeter beyond the surface, revealing opportunities for spatially controlled manipulation deep into UV-responsive materials. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/adma.202301563

  View details for PubMedID 37548335

• Water additives improve the efficiency of violet perovskite light-emitting diodes MATTER Hu, M., Fernandez, S., Zhou, Q., Narayanan, P., Saini, B., Schloemer, T. H., Lyu, J., Gallegos, A. O., Ahmed, G. H., Congreve, D. N. 2023; 6 (7): 2356-2367

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.matt.2023.05.018

  View details for Web of Science ID 001058067600001

• Controlling the durability and optical properties of triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion nanocapsules. Nanoscale Schloemer, T. H., Sanders, S. N., Narayanan, P., Zhou, Q., Hu, M., Congreve, D. N. 2023

  Abstract

  Deep penetration of high energy photons by direct irradiation is often not feasible due to absorption and scattering losses, which are generally exacerbated as photon energy increases. Precise generation of high energy photons beneath a surface can circumvent these losses and significantly transform optically controlled processes like photocatalysis or 3D printing. Using triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC), a nonlinear process, we can locally convert two transmissive low energy photons into one high energy photon. We recently demonstrated the use of nanocapsules for high energy photon generation at depth, with durability within a variety of chemical environments due to the formation of a dense, protective silica shell that prevents content leakage and nanocapsule aggregation. Here, we show the importance of the feed concentrations of the tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) monomer and the methoxy poly(ethyleneglycol) silane (PEG-silane) ligand used to synthesize these nanocapsules using spectroscopic and microscopy characterizations. At optimal TEOS and PEG-silane concentrations, minimal nanocapsule leakage can be obtained which maximizes UC photoluminescence. We also spectroscopically study the origin of inefficient upconversion from UCNCs made using sub-optimal conditions to probe how TEOS and PEG-silane concentrations impact the equilibrium between productive shell growth and side product formation, like amorphous silica. Furthermore, this optimized fabrication protocol can be applied to encapsulate multiple TTA-UC systems and other emissive dyes to generate anti-Stokes or Stokes shifted emission, respectively. These results show that simple synthetic controls can be tuned to obtain robust, well-dispersed, bright upconverting nanoparticles for subsequent integration in optically controlled technologies.

  View details for DOI 10.1039/d3nr00067b

  View details for PubMedID 37000152

• Triplet Fusion Upconversion Nanocapsule Synthesis. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE Schloemer, T. H., Sanders, S. N., Zhou, Q., Narayanan, P., Hu, M., Gangishetty, M. K., Anderson, D., Seitz, M., Gallegos, A. O., Stokes, R. C., Congreve, D. N. 2022

  Abstract

  Triplet fusion upconversion (UC) allows for the generation of one high energy photon from two low energy input photons. This well-studied process has significant implications for producing high energy light beyond a material's surface. However, the deployment of UC materials has been stymied due to poor material solubility, high concentration requirements, and oxygen sensitivity, ultimately resulting in reduced light output. Toward this end, nanoencapsulation has been a popular motif to circumvent these challenges, but durability has remained elusive in organic solvents. Recently, a nanoencapsulation technique was engineered to tackle each of these challenges, whereupon an oleic acid nanodroplet containing upconversion materials was encapsulated with a silica shell. Ultimately, these nanocapsules (NCs) were durable enough to enable triplet fusion upconversion-facilitated volumetric three-dimensional (3D) printing. By encapsulating upconversion materials with silica and dispersing them in a 3D printing resin, photopatterning beyond the surface of the printing vat was made possible. Here, video protocols for the synthesis of upconversion NCs are presented for both small-scale and large-scale batches. The outlined protocols serve as a starting point for adapting this encapsulation scheme to multiple upconversion schemes for use in volumetric 3D printing applications.

  View details for DOI 10.3791/64374

  View details for PubMedID 36155426

• Interfacial charge transfer states enable efficient solid-state upconversion MATTER Hu, M., Belliveau, E., Congreve, D. N. 2022; 5 (8): 2542-2545

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.matt.2022.06.060

  View details for Web of Science ID 000848693800058

• Suppressing the Trapping Process by Interfacial Charge Extraction in Antimony Selenide Heterojunctions ACS ENERGY LETTERS Zhang, Z., Hu, M., Jia, T., Du, J., Chen, C., Wang, C., Liu, Z., Shi, T., Tang, J., Leng, Y. 2021; 6 (5): 1740-1748

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsenergylett.0c02660

  View details for Web of Science ID 000651810400010

• Subwavelength-Polarized Quasi-Two-Dimensional Perovskite Single-Mode Nanolaser. ACS nano Liu, Z. n., Hu, M. n., Du, J. n., Shi, T. n., Wang, Z. n., Zhang, Z. n., Hu, Z. n., Zhan, Z. n., Chen, K. n., Liu, W. n., Tang, J. n., Zhang, H. n., Leng, Y. n., Li, R. n. 2021

  Abstract

  When approaching the subwavelength or deep subwavelength scale, there is a fundamental trade-off between the ultimate shrinking size and the performance for miniaturized lasers. Herein, to overcome this trade-off, we investigated the excitonic gain nature of quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) perovskites and revealed that both singlet excitons and polarons would make nearly the entire contribution within ∼50 ps to a high net gain of 558 cm-1. Inspired by the gain characteristic, we successfully shrank the quasi-2D perovskites laser to the subwavelength scale using only a layer of ultraviolet glue and a glass substrate in the vertical dimension. In spite of the compact and simple cavity structure, single-mode lasing with a highly linear polarization degree of 81% and a quality factor of 1635 was achieved. The extremely short cavity, excellent lasing performance, and simple structure of the quasi-2D perovskite laser are expected to provide insights into next-generation integrated laser sources.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsnano.0c10647

  View details for PubMedID 33821615

• Compact Optical Polarization-Insensitive Zoom Metalens Doublet ADVANCED OPTICAL MATERIALS Wei, Y., Wang, Y., Feng, X., Xiao, S., Wang, Z., Hu, T., Hu, M., Song, J., Wegener, M., Zhao, M., Xia, J., Yang, Z. 2020; 8 (13)

  View details for DOI 10.1002/adom.202000142

  View details for Web of Science ID 000529910500001

• Antimony doped Cs2SnCl6 with bright and stable emission FRONTIERS OF OPTOELECTRONICS Li, J., Tan, Z., Hu, M., Chen, C., Luo, J., Li, S., Gao, L., Xiao, Z., Niu, G., Tang, J. 2019; 12 (4): 352-364

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s12200-019-0907-4

  View details for Web of Science ID 000511755800004

• High-Throughput Combinatorial Optimizations of Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes Based on All-Vacuum Deposition ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS Li, J., Du, P., Li, S., Liu, J., Zhu, M., Tan, Z., Hu, M., Luo, J., Guo, D., Ma, L., Nie, Z., Ma, Y., Gao, L., Niu, G., Tang, J. 2019; 29 (51)

  View details for DOI 10.1002/adfm.201903607

  View details for Web of Science ID 000489479600001

• Broadband emission of double perovskite Cs2Na0.4Ag0.6In0.995Bi0.005Cl6:Mn2+ for single-phosphor white-light-emitting diodes OPTICS LETTERS Hu, M., Luo, J., Li, S., Liu, J., Li, J., Tan, Z., Niu, G., Wang, Z., Tang, J. 2019; 44 (19): 4757–60

  Abstract

  In this Letter, we report the broadband photoluminescence of lead-free double perovskite Cs2Na0.4Ag0.6In0.95Bi0.05Cl6:Mn2+. Under ultraviolet excitation, the white phosphor shows two emission peaks at 550 nm and 610 nm from self-trapped exciton and doped Mn2+ ions, respectively, leading to a broad emission spectrum over the whole visible spectrum suitable for lighting application. The white-light-emitting diodes exhibit high light quality with CIE coordinates (0.38, 0.42) and color rendering index of 82.6. The mechanism of luminescence of this double perovskite is also discussed in this Letter.

  View details for DOI 10.1364/OL.44.004757

  View details for Web of Science ID 000488503500034

  View details for PubMedID 31568435

• Inorganic antimony halide hybrids with broad yellow emissions SCIENCE BULLETIN Tan, Z., Hu, M., Niu, G., Hu, Q., Li, J., Leng, M., Gao, L., Tang, J. 2019; 64 (13): 904–9

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.scib.2019.05.016

  View details for Web of Science ID 000483302000008

• Inorganic antimony halide hybrids with broad yellow emissions. Science bulletin Tan, Z., Hu, M., Niu, G., Hu, Q., Li, J., Leng, M., Gao, L., Tang, J. 2019; 64 (13): 904-909

  Abstract

  Lead halide perovskites exhibit unexceptionable photoelectric properties. However, these materials are unsatisfactory in terms of stability and toxicity. Herein, we report Rb7Sb3Cl16 as a new kind of lead free perovskite variants. This material can be easily obtained through hydrothermal reactions. The composition is determined through structure refinement, elemental analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectra. Rb7Sb3Cl16 exhibits a broad yellow emission at 560 nm, with a Stokes shift of 175 nm and a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) around 26%. Rb7Sb3Cl16 also shows good thermal and water stability due to its inorganic composition. White light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are constructed by combining Rb7Sb3Cl16 as yellow phosphors, our previously reported Cs2SnCl6:2.75%Bi as blue phosphors, and commercial UV LED chips as the excitation source, producing a white light with the Commission Internationale de'Eclairage (CIE) color coordinates at (0.39, 0.38).

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.scib.2019.05.016

  View details for PubMedID 36659754

• Polarization-insensitive and achromatic metalens at ultraviolet wavelengths JOURNAL OF NANOPHOTONICS Hu, M., Wei, Y., Cai, H., Cai, Y. 2019; 13 (3)

  View details for DOI 10.1117/1.JNP.13.036015

  View details for Web of Science ID 000489024700015

• 7.5% n-i-p Sb2Se3 solar cells with CuSCN as a hole-transport layer JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A Li, K., Wang, S., Chen, C., Kondrotas, R., Hu, M., Lu, S., Wang, C., Chen, W., Tang, J. 2019; 7 (16): 9665-9672

  View details for DOI 10.1039/c9ta01773a

  View details for Web of Science ID 000467249200024

• Lead-Free Halide Perovskites and Perovskite Variants as Phosphors toward Light-Emitting Applications. ACS applied materials & interfaces Luo, J. n., Hu, M. n., Niu, G. n., Tang, J. n. 2019; 11 (35): 31575–84

  Abstract

  Lead halide perovskites have attracted tremendous research interests in the light-emitting field because of their high defect tolerance, solution processability, tunable spectrum, and efficient emission. In terms of luminescence types, both the narrowband emission derived from free-exciton (FE) and broadband white light emission from self-trapped exciton (STE) show great advantages in light-emitting applications. Despite the fascinating characteristics, their commercialization still suffers from the presence of toxic lead (Pb) and unsatisfactory stability. In this spotlight, we mainly focus on the lead-free candidates as phosphors for possible light-emitting applications. Thanks to the chemical diversity of metal halide perovskites and perovskite variants, many excellent lead-free light-emitting materials have recently been synthesized and characterized. We first classify these materials into three types according to material structures, including (1) double perovskites A2B(I)B(III)X6, (2) vacancy ordered perovskites A2B(IV)X6, (3) miscellaneous perovskite variants or halide semiconductors, which refer to halides without clear relation to the perovskite structure. We then highlight the importance of electronic dimensionality, defect passivation, and impurity doping in developing highly efficient perovskite-based emitters. We also discuss their applications in white light-emitting diodes (W-LED). Further challenges toward practical applications and potential applications are also included in a section on outlook and future challenges.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acsami.9b08407

  View details for PubMedID 31424196

• X-ray scintillation in lead-free double perovskite crystals SCIENCE CHINA-CHEMISTRY Hu, Q., Deng, Z., Hu, M., Zhao, A., Zhang, Y., Tan, Z., Niu, G., Wu, H., Tang, J. 2018; 61 (12): 1581-1586

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s11426-018-9308-2

  View details for Web of Science ID 000454746100012