Amanda Conde Del Moral
Advisor: Prof. Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena
will propose a doctoral thesis entitled,
Structure–Property Relationships in Lead Halide Perovskites: From Phase Stability to Collective Optical Phenomena
On
Friday, August 28 at 10:00 a.m.
MRDC Room 4211
and/or
Virtually via MS Teams
https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/248586010524518?p=mgQvgezgjq0Ntoto7X
Committee
Prof. Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena – School of Material Science and Engineering (advisor)
Prof. Natalie Stingelin – School of Material Science and Engineering
Prof. Matthew Sfeir – School of Material Science and Engineering
Prof. Guoxiang (Emma) Hu – School of Material Science and Engineering
Prof. Ajay Ram Srimath Kandada – Wake Forest University, Department of Physics
Prof. Seth Marder – University of Colorado Boulder, School of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Abstract
Lead halide perovskites (LHPs) exhibit highly tunable structural and optical properties, yet their performance remains limited by phase instability in 3D systems and exciton–phonon interactions in low‑dimensional analogues. This thesis proposes to investigate how targeted chemical modifications at the organic–inorganic interface govern the ground‑state structural stability and excited‑state lattice response across perovskite dimensionalities. In Objective 1, molecular modulations of phosphonic acids will be used to probe how hydrogen‑bonding interactions stabilize the α‑FAPbI3 phase and suppress formation of the non‑perovskite phases. Objectives 2 and 3 will extend this framework to low‑dimensional perovskites, where the structure and dynamic motion of spacer cations dictate octahedral distortions, lattice flexibility, and exciton–phonon coupling. Objective 2 will establish how monodentate versus bidentate binding modalities and the chemical nature of the anchoring groups modulate the rigidity of the inorganic lattice and its susceptibility to photoinduced deformation, thereby tuning exciton dressing and the scattering pathways that govern dephasing. Building on these insights, Objective 3 will examine how lattice flexibility influences the emergence of superfluorescence by comparing phenethylammonium, chlorinated‑phenethylammonium, and benzene‑based bidentate cations, determining whether molecular control over lattice dynamics can modulate coherence decay and the conditions required for cooperative emission. Together, these proposed studies aim to reveal how organic–inorganic interactions regulate structural stability and photoinduced lattice dynamics, establishing molecular‑level design principles for advancing the optoelectronic and quantum photonic capabilities of lead halide perovskites.