Direct atomic-scale imaging of a screw dislocation core structure in inorganic halide perovskites

Abstract

Topological defects such as dislocations in crystalline materials usually have major impacts on materials’ mechanical, chemical and physical properties. Detailed knowledge of dislocation core structures is essential to understand their impacts on materials’ properties. However, compared with imaging of core structures of edge dislocations, direct imaging of a screw dislocation core is challenging from the traditional edge-on direction because the atomic displacements are parallel to the screw dislocation line. Here, a screw dislocation with a Burgers vector 1/2[110] in orthorhombic CsPbBr₃ nanocrystals is directly imaged at the atomic scale with the incident electron beam perpendicular to the dislocation line using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The dislocation core is characterized by helical atomic planes along the dislocation line. Quantitative assessments of the change rate of the screw displacements reveal the dislocation line locate at a plane containing Cs and Br atoms. This study reveals the atomic structure of screw dislocation cores in CsPbBr₃ and provides useful information for the understanding of structure–property relations of halide perovskites.