Chiral Cation Doping for Modulating Structural Symmetry of 2D Perovskites

Cation mixing in two-dimensional (2D) hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite (HOIP) structures represents an important degree of freedom for modifying organic templating effects and tailoring inorganic structures. However, the limited number of known cation-mixed 2D HOIP systems generally employ a 1:1 cation ratio for stabilizing the 2D perovskite structure. Here, we demonstrate a chiral–chiral mixed-cation system wherein a controlled small amount (<10%) of chiral cation S-2-MeBA (S-2-MeBA = ( S )-(−)-2-methylbutylammonium) can be doped into (S-BrMBA) 2 PbI 4 (S-BrMBA = ( S )-(−)-4-bromo-α-methylbenzylammonium), modulating the structural symmetry from a higher symmetry ( C 2) to the lowest symmetry state ( P 1). This structural change occurs when the concentration of S-2-MeBA, measured by solution nuclear magnetic resonance, exceeds a critical level─specifically, for 1.4 ± 0.6%, the structure remains as C 2, whereas 3.9 ± 1.4% substitution induces the structure change to P 1 (this structure is stable to ∼7% substitution). Atomic occupancy analysis suggests that one specific S-BrMBA cation site is preferentially substituted by S-2-MeBA in the unit cell. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the spin splitting along different k-paths can be modulated by cation doping. A true circular dichroism band at the exciton energy of the 3.9% doping phase shows polarity inversion and a ∼45 meV blue shift of the Cotton-effect-type line-shape relative to (S-BrMBA) 2 PbI 4 . A trend toward suppressed melting temperature with higher doping concentration is also noted. The chiral cation doping system and the associated doping-concentration-induced structural transition provide a material design strategy for modulating and enhancing those emergent properties that are sensitive to different types of symmetry breaking.