Impact of Dihedral Angle in Conjugated Organic Cation on the Structures and Properties of Organic-Inorganic Lead Iodides

Conjugated organic cations are intriguing for organic-inorganic halide perovskites due to their direct participation in the optoelectronic properties of hybrid materials. In conjugated cations, the dihedral angle, or torsion angle, between adjacent aromatic rings is a critical secondary structural element. This angle influences not only the shape of the cations but also the overlap between the π-orbitals on adjacent rings, thereby affecting their electronic properties. Understanding how variations in the dihedral angle impact the structure and properties of hybrid organic-inorganic metal halides (HOIMHs) is fundamentally important. In this study, we utilized 2,2'-dimethyl bipyridinium as the organic cation, reacting it with PbI₂ to form hybrid lead iodides. Remarkably, variations in the dihedral angle between the two pyridinium rings resulted in the formation of two distinct crystal structures with different band gaps. Our findings demonstrate that manipulating the dihedral angle offers a novel approach to controlling the structures and properties of hybrid metal halides with conjugated cations.