Correlation of Photoluminescence and Structural Morphologies at the Individual Nanoparticle Level

Single-particle spectroscopy have demonstrated great potential for analyzing the microscopic behavior of various nanoparticles (NPs). However, high-resolution optical imaging of these materials at the nanoscale is still very challenging. Here, we present an experimental setup that combines the high sensitivity of time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) techniques with atomic force microscopy (AFM). This system enabled us to have a single-photon emitter detection with a time resolution of 120 ps and a spatial resolution of 5 nm. We utilized our setup to investigate the photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of both zero-dimensional (0D) and threedimensional (3D) perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) and establish a correlation between the particle’s sizes, their PL blinking, and the lifetime behavior. Our system demonstrates an unprecedented level of information, opening the door to understanding the morphology-luminescence correlation of various nanosystems.