Lattice dynamics of quasi-2D perovskites from first-principles

We present the vibrational properties and phonon dispersion for quasi-2D hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites (BA)$_2$CsPb$_2$I$_7$, (HA)$_2$CsPb$_2$I$_7$, (BA)$_2$(MA)Pb$_2$I$_7$, and (HA)$_2$(MA)Pb$_2$I$_7$ calculated from first principles. Given the highly complex nature of these compounds, we first perform careful benchmarking and convergence testing to identify suitable parameters to describe their structural features and vibrational properties. We find that the inclusion of van der Waals corrections on top of generalized gradient approximation (GGA) exchange-correlation functionals provides the best agreement for the equilibrium structure relative to experimental data. We then compute vibrational properties under the harmonic approximation. We find that stringent energy cut-offs are required to obtain well-converged phonon properties, and once converged, the harmonic approximation can capture key physics for such a large, hybrid inorganic-organic system with vastly different atom types, masses, and interatomic interactions. We discuss the obtained phonon modes and dispersion behavior in the context of known properties for bulk 3D perovskites and ligand molecular crystals. While many vibrational properties are inherited from the parent systems, we also observe unique coupled vibrations that cannot be associated with vibrations of the pure constituent perovskite and ligand subphases. Dispersive low energy phonon branches primarily occur in the in-plane direction and within the perovskite subphase, and arise from bending and breathing modes of the equatorial Pb-I network within the perovskite octahedral plane.