Smart Dope: A Self-Driving Fluidic Lab for Accelerated Development of Doped Perovskite Quantum Dots

Metal cation-doped lead halide perovskite (LHP) quantum dots (QDs) with photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) higher than unity, due to quantum cutting phenomena, are an important building block of the next-generation renewable energy technologies. However, synthetic route exploration and development of the highest-performing QDs for device applications remain challenging. In this work, Smart Dope is presented, which is a self-driving fluidic lab (SDFL), for the accelerated synthesis space exploration and autonomous optimization of LHP QDs. Specifically, the multi-cation doping of CsPbCl3 QDs using a one-pot high-temperature synthesis chemistry is reported. Smart Dope continuously synthesizes multi-cation-doped CsPbCl3 QDs using a high-pressure gas-liquid segmented flow format to enable continuous experimentation with minimal experimental noise at reaction temperatures up to 255 degrees C. Smart Dope offers multiple functionalities, including accelerated mechanistic studies through digital twin QD synthesis modeling, closed-loop autonomous optimization for accelerated QD synthetic route discovery, and on-demand continuous manufacturing of high-performing QDs. Through these developments, Smart Dope autonomously identifies the optimal synthetic route of Mn-Yb co-doped CsPbCl3 QDs with a PLQY of 158%, which is the highest reported value for this class of QDs to date. Smart Dope illustrates the power of SDFLs in accelerating the discovery and development of emerging advanced energy materials. In this work, Smart Dope is introduced. Smart Dope a self-driving fluidic lab technology for accelerated synthesis space exploration, mechanistic studies, autonomous discovery and optimization, and continuous nanomanufacturing of advanced energy materials. Smart Dope autonomously discovers optimal synthetic routes for high-performance multi-cation-doped lead halide perovskite quantum dots, considered to be key building blocks for renewable energy technologies.image