Liquid-phase sintering of lead halide perovskites and metal-organic framework glasses
- Journal:
- Science
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.abf4460
- Affiliations:
- 13
- Authors:
- 27
Research Highlight
Glass brings stability to an unstable semiconductor
© janda75/E+/Getty Images
Tiny crystals of an inherently unstable photoluminescent semiconductor become much more robust when encased in a glassy matrix, opening the way to use them in LED lighting and device screens.
A class of semiconductors known as lead halide perovskites have excellent optoelectronic properties that could see them replace silicon-based and other conventional semiconductors in solar cells and optoelectronic devices. But heat, moisture, intense light, and water can make them unstable and they can leak toxic lead ions.
Now, a team led by researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia has overcome these problems by forming a composite between nanocrystals of lead halide perovskite and a special type of glass.
The glass acts as a matrix that stabilizes the lead halide perovskite, and its photoluminescence holds up well even when it is immersed in water for thousands of hours.
References
- Science 374, 621–625 (2021). doi: 10.1126/science.abf4460