Lead-Free Perovskite Optoelectronic Devices

Lead-free perovskite materials have emerged as a compelling alternative to lead-based halide perovskites, addressing environmental and health concerns without sacrificing the exceptional optoelectronic properties that have driven rapid advances in photovoltaics, light emission and photodetection. Typical lead-free compositions replace Pb²⁺ with Sn²⁺, Bi³⁺ or other metal cations, yielding ABX₃ or lower-dimensional variants with tunable bandgaps across the visible and near-infrared regions. Challenges such as oxidation of Sn²⁺, intrinsic defects and limited long-term stability have prompted innovations in compositional engineering, surface passivation, hydrophobic coatings and controlled crystallisation. These strategies have enabled solar cells, LEDs and photodetectors that approach or rival the performance of their lead-based counterparts, signalling a pathway towards commercialisation of eco-friendly optoelectronic technologies.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have demonstrated efficient and stable near-infrared light-emitting diodes based on all-inorganic tin perovskites (CsSnI₃). By precisely controlling p-type doping and the crystallisation kinetics of tin-rich precursors, researchers achieved peak emission at 948 nm, a high radiance of 226 W sr⁻¹ m⁻² and an operational half-lifetime of 39.5 h at 100 mA cm⁻². This work highlights the critical role of defect suppression and film quality optimisation in overcoming the intrinsic instability of Sn²⁺ and represents a significant milestone towards practical, long-wavelength, lead-free electroluminescent devices.

Lead-Free Perovskite Optoelectronic Devices publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in lead-free perovskite optoelectronic devices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Perovskite: A crystalline structure with general formula ABX₃, where A and B are cations and X is an anion, renowned for versatile optoelectronic properties.

External Quantum Efficiency (EQE): The ratio of charge carriers emitted or collected by a device to the number of incident photons, expressed as a percentage.

Photoluminescence Quantum Yield (PLQY): The fraction of absorbed photons re-emitted as luminescence, serving as a measure of radiative efficiency.

P-type Doping: The introduction of acceptor impurities into a semiconductor to create holes as the majority carriers, enhancing electrical conductivity.

Photodetector: A device that converts incident light into an electrical signal, characterised by responsivity (current per incident power) and detectivity (sensitivity to weak signals).

References

1. Bright and stable near-infrared lead-free perovskite light-emitting diodes. Nature Photonics (2024).
2. Lead‐Free Halide Perovskite Materials and Optoelectronic Devices: Progress and Prospective. Advanced Functional Materials (2023).
3. Synthesis of Hybrid Tin‐Based Perovskite Microcrystals for LED Applications. Advanced Science (2024).
4. Defect Passivation on Lead-Free CsSnI3 Perovskite Nanowires Enables High-Performance Photodetectors with Ultra-High Stability. Nano-Micro Letters (2022).