A Highly Red-Emissive Lead-Free Indium-Based Perovskite Single Crystal for Sensitive Water Detection

Lei Zhou; Jin-Feng Liao; Zeng-Guang Huang; Jun-Hua Wei; Xu-Dong Wang; Wen-Guang Li; Hong-Yan Chen; Dai-Bin Kuang; Cheng-Yong Su

doi:10.1002/anie.201814564

A Highly Red-Emissive Lead-Free Indium-Based Perovskite Single Crystal for Sensitive Water Detection

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2019 Apr 8;58(16):5277-5281. doi: 10.1002/anie.201814564. Epub 2019 Mar 12.

Authors

Lei Zhou¹, Jin-Feng Liao¹, Zeng-Guang Huang¹, Jun-Hua Wei¹, Xu-Dong Wang¹, Wen-Guang Li¹, Hong-Yan Chen¹, Dai-Bin Kuang¹, Cheng-Yong Su¹

Affiliation

¹ MOE Key Laboratory of Bioinorganic and Synthetic Chemistry, Lehn Institute of Functional Materials, School of Chemistry, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China.

PMID: 30788885
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201814564

Abstract

Low-dimensional luminescent lead halide perovskites have attracted tremendous attention for their fascinating optoelectronic properties, while the toxicity of lead is still considered a drawback. Herein, we report a novel lead-free zero-dimensional (0D) indium-based perovskite (Cs₂ InBr₅ ⋅H₂ O) single crystal that is red-luminescent with a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 33 %. Experimental and computational studies reveal that the strong PL emission might originate from self-trapping excitons (STEs) that result from an excited-state structural deformation. More importantly, the in situ transformation between hydrated Cs₂ InBr₅ ⋅H₂ O and the dehydrated form is accompanied with a switchable dual emission, which enables it to act as a PL water-sensor in humidity detection or the detection of traces of water in organic solvents.

Keywords: Indium; Lead-free materials; Perovskites; Single crystals; Water detection.