Shapeshifting perovskites can help make solar devices, LEDs more efficient

Researchers from the University of Utah have demonstrated that wafer-thin Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) metal-halide hybrid perovskites, a class of two-dimensional layered materials composed of alternating inorganic and organic sheets, exhibit temperature-dependent phase transitions that significantly influence their optical properties. These phase transitions, akin to changes between different solid states as seen in water, alter the structure of the inorganic layers through the melting and disordering of organic chains, thereby modulating the material’s light emission wavelength and intensity. This dynamic tunability enables the emission wavelength to be adjusted across a broad spectrum from ultraviolet to near-infrared, offering valuable control for optoelectronic applications such as LEDs and thermal energy storage. The study highlights that these perovskites’ optical properties shift continuously with temperature due to subtle structural distortions, revealing a strong interplay between organic and inorganic components that can be manipulated at the molecular level. Importantly, perovskites present a promising alternative to traditional silicon in solar cell