NTU GIPO

Research Summary:

Over the past decade, perovskites have emerged as a highly promising class of materials, demonstrating outstanding performance in a wide range of applications, including photovoltaics, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers, and beyond. Nevertheless, concerns regarding lead toxicity and the intrinsic instability of perovskite materials continue to hinder their large-scale commercialization.

Motivated by both the remarkable potential and existing limitations of perovskites, our group is dedicated to discovering novel inorganic alternatives—commonly referred to as perovskite-inspired materials (PIMs)—that are lead-free, air-stable, and capable of retaining the exceptional optoelectronic properties of perovskites. In particular, the strong defect tolerance of perovskites is widely regarded as one of the key factors underlying their rapid development, as remarkably high device efficiencies can be achieved even when fabricated through simple and cost-effective solution-processing techniques.

Although research on perovskite-inspired materials remains relatively limited compared with that on perovskites, these materials have attracted increasing attention in recent years owing to their potential to overcome the fundamental challenges associated with conventional perovskites. We believe that, with continued research efforts and technological advancements, perovskite-inspired materials could ultimately deliver even greater commercial value than perovskites and revolutionize the field of photovoltaics.

The research directions of our group can be broadly summarized as follows:

1. Understanding defect tolerance and discovering new materials

   Identify the fundamental origins of defect tolerance in perovskites and employ theoretical calculations to search for alternative materials (i.e., perovskite-inspired materials) capable of exhibiting similar characteristics.

2. Investigating optoelectronic properties

   Study the optoelectronic properties of perovskite-inspired materials, including optical absorption, photoluminescence quantum yield, defect tolerance, carrier transport, and related phenomena.

3. Device fabrication and applications

   Develop devices based on perovskite-inspired materials and explore their applications in photovoltaics, photocatalysis, light-emitting devices, and other emerging technologies according to their intrinsic material properties.

4. Nanophotonic and plasmonic enhancement

   Design and integrate functional nanostructures with perovskite-inspired-material-based devices to further improve device performance through plasmonic and nanophotonic effects.

5. Establishing material design principles

   Develop predictive design principles and selection rules to guide the discovery of future perovskite-inspired materials with strong practical potential and technological relevance.