SHINE is a 2-years research project in Physical Sciences and Engineering funded by the Italian Ministry for University and Research (MUR) and the European Union (Next Generation EU) as a Progetto di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (PRIN) within the programme Italia Domani – Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR).
The goal of SHINE is to implement a new methodology for the manipulation and control of the properties of perovskite-based matter, guiding the rational design of more efficient and stable halide perovskites (HPs).
Halide perovskites (general formula: ABX3, with A: monovalent cation; B: metal cation; X: halide anion) have emerged as a
frontrunner in semiconductor technology. Their easy and low-cost production together with their unique optoelectronic properties make them promising semiconducting materials for application in light generation devices and solar cells. However, many challenges still need to be addressed in order bring perovskite technologies to the market. Major drawbacks in fact are the:
i) instability in prolonged environmental exposure (moisture, oxygen, irradiation),
ii) crystal defects resulting in energy losses due to non-radiative charge recombination,
iii) toxicity of employed Pb and its derivatives (i.e. PbI2).
Addressing these minus requires a deep understanding and control of structure-properties relationships, which at the moment are still missing.
SHINE aims to fill this gap with a supramolecular approach based on halogen bonding (XB)– the non-covalent interaction involving halogen atoms as electrophilic sites. Specifically, SHINE will exploit the XB as a selective interaction between properly designed organic cations (acting as XB-donors) and exposed undercoordinated X anions (XB-acceptors) in the inorganic domains, in order to develop new low-dimensional halide perovskites (LDHPs).
The results generated within SHINE will afford to a significant advancement in understanding both fundamental structures and dynamic processes in LDHPs and their correlations to optoelectronic properties and performances. Moreover, focusing on resolving the deficiencies of perovskite materials and their stability, SHINE will accelerate the implementation of robust and greener perovskite-based materials, impacting also on the cost and efficiency.