Prof Henry Snaith FRS

Abstract:

The past few years witnessed the rise of halide perovskites as prominent materials for a wide range of optoelectronic applications. However, oxide perovskites have a much longer history and are pivotal in many technological applications. As of today, a rational connection between these important materials is missing. Here, we explore this missing link and develop a novel concept of perovskite analogs, which led us to identify a new semiconductor, Ba₂AgIO₆. It exhibits an electronic band structure remarkably similar to that of our recently discovered halide double perovskite Cs₂AgInCl₆, but with a band gap in the visible range at 1.9 eV. We show that Ba₂AgIO₆ and Cs₂AgInCl₆ are analogs of the well-known transparent conductor BaSnO₃. We synthesize Ba₂AgIO₆ following a low-temperature solution process, and we perform crystallographic and optical characterizations. Ba₂AgIO₆ is a cubic oxide double perovskite with a direct low gap, opening new opportunities in perovskite-based electronics optoelectronics and energy applications.