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Handwriting of perovskite optoelectronic devices on diverse substrates

Nature Photonics volume 17, pages 964–971 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Paper and textiles that are commonly used in our daily lives hold great potential as platforms for next-generation flexible and wearable electronics. However, strategies for fabricating light-emitting diodes and photodetectors on different substrates are restricted in terms of their quantity and variety as strict flatness and smoothness are often required. Here we develop a highly versatile, scalable and eco-friendly handwriting approach to draw multicolour perovskite light-emitting diodes and perovskite photodetectors on various substrates, including paper, textiles, plastics, elastomers, rubber and three-dimensional objects. Our method uses common ballpoint pens filled with newly formulated inks of conductive polymers, metal nanowires and multiple perovskites for a wide range of emission colours. Just like writing with multicoloured pens, writing layer-by-layer with these functional inks enables perovskite optoelectronic devices to be realized within minutes. This process can be carried out by individuals without specialized training. The handwritten perovskite light-emitting diodes can exhibit a brightness as high as 15,225 cd m−2, a current efficiency of 6.65 cd A−1 and a turn-on voltage of 2.4 V. The perovskite photodetectors exhibit an on/off ratio of over 10,000 and a responsivity of up to 132 mA W−1. This work offers a route to the integration of perovskite optoelectronics in low-cost and large-area application scenarios such as electronic textiles, electronic paper, smart packaging and other disposable electronics and wearables.

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Fig. 1: Handwriting of perovskite optoelectronic devices with multicolour light emissions.
Fig. 2: Handwritten PeLEDs on ubiquitous objects in daily life.
Fig. 3: Methods for preparing the paper substrate and characterisation of the PEDOT:PSS/PEO bottom electrode.
Fig. 4: Performance characterization of the handwritten multicolour PeLEDs on paper.
Fig. 5: Performance characterization of the handwritten PePDs on paper.

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Data availability

All data supporting the results in this study are provided in the Article and Supplementary Information. Additional data are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

Change history

  • 11 August 2023

    In the version of this article initially published, an incorrect version of the Supplementary information appeared, which is now amended in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation under award numbers INV-005417 and INV-035476 (J.Z., L.-W.L. and C.W.) and Washington University. We also acknowledge the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering at Washington University for the use of instruments and staff assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical & Systems Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Junyi Zhao, Li-Wei Lo & Chuan Wang

  2. Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Li-Wei Lo & Chuan Wang

  3. Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Zhibin Yu

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  1. Junyi Zhao
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  2. Li-Wei Lo
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Contributions

J.Z. and C.W. conceived the idea and designed the experiments. J.Z. carried out all the experiments including the ink development, device fabrication, characterization of the materials and device measurements. L.-W.L. contributed to part of the ink formulation and development of the printing process. J.Z., Z.Y., and C.W. performed the data analysis. J.Z. and C.W. wrote the paper while all authors provided feedback.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhibin Yu or Chuan Wang.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Photonics thanks Qibing Pei, Sheng Xu, Cunjiang Yu and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–16 and Tables 1–5.

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Zhao, J., Lo, LW., Yu, Z. et al. Handwriting of perovskite optoelectronic devices on diverse substrates. Nat. Photon. 17, 964–971 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-023-01266-1

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