Bandgap engineering of lead-free double perovskites for efficient photocatalysis

Jinyang Bi; Huijun Lv; Hengguang Wang; Liping Du; Yan Liu; Yueqi Shen; Bo Wu; Yong Wang; Weihua Ning

doi:10.1039/d5nr01676b

Bandgap engineering of lead-free double perovskites for efficient photocatalysis

Nanoscale. 2025 Jun 12;17(23):14263-14270. doi: 10.1039/d5nr01676b.

Authors

Jinyang Bi¹, Huijun Lv¹, Hengguang Wang¹, Liping Du¹, Yan Liu¹, Yueqi Shen¹, Bo Wu², Yong Wang³, Weihua Ning^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Bioinspired Interfacial Materials Science, Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China. whning@suda.edu.cn.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology and Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Silicon and Advanced Semiconductor Materials and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310027, P. R. China.
⁴ Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, Jiangsu, PR China.

PMID: 40407718
DOI: 10.1039/d5nr01676b

Abstract

Lead-free halide perovskites represent promising candidates in optoelectronics due to their excellent properties, such as high stability, mobility, defect tolerance and low-cost processes. However, their applications in photovoltaic and photocatalysis are limited by their wide bandgap nature. Here, we introduced Sb³⁺ and Sb⁵⁺ ions into the double perovskite Cs₂AgBiCl₆, successfully narrowing its bandgap and extending the absorption band edge to 1450 nm, representing the broadest near-infrared (NIR) response reported for lead-free perovskites. Remarkably, the Sb-doped perovskite catalyst exhibits a significantly enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen generation rate. Specifically, Cs₂AgBiCl₆:0.63% Sb⁵⁺ achieves a hydrogen generation rate of 4835.9 μmol g^-1 h^-1 under 420-780 nm irradiation, which is an order of magnitude improvement over that of pure Cs₂AgBiCl₆. This material maintains high photocatalytic performance within the NIR range and demonstrates sustained stability over a 16-hour continuous reaction. This study sets the stage for fabricating stable perovskite-based photocatalysts and breaks through the spectral absorption range of halide perovskite materials, and the proposed strategy extends light absorption to activate NIR photoactivity.