Publication date: 18th August 2023
Lead-free perovskite materials have gained attention as potential alternatives to lead-based perovskites in optoelectronic devices due to their lower toxicity and environmental impact. Inkjet printing has emerged as a promising technique for the fabrication of lead-free perovskite thin films, as it enables precise and controlled deposition of the perovskite ink on a variety of substrates. One main advantage of inkjet printing for the fabrication of lead-free perovskite thin films is its ability to produce uniform films with controlled thickness and high coverage, which is critical for achieving high-performance devices. Additionally, inkjet printing allows for the deposition of patterned thin films, enabling the fabrication of complex device architectures such as light emitting diode (LED). In this work we compare the role of ink solutions using pure solvents, toxic dimethyl formamide (DMF) and eco-friendly dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), by presenting lead-free TEA2SnI4-based perovskite LEDs which are successfully inkjet-printed on flexible substrates. Red-emitting devices (λmax = 633 nm) exhibit, in ambient conditions, a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQEmax) of 0.5% with a related brightness of 28 cd/m2 at 22 mA/cm2 for DMF-based and 21 cd/m2 at 54 mA/cm2 for DMSO-based LEDs, respectively.