6–10 Jul 2026
University of the Western Cape
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
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Exploring newly synthesized metal halide organic-inorganic hybrids for optoelectronic and photovoltaic properties

7 Jul 2026, 17:20
1h 20m
Great Hall (University of the Western Cape)

Great Hall

University of the Western Cape

Poster Presentation Track F - Applied Physics Poster Session 1

Speaker

Tondani Mahuluhulu (University of Johannesburg)

Description

Organic–inorganic hybrid (OIH) materials have gained considerable attention due to their structural versatility and potential applications in photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices. However, the dominance of lead-based systems raises concerns about toxicity and environmental stability, underscoring the need for alternative lead-free hybrids. This study delves into the structural versatility of Organic-Inorganic Hybrids (OIHs) by synthesizing diammonium series of Mn and Co-based hybrids of the formula A2MX4, [NH3ꟷ(CH2) nꟷNH3]MX4 (M = Mn, Co; X = Cl and Br) with metal halides.
In addressing the pressing issues of toxicity and stability in lead-based hybrids, the OIHs hybrids were doped with transition metals, manganese (Mn) and cobalt (Co), as replacements for lead. A systematic solution-based synthesis approach was used to prepare these hybrids, and the resulting crystals were characterized comprehensively using advanced techniques, including Single-Crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), fluorescence spectroscopy, and magnetic measurements. In addition, Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the electronic structure, including frontier molecular orbitals, density of states (DOS), and band gap energies, with the aim of correlating theoretical predictions with experimental observations.
This work reports on the correlation between structural variation and metal-dependent optical and magnetic behavior, which provides valuable insight into structure–property relationships and potential applications in photovoltaics and optoelectronic devices.

References
Abdel-Aal, S.K. et al. (2023) ‘Crystal structures, Hirshfeld surfaces, Infrared, and XRF/XAFS studies of Long-chain 2D Lead-free Hybrid Perovskite NH3(CH2)9NH3MCl4 (M = Mn, Co, Cu)’, Journal of Molecular Structure, 1276, p. 134757. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.134757.
Asensio, Y. et al. (2022) ‘Magnetic Properties of Layered Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Metal-Halide Perovskites: Transition Metal, Organic Cation and Perovskite Phase Effects’, Advanced Functional Materials, 32(51). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202207988.
Ghosh, S., Shankar, H. and Kar, P. (2022) ‘Recent developments of lead-free halide double perovskites: a new superstar in the optoelectronic field’, Materials Advances, (1), pp. 3742–3765. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1039/d2ma00071g.
Lim, A.R., (2021) Effect of methylene chain length of perovskite-type layered [NH 3 (CH 2) n NH 3] ZnCl 4 (n= 2, 3, and 4) crystals on thermodynamic properties, structural geometry, and molecular dynamics. RSC advances, 11(60), pp.37824-37829. DOI: 10.1039/d1ra07656f.
Wang, Y. et al. (2024) ‘Recent advances in lead-free halide perovskites: from synthesis to applications’, Journal of Materials Chemistry C. Royal Society of Chemistry, pp. 10267–10329. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4tc01556h.

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Author

Tondani Mahuluhulu (University of Johannesburg)

Co-authors

Dr Banele Vatsha (University of Johannesburg) Prof. Buyisiwe Sondezi (University of Johannesburg) Prof. Charmaine Arderne (University of Johannesburg)

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