perovskiid

Perovskite is a mineral with the chemical formula CaTiO3, calcium titanium oxide. It is named after the Russian mineralogist L. A. Perovski. The crystal structure of perovskite is cubic and is characterized by a central large cation (calcium in this case) surrounded by an octahedron of smaller anions (oxygen) which are themselves coordinated to a smaller cation (titanium). This specific ABX3 crystal structure is known as the perovskite structure and is found in a wide range of materials, not just calcium titanate.

Materials with the perovskite structure have diverse and often remarkable properties, making them of significant scientific and technological interest. These properties include ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, superconductivity, and catalytic activity. For instance, barium titanate (BaTiO3) is a well-known ferroelectric material with the perovskite structure, widely used in capacitors and sensors. Other perovskite compounds, such as strontium titanate (SrTiO3), exhibit interesting dielectric and semiconducting properties.

The versatility of the perovskite structure allows for numerous substitutions at both the A and B sites, leading to a vast family of materials with tunable electronic and ionic properties. This tunability has opened up avenues for applications in solar cells, LEDs, thermoelectric devices, and solid oxide fuel cells. In particular, hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites have emerged as highly efficient light absorbers in solar cells, achieving power conversion efficiencies comparable to established technologies. The relative ease of synthesis and low cost of these materials further contribute to their growing importance.