These “smart” crystals bend and snap back when hit with light #worldresearchaward

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"They are 'smart materials' that can be tuned to respond to a stimulus in a way we can control," said Marina Leite, professor of materials science engineering at UC Davis and senior author on the paper. "Their chemistry is very different in a way that can be beneficial for creating devices we couldn't build before."

All perovskites share a common structure known as ABX3. At the atomic level, this can be visualized as a central atom surrounded by an octahedron (two pyramids attached at the base) formed by six atoms, all enclosed within a cube with atoms at each corner. Because of this structure, perovskites are already widely studied for use in optoelectronics and advanced solar cells."

Light triggers rapid and reversible crystal changes

To investigate how these materials respond to light, graduate student Mansha Dubey directed laser light onto perovskite crystals and monitored how their atomic structure shifted using X-ray measurements. The crystals themselves were produced by collaborators Bekir Turedi, Andrii Kanak and Professor Maksym Kovalenko at ETH Zürich, Switzerland.

The experiments revealed that shining light on the crystals causes their internal lattice to shift quickly. When the light is removed, the structure returns to its original arrangement. This cycle can be repeated many times.


"There is a dramatic change in the lattice when you shine light on it, a unique phenomenon that you don't see with silicon or gallium arsenide," Leite said. This photostriction effect is reversible and can be repeated again and again, she said.

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