Surface Ligand Engineering for a Lead-Free Cs₃Cu₂Br₅ Microcrystal-Based Humidity Sensor with a Giant Response

Halide perovskites are potential humidity-detection materials due to their sensitivity to water, but the instability of traditional lead-based halide perovskites and the toxicity of Pb hinder further application in humidity sensing. Here, lead-free Cs₃Cu₂Br₅ perovskite microcrystals passivated by surface ligands (OLA and OAm) are used to prepare an environmentally friendly humidity sensor. The humidity sensing performance of the prepared sensors was tested, and the effect of surface ligands of perovskites on the performance of humidity sensors was analyzed. The results show that the impedance variations of the manufactured humidity sensors at 12 to 95% relative humidity are 10⁶Ω (OLA) and 10⁵Ω (OAm), respectively. Besides, the sensors demonstrated excellent repeatability, low hysteresis, and considerable stability at different RH values. Furthermore, the analysis of the different ligands attests that short-chain OLA is more conducive to the formation of porous films with stronger water absorption capacity, further improving the responsiveness of the sensor. By contrast, and long-chain OAm is more conducive to the formation of dense films, improving the response ability at low humidity. Additionally, the more hydrophilic OLA contributes to greater responsiveness, while the more hydrophobic OAm helps to shorten the response and recovery time.