Emory Chemists Boost Perovskite LED Efficiency

Researchers at Emory University report a perovskite light-emitting diode reaching 37% efficiency, published in the journal Nature.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Chemistry

Bold flat vector editorial illustration of a teal glove box enclosure with a glowing amber film on a substrate at its center, flanked by simplified vials and a spin-coater. — Emory University chemists report a perovskite light-emitting diode reaching 37% efficiency, a gain over the 20-30% range of most prior work, published in Nature. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Chemists at Emory University developed a method that significantly improves the efficiency of perovskite light-emitting diodes, with the work published in the journal Nature. The group reached a peak efficiency of 37%, compared with the 20-30% range seen in most prior work.

Why it matters

Perovskite LEDs have been limited by efficiency, and the approach offers a chemistry-driven strategy for additive design that could drive further gains. Inorganic LEDs already largely replaced incandescent bulbs in the 2010s, and more efficient devices extend that shift.

Laboratory measurements reported in Nature put the peak efficiency of the new perovskite LED at 37%, above the 20-30% range seen in most prior work and the 20-25% baseline for the standard formulation. The lab is still working to improve efficiency and operational lifetime, and the stub does not report independent replication of the result.

The players

Emory University

A private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, where the Dou lab conducted the work.

Letian Dou

A professor of chemistry at Emory University who is senior author of the paper and holds about 20 patents, five involving LEDs.

Sung-Doo Baek

A postdoctoral fellow in the Dou lab who is first author of the paper and first noticed the higher-efficiency batch.

The details

Researchers found that heating the solution for 20 minutes produced the highest efficiency, favoring a linear compound that boosts LED performance while suppressing a ring compound that harms it. Perovskite LEDs are made by spin-coating metal halide salts and additives in ultrathin layers inside a nitrogen glove box, and the team synthesized and purified the linear compound to control the reaction pathway.

2018: Additive for the basic perovskite LED formulation was discovered.
Last year: Letian Dou joined the Emory faculty as a chemistry professor.
November 2, 2026: Emory News published the article on the advancement.

Roadmap

Inorganic LEDs began largely replacing incandescent bulbs in the 2010s, and incandescent bulbs waste 90% of their energy as heat. This perovskite result extends that lighting shift by raising the efficiency of a newer LED material toward levels that could compete with established technologies.

More efficient perovskite LEDs could eventually mean lighting that delivers the brightness of a 60-watt incandescent bulb while drawing only 8 to 10 watts. The stub does not give a commercialization timeline, so consumer availability remains uncertain.

The takeaway

Small changes to how a material is synthesized can produce large gains in device efficiency. Readers following lighting technology can watch whether independent labs reproduce the 37% figure.