Dr. Miaoqiang Lyu, a chemical engineer at the University of Queensland (UQ), has received a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award (FREA) to develop a prototype lead-free perovskite indoor photovoltaic (IPV) device for powering wearable health monitoring sensors, including glucose sensors, ECG patches, and sweat-based lactate and electrolyte sensors.
Perovskite indoor photovoltaics have been considered a promising power source for such devices, capable of harvesting both indoor light and sunlight to enable continuous, battery-free operation. However, the toxic lead content in many perovskite formulations has limited their use in skin-contact applications. Lyu said the technology could remove a key limitation of wearable health devices, which currently rely on batteries that require regular charging and eventual replacement.
Lyu's team laid the groundwork for this last May, when they reported a lead-free, solvent-free vapour-deposition process that achieved a record 16.36% efficiency for lead-free perovskite IPV devices under indoor illumination. The FREA-backed project will push that process further using thermal evaporation, which Lyu described as an industry-compatible method with strong potential for scale-up, and apply it to a working wearable-device prototype.
Lyu said the benefits could be particularly relevant for people managing chronic illness, as well as for communities in regional and remote areas with less access to healthcare services.
