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Researchers Redirect Solar Cell Technology to Develop a Simple Lead Spraying Test

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Researchers at AMOLF have utilized the unique properties of perovskite semiconductors to develop a simple spraying test for demonstrating the presence of Lead. Perovskite is a material suitable for use in LEDs and solar cells.


A surface containing Lead shines brightly green when sprayed with the test. This test is 1,000 times more sensitive than existing tests, and researchers have found no false positives or false negatives. The study was published on November 27 in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology.

“We have redirected perovskite semiconductor technology and used it in a widely deployable Lead test. Nobody in this field had ever thought of it,” explains Lukas Helmbrecht, a researcher in the Self-Organizing Matter group led by Wim Noorduin at AMOLF. “We are very pleased with these results,” says Noorduin. “It’s a really cool project, and it’s quite rare for fundamental research to have a literal impact on the entire world with an application.”

Science at home

A few years ago, the group developed a two-step process to transform a calcite structure, such as the skeleton of a sea urchin, into a semiconductor. The calcium carbonate in the skeleton reacts and transforms into Lead perovskite, a semiconductor material that emits light under UV light.

While stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noorduin pondered other possible applications of this material. At the same time, he learned about significant health risks associated with Lead exposure, especially for young children who can suffer brain damage. A simple test to demonstrate the presence of Lead could help reduce such exposure, and perhaps the electroluminescent properties of Lead perovskite could contribute to it.

Noorduin took home a solution that could form perovskite if it came into contact with Lead and sprayed it on a gutter. It immediately emitted a bright green color. To his surprise, the same thing happened with the paint on the adjacent window frame, which also lit up. Both surfaces contained a form of Lead. The green light is luminescent and reveals the formation of Lead perovskite semiconductor. “It worked so easily that we started thinking about developing a test to detect Lead on a wide range of surfaces.”

Only Lead lights up

Helmbrecht took up the challenge and found that a methylammonium bromide solution was the most effective. As soon as this solution comes into contact with a Lead compound, it immediately forms Lead perovskite, which lights up bright green under UV light. Helmbrecht tried a range of surfaces, from Lead pipes and paint to Lead salts, glass, and plastics such as PVC and electrical wires. They all lit up bright green, proof of the presence of Lead. If an iodide or chloride solution is used instead of bromide, the emitted light is respectively red or blue.

Furthermore, Helmbrecht tested over fifty materials that did not contain Lead but contained similar elements, such as tin, aluminum, and copper. None of them lit up. This indicates that the test is highly chemoselective. The test reveals Lead concentrations of one nanogram per mm2, while most current tests have an accuracy not exceeding a few micrograms per mm2. The new test is, therefore, 1,000 times more sensitive.

Discoveries in Lead Detection Chemistry

It is interesting to note that the Lead compound in which the material contains metallic Lead or one of the Lead salts does not matter. Noorduin explains: “It seems that all compounds are converted into what is called Lead 2+ valence. We are not surprised that the chemical reaction only works with Lead. We know this from research on perovskite solar cells and LEDs. The limited reaction is a disadvantage for solar cells, but for our test, it is an advantage because it makes the test very selective. However, we were surprised that the test works for so many different Lead-containing materials.

The exact course of the chemical reaction is still under study, Noorduin explains. “We think it is a multi-step process in which Lead first dissolves a bit, undergoes possibly a redox reaction, and then forms a Lead salt, which is then transformed into perovskite. However, the reaction is so fast that we are not sure about it but able to detect the steps.

The knowledge gained from this study, which after all started with research on perovskite semiconductors, could in turn stimulate the same type of research in the development of better solar cells or LEDs from perovskite, for example.

Health benefits worldwide

A spin-off from this research is the company Lumetallix, which Helmbrecht and Noorduin are establishing in collaboration with Jeroen van den Bosch, with the recent arrival of Xander Terpstra (CCO). They jointly hold an international patent with AMOLF on the process and the development of a universal test kit. It is both affordable and easy to use for anyone who wants to know if Lead is present in the environment. Test kits can be ordered through the website. Researchers are also working with NGOs worldwide to distribute kits to the local population, in India and Ivory Coast, for example. This would enable people to take their own measures to eliminate Lead and thus prevent health problems.

“The fact that a surface containing Lead lights up bright green after spraying it presents many advantages over the existing test that only shows a color change,” explains Helmbrecht. “Firstly, the existing test does not work for color-blind people. Secondly, our test emits light if Lead is detected, meaning you can also observe the result effortlessly in dark places like basements. Thirdly, the fact that something ‘lights up’ is both magical and alarming. We hope to find more people willing to take the test so that we can raise more awareness of the presence of Lead, also here in the Netherlands.”

More information:

Lukas Helmbrecht et al., Direct Lead Detection in the Environment by Photoluminescent Perovskite Formation with Nanogram Sensitivity, Environmental Science & Technology (2023). DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c06058

Journal information:

Environmental Science & Technology

The reagent reacts with lead, forming a perovskite that fluoresces green under UV light

Spray Makes Lead Glow Green in the Environment

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Lead is highly toxic, especially to children, and it is pervasive in various materials such as water pipes, paints, glass, electronic components, and ammunition.

Due to activities like mining, coal power plants, or recycling, this heavy metal ends up directly in the environment, posing a particular threat to small children and potentially causing lifelong consequences, including neurological disorders, learning difficulties, and severe physical illnesses. Fortunately, removing this toxin from the environment is relatively straightforward once its presence is identified. The challenge lies in detecting its presence, as it typically requires complex laboratory processes to separate and enrich the element from samples.

Detecting dangerous levels of lead in the environment may become significantly easier in the future. A research group led by Willem L. Noorduin has developed a method in which a sample is sprayed with a chemical, and using a UV lamp, one can immediately determine if lead is present. As reported in the journal “Environmental Science & Technology,” the method correctly identified the presence of lead in experiments with over 50 samples. Moreover, it proved effective even at very low concentrations and with all types of lead compounds. The spray contains Methylammonium bromide, a substance that forms a semiconducting mineral with lead, emitting a green glow under UV light.

The discovery revolves around Perovskites, a class of materials with versatile properties currently under intensive research by various groups and companies. Solar cells based on lead-containing semiconducting Perovskites achieve over 25 percent efficiency. Noorduin and his team originally developed Methylammonium bromide for Perovskite production, and the ability to detect lead in the environment was, according to the research group, a fortunate discovery. The chemical reaction that forms the Perovskite upon contact with lead and spray, even in the presence of water or acid that would typically break down Perovskites, remains somewhat mysterious.

Researchers hijack solar cell technology to develop a simple spray test for Lead

AMOLF researchers have used the special properties of perovskite semiconductors to develop a simple spray test to demonstrate the presence of Lead.

Perovskite is a material suitable for use in LEDs and solar cells, for example. A Lead-containing surface shines bright green when it is sprayed with the test. This test is 1,000 times more sensitive than existing tests and the researchers found no false positive or false negative results. The study was published on November 27 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

We have hijacked the technology of perovskite semiconductors

Innovative Application of Perovskite Semiconductor Technology

“We have hijacked the technology of perovskite semiconductors and used it in a widely deployable Lead test. Nobody in this discipline had ever thought of that,” says Lukas Helmbrecht, researcher at the group Self-Organizing Matter led by Wim Noorduin at AMOLF. “We are very pleased with these results,” says Noorduin. “It is a really cool project and it is quite rare for fundamental research to literally impact the entire world with an application.”

Read the full article on todayheadline.co

Household items - lead

Lood zichtbaar te maken met perovskiet



Amolf-onderzoekers hebben de bijzondere eigenschappen van perovskiet-halfgeleiders gebruikt om een eenvoudige spuittest te ontwikkelen om de aanwezigheid van lood aan te tonen. Een loodhoudend oppervlak glanst heldergroen als het met de test wordt besproeid.



Looddetectie met Perovskiet Halfgeleiders

De test is 1000 keer gevoeliger dan bestaande tests en de onderzoekers vonden geen vals-positieve of vals-negatieve resultaten. De studie werd gepubliceerd in het wetenschappelijke tijdschrift Environmental Science and Technology.

We hebben de technologie van perovskiethalfgeleiders gekaapt

Een toepassing die de hele wereld beïnvloedt

“We hebben de technologie van perovskiethalfgeleiders gekaapt en gebruikt in een breed inzetbare leadtest. Niemand in dit vakgebied had daar ooit aan gedacht”, zegt Lukas Helmbrecht, onderzoeker bij de groep Self-Organizing Matter die wordt geleid door Wim Noorduin bij Amolf. “Wij zijn erg blij met deze resultaten”, zegt Noorduin. “Het is een heel gaaf project en het komt zelden voor dat fundamenteel onderzoek met een toepassing letterlijk de hele wereld beïnvloedt.”

Read the full article on engineersonline.nl

The reagent reacts with lead, forming a perovskite that fluoresces green under UV light

Spray-on detector makes Lead light up green

Chemical reacts with Lead instantly to form fluorescent perovskite

Lead contamination and exposure can cause “ profound and permanent ” impacts, including brain damage in children, and increased risk of kidney damage, cardiovascular disease, and miscarriage, according to the World Health Organization. While known contamination is relatively easy to mitigate, the detection itself can be a tricky proposition. Standard methods can only detect Lead if it’s isolated and concentrated first.

Everyday items, with a result in seconds.

Now, researchers at Amolf, a research institute dedicated to studying the physics of matter, have developed a spray-on reagent that signals the presence of even tiny amounts of Lead by lighting up fluorescent green under a UV light within seconds. Comprised of methyl ammonium bromide in isopropanol, it reacts with Lead to form a photoluminescent Lead bromide perovskite (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2023, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c06058).

“We can even spot nanograms of Lead in laboratory conditions”

Gabriel Filippelli, a biogeochemist at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, who wasn’t involved in study but did test a beta version of the spray, says that it is both sensitive, quick, and accurate, detecting Lead in a way that is obvious to the eye. According to the researchers, the reagent does not react with similar metals like tin or copper, and it can detect Lead on glass, plastic, concrete, soil, metal, paint, and more. “We can [even] spot nanograms of Lead in laboratory conditions,” says Wim Noorduin, the Lead author of the study. The color emitted by the perovskite depends on the halide; bromide causes it to appear green.

The versatile Lead Detection with surprising Origins

“What’s special about our [test] is that we . . . just do it in the environment,” Noorduin says. In fact, the researchers were surprised by the versatility and robustness of the reaction, which detects Lead in different oxidation states and with different counter ions. The researchers spent two years developing the reagent, but for a different use—to make perovskites from the calcium carbonate in the shell of creatures like sea urchins. They discovered its potential as a Lead detector by accident, when Noorduin took it home and happened to spray it on his neighbors’ roof.

Read the full article on cen.acs.org