Templating and structural engineering in organic-inorganic perovskites

Hybrid perovskites provide the possibility of integrating useful organic and inorganic characteristics within a single crystalline molecular-scale composite, enabling unique electronic, magnetic and optical properties. The ability to understand and control the organic and inorganic structural attributes of these hybrids is important for being able to engineer the physical characteristics, both for fundamental studies as well as potential applications. Recently, a number of new and interesting perovskite structures have been reported and a better understanding has begun to emerge with respect to crystal design considerations. This contribution will review several of these new developments and will provide a more general discussion of structural engineering within this diverse family of compounds. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2001.