Zn2+ and Cu2+ doping of one-dimensional lead-free hybrid perovskite ABX3 for white light emission and green solar cell applications

•One-dimensional DMACdCl3 hybrid perovskite (DMA= (CH3)2NH2) was investigated.•The two doped structures DMACd0.98Zn0.02Cl3 and DMACd0.97Cu0.03Cl3 were stabilized.•The doping of the crystal with Cu2+ ions improves the semiconducting property of the material.•The pure and the doped materials exhibit “cold” white light emission.•DMACd0.97Cu 0.03Cl3 is a good visible light absorber suitable for white light emission. The one-dimensional ABX3 hybrid perovskite (A=(CH3)2NH2=DMA, B=Cd and X=Cl) was synthesized and structurally characterized. The optical analysis showed that the material has a direct band-gap nature with a gap energy of 5.36 eV. The obtained compound exhibited a “cold” white-light emission under an excitation wavelength of 240 nm with a color-rendering index up to 92 and a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 7582 K. The doping of the crystal with Cu2+ ions decreased the gap energy toward 2.51 eV. The partial substitution of the Cd atoms with Cu atoms decreased the intensity of the emitted white-light under 240 nm and led to a “cold” white-light emission with a CCT of 7117 K. The doping of the material with Zn2+ yielded a blue-shift and the emitted light revealed a CCT of 11,028 K. On the other hand, by incorporating Cu2+ions into the B site a broad absorption band is observed in the visible region resulting from the d-d transitions around the copper atoms which makes the material a good visible-light absorber. Hence, the Cu doped compound could be suitable for both white-light emission and photovoltaic solar cells. [Display omitted]