CsPbBr₃ nanowires based photodetectors for encrypted communication

The rapid development of optical communication and encrypted imaging technology poses increasing challenges to the performance of photodetectors. One-dimensional metal halide perovskite nanowires have been promising candidates for high-performance photodetectors due to their distinctive merits of high light absorption coefficient, low defect density, etc. Here, we report a synthesis strategy of CsPbBr₃ nanowires based on an Au-catalyzed vapor-liquid-solid growth mode. Structure characterization reveals that the synthesized nanowires have high crystalline quality. Micro-photoluminescence measurements demonstrate that the Au-catalyzed CsPbBr₃ nanowires exhibits nearly identical fluorescence intensity along the entire wire with an emission band centered at 529 nm. Additionally, photodetectors are fabricated based on both self-assembled and Au-catalyzed CsPbBr₃ nanowires to evaluate the improvement of photoelectric performances. The device employing Au-catalyzed nanowires demonstrated significantly higher performances with a responsivity of 52.68 A W⁻¹ and a detectivity of 1.9 × 10¹³ Jones, which are superior to those based on self-assembled nanowires. Moreover, optical communication and encrypted imaging sensors are realized by Au-catalyzed nanowires, which contribute to technical advancements in the combining one-dimensional metal halide perovskite nanowires with image techniques, and provide valuable insights for the progress of secure information communications. © 2026 Elsevier B.V.