Lingnan scholar from the School of Interdisciplinary Studies co-creates breakthrough strategy for highly efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells - published in Nature

HONG KONG, Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Perovskite solar cells (PSCs), known for their high efficiency and low manufacturing costs, are considered a revolutionary photovoltaic (PV) technology that can further reduce the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE), thus promoting the development of green and renewable energy technology in order to reach our carbon reduction goals. However, state-of-the-art PSCs still face serious stability problems, especially during long-term continuous operation at high temperatures, which seriously hinder commercialisation.

Recently, Prof Wu Shengfan, Assistant Professor at the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Lingnan University, worked with teams from the City University of Hong Kong, the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Jilin University to develop a "self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) stabilisation strategy" to significantly improve the high-temperature operational stability of efficient PSCs, thereby upgrading the commercial viability of perovskite-based photovoltaics. Prof Wu is a co-corresponding author of this study, which was published in Nature, the first time that the Lingnan School of Interdisciplinary Studies has published an article in Nature as co-corresponding author.

The joint research team designed a crosslinkable SAM molecule (named JJ24) and assembled it with a hole-selective SAM molecule (named CbzNaph). After annealing at 160°C, JJ24 forms stable covalent bonds with the alkyl chains of neighbouring CbzNaph molecules, which brings three key benefits: first, it greatly enhances the conformational stability of SAM molecules, suppressing perovskite degradation induced by substrate exposure; second, it improves the orientation and dipole moment of SAM molecules, and down-shifts the work function of the substrate, increasing charge extraction and reducing energy losses; third, it helps solute dispersion in SAM precursor solution and improves the SAM compactness on substrates to add to the reproducibility and scalability of the devices.

Based on this novel strategy, the inverted PSCs achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 26.98 per cent, with a third-party certified efficiency of 26.82 per cent. Under the stringent stability testing standards set by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) (i.e. ISOS-L-2 protocol), the cells maintained their efficiency without degradation after 1,000 hours of continuous operation, and retained over 98 per cent of their initial efficiency after 700 thermal cycling tests between -40°C and 85°C.

"The breakthrough lies in simultaneously achieving nearly 27 per cent energy conversion efficiency and long-term continuous operation without efficiency degradation under 85°C high-temperature conditions," explained Prof Wu. "Furthermore, our experimental results show that this strategy is applicable to various mainstream SAM molecules, demonstrating good universality and excellent scalability in enlarging solar cell areas. This should allow the practical deployment and application of large-area perovskite solar modules within the next 3-5 years."

The research findings were published in Nature on 17 September, titled "Toughened self-assembled monolayers for durable perovskite solar cells". This scientific work represents the first breakthrough for the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Lingnan University in a top international academic journal. It shows the School's and University's research capabilities in renewable energy technologies, and lays an important foundation for the industrialisation and large-scale application of next-generation PV technology.

source: Lingnan University