Lattice stabilization and strain homogenization in Sn-Pb bottom subcells enable stable all-perovskite tandems solar cells
All-perovskite tandem solar cells (PTSCs) offer a promising approach to surpass the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit, driven by efficiently reducing thermalization and transmission losses. However, the efficiency and stability of the narrow-bandgap (NBG) subcells, which are essential for PTSC performance, remain severely constrained by challenges such as lattice instability, strain accumulation and halide migration under illumination. This study introduces a rigid sulfonate-based molecule, sodium naphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonate (NTS), into tin-lead (Sn-Pb) perovskites, where it strengthens the Sn-I bond through Sn-trisulfonate coordination and reduces light-induced dynamic lattice distortions via the rigid NTS backbone. These molecular interactions alleviate strain heterogeneity within the lattice and homogenize the Sn-Pb compositional gradient, thereby enhancing the structural integrity and long-term stability of Sn-Pb perovskites under operational conditions. As a result, Sn-Pb single-junction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.2%. When integrated into a tandem configuration, the device attains an impressive PCE of 29.6% (certified PCE of 29.2%, one of the highest certified efficiencies to date), with 93.1% of the initial efficiency retained after 700 h of continuous operation. By stabilizing the lattice structure, this work lays a solid foundation for achieving both high efficiency and long-term durability in next-generation perovskite photovoltaics.
Authors
- Yuanyuan Meng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4028-8956)
- Ziyi Ge (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3656-6017)
- Boxin Jiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0261-2169)
- Zhenhua Song
- Kexuan Sun
- Ruijia Tian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7121-6093)
- Jiangwei Gao
- Yang Bai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8481-368X)
- Chang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6548-3339)
- Xiaoyi Lü (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0037-7436)
- Haibin Pan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7901-9737)
- Yaohua Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3886-5195)
- Shujing Zhou
- Ming Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8013-5148)
- Jingnan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-0111-2140)
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Ningbo Institute of Industrial Technology (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-08-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62661-6
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Perovskite Materials and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.92
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars