Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS AND VIEWS

Solar cells that combine multiple perovskite layers surpass 30% efficiency

Perovskites are promising materials for solar cells. A layer of dipolar molecules at the perovskite surface improves the efficiency of these devices.
By
  1. Shuaifeng Hu

    1. Shuaifeng Hu is in the Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK.

  2. Henry J. Snaith

    1. Henry J. Snaith is in the Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK.

Rooftop solar panels, which are generally made of crystalline silicon, can convert around 25% of the energy from sunlight into electricity. Metal halide perovskites, a class of semiconductors, have been proposed as next-generation solar-cell materials, with the potential to achieve efficiencies that are not possible with only silicon. Using perovskites to build ‘tandem’ solar cells, in which different photoactive materials are layered on top of each other, is a particularly promising approach. However, unwanted heat generated by crystal defects in the perovskite bulk and at the interfaces through which electric charge is extracted limits the power-conversion efficiency of these devices. Writing in Nature, Lin et al.1 report tandem perovskite solar cells that use dipolar molecules called surfactants on one of the perovskite surfaces to reduce interfacial energy loss. The resulting solar cells convert more than 30% of incident solar energy into electrical energy, surpassing the theoretical limit for silicon solar cells.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 648, 544-546 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03806-x

References

  1. Lin, R. et al. Nature 648, 600–606 (2025).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kojima, A., Teshima, K., Shirai, Y. & Miyasaka, T. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 6050–6051 (2009).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Mailoa, J. P. et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 121105 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Heo, J. H. & Im, S. H. Adv. Mater. 28, 5121–5125 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Eperon, G. E. et al. Science 354, 861–865 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Lee, M. M. et al. Science 338, 643–647 (2012).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Hao, F., Stoumpos, C. C., Chang, R. P. H. & Kanatzidis, M. G. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136, 8094–8099 (2014).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Goyal, A. et al. Chem. Mater. 30, 3920–3928 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Hu, S. et al. Energy Environ. Sci. 15, 2096–2107 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Hu, S. et al. Nature 639, 93–101 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Liang, Y. et al. Nature 648, 91–96 (2025).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Haegel, N. M. et al. Science 380, 39–42 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Competing Interests

H.J.S. Is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor of Oxford PV, a company in the United Kingdom that develops perovskite-based solar technology.

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links