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.

  • Article
  • Published:

Vapour-assisted surface treatment for highly stable fully printed carbon-electrode perovskite solar modules

Nature Photonics volume 20, pages 170–177 (2026)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

The operational stability of perovskite solar modules (PSMs) is inferior to that of smaller-sized devices, posing a critical challenge to advance their practical applications. Printable carbon electrodes are highly stable and cost-effective, representing a promising strategy to address the stability issue when used as rear contacts in fully printable PSMs. However, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of carbon-electrode PSMs still lags behind their metal-electrode counterparts. Here we develop a scalable vapour post-treatment process based on molecules with small sizes and low boiling point that effectively minimize non-radiative recombination and facilitate charge extraction. We demonstrate fully printed carbon-electrode PSMs with about 50 cm2 of active area and a PCE of 20.41% (19.26% certified). Our strategy significantly improves the stability of modules, with negligible PCE decay after tracking at the maximum power point for 1,020 h under 1-sun illumination at 65 °C. The unencapsulated carbon-electrode PSMs retain over 84% of the initial PCE under the damp heat test (85 °C and 85% relative humidity) for 2,280 h. We believe our treatment strategy will sustain the development of carbon-electrode PSMs towards commercial upscaling.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

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

Fig. 1: Device structure and fabrication of C-PSMs.
Fig. 2: Vapour post-treatment for perovskite films.
Fig. 3: Optoelectronic characterizations of perovskite films.
Fig. 4: PV performance and operational stability.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The main data supporting the findings of this study are available within this Article and its Supplementary Information. Additional data are available from the corresponding authors on request. Source data are provided with this paper.

References

  1. Li, J. et al. Homogeneous coverage of the low-dimensional perovskite passivation layer for formamidinium–caesium perovskite solar modules. Nat. Energy 9, 1540–1550 (2024).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Jeong, J. et al. Pseudo-halide anion engineering for α-FAPbI3 perovskite solar cells. Nature 592, 381–385 (2021).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Chen, H. et al. Improved charge extraction in inverted perovskite solar cells with dual-site-binding ligands. Science 384, 189–193 (2024).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Champion Photovoltaic Module Efficiency Chart https://www.nrel.gov/pv/module-efficiency

  5. Zhou, J., et al. Highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells via a multifunctional hole transporting material. Joule 8, 1691–1706 (2024). Zhou, J. et al. Highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells via a multifunctional hole transporting material. Joule 8, 1691–1706 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Li, J., Dong, Q., Li, N. & Wang, L. Direct evidence of ion diffusion for the silver-electrode-induced thermal degradation of inverted perovskite solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater 7, 1602922 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Domanski, K. et al. Not all that glitters is gold: metal-migration-induced degradation in perovskite solar cells. ACS Nano 10, 6306–6314 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Chen, H. & Yang, S. Carbon-based perovskite solar cells without hole transport materials: the front runner to the market?. Adv. Mater. 29, 1603994 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Lin, X. et al. In situ growth of graphene on both sides of a Cu-Ni alloy electrode for perovskite solar cells with improved stability. Nat Energy 7, 520–527 (2022).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  10. Weerasinghe, H. C. et al. The first demonstration of entirely roll-to-roll fabricated perovskite solar cell modules under ambient room conditions. Nat. Commun. 15, 1656 (2024).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Xiang, J. et al. Efficient carbon-based hole-conductor-free printable mesoscopic perovskite solar cells via a multifunctional fluorinated molecule. Adv. Funct. Mater. 10, 2402816 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Liu, J. et al. Electron injection and defect passivation for high-efficiency mesoporous perovskite solar cells. Science 383, 1198–1204 (2024).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  13. Ren, Y. et al. Long-chain gemini surfactant-assisted blade coating enables large-area carbon-based perovskite solar modules with record performance. Nano-Micro Lett. 15, 182 (2023).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Rombach, F. M., Haque, S. A. & Macdonald, T. J. Lessons learned from Spiro-OMeTAD and PTAA in perovskite solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 14, 5161–5190 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Yu, W. et al. Carbon-based perovskite solar cells with electron and hole-transporting/-blocking layers. Mater. Futures 2, 022101 (2023).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Wang, H., Liu, H., Li, W., Zhu, L. & Chen, H. Inorganic perovskite solar cells based on carbon electrodes. Nano Energy 77, 105160 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Tan, S. et al. Surface reconstruction of halide perovskites during post-treatment. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 143, 6781–6786 (2021).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Zhang, K. et al. Efficient inorganic vapor-assisted defects passivation for perovskite solar module. Adv. Mater. 35, 2211593 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Zhao, X. et al. Operationally stable perovskite solar modules enabled by vapor-phase fluoride treatment. Science 385, 433–438 (2024).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Hou, Y. et al. A generic interface to reduce the efficiency-stability-cost gap of perovskite solar cells. Science 358, 1192–1197 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Son, S. Y. et al. Integrating charge mobility, stability and stretchability within conjugated polymer films for stretchable multifunctional sensors. Nat. Commun. 13, 2739 (2022).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  22. Abutaha, A. et al. Correlating charge and thermoelectric transport to paracrystallinity in conducting polymers. Nat. Commun. 11, 1737 (2022).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Cao, F. et al. Synergistic effect between niox and P3HT enabling efficient and stable hole transport pathways for regular perovskite photovoltaics. Adv. Funct. Mater. 32, 2201423 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Nia, Y. N. et al. Doping strategy for efficient and stable triple cation hybrid perovskite solar cells and module based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) hole transport layer. Small 15, 1904399 (2019).

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  25. Jiang, X. et al. Molecular dipole engineering of carbonyl additives for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 62, e202302462 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Zhang, H. et al. Fluorine-containing passivation layer via surface chelation for inorganic perovskite solar cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 135, e202216634 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Zhou, Q. et al. Revealing steric-hindrance-dependent buried interface defect passivation mechanism in efficient and stable perovskite solar cells with mitigated tensile stress. Adv. Funct. Mater. 32, 2205507 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Cao, J. et al. Chlorinated-Ti3C2TF as a dual-functional buried interface on sno2 electron-transporting layers for 25.09% high-performance n–i–p perovskite solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 17, 3454–3469 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Fu, G., Lee, D.-K., Ma, C. & Park, N.-G. Disulfidation interfacial engineering toward stable, lead-immobilizable perovskite solar cells. ACS Energy Lett 8, 4563–4571 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Jeon, Y.-S., Kang, D.-H., Kim, J.-H. & Park, N.-G. Stability and efficiency improvement of perovskite solar cells by surface hydroxyl defect passivation of SnO2 layer with 4-fluorothiophenol. J. Mater. Chem. A 11, 3673–3681 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Ma, D. et al. Distribution control enables efficient reduced-dimensional perovskite LEDs. Nature 599, 594–598 (2021).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  32. Lu, H. et al. Vapor-assisted deposition of highly efficient, stable black-phase FAPbI3 perovskite solar cells. Science 370, eabb8985 (2020).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  33. Qian, Y. et al. Passivating perovskites in air via an alternating cation interlayer phase formed by benzylamine vapor fumigation. Adv. Funct. Mater. 33, 2214731 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Krishna, A. et al. Mitigating the heterointerface driven instability in perovskite photovoltaics. ACS Energy Lett. 8, 3604–3613 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Kim, G. et al. Impact of strain relaxation on performance of α-formamidinium lead iodide perovskite solar cells. Science 370, 108–112 (2020).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  36. Subedi, B. et al. Urbach energy and open-circuit voltage deficit for mixed anion-cation perovskite solar cells. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 14, 7796–7804 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Luo, L. et al. Stabilization of 3D/2D perovskite heterostructures via inhibition of ion diffusion by cross-linked polymers for solar cells with improved performance. Nat. Energy 8, 294–303 (2023).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. Dong, Q. et al. Electron-hole diffusion lengths > 175 μm in solution-grown CH3NH3PbI3 single crystals. Science 347, 967–970 (2015).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  39. Meng, X. et al. Choline derivative as a multifunctional interfacial bridge through synergistic effects for improving the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells. Small 20, 2310275 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Wang, Y. et al. Defective MWCNT enabled dual interface coupling for carbon-based perovskite solar cells with efficiency exceeding 22%. Adv. Funct. Mater. 32, 2204831 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Luo, Y. et al. Dissolved-Cl2 triggered redox reaction enables high-performance perovskite solar cells. Nat. Commun. 14, 3738 (2023).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  42. Chen, R. et al. Reduction of bulk and surface defects in inverted methylammonium- and bromide-free formamidinium perovskite solar cells. Nat. Energy 8, 839–849 (2023).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  43. Wu, Z. et al. Passivation strategies for enhancing device performance of perovskite solar cells. Nano Energy 115, 108731 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Luo, C. et al. Solid-solid chemical bonding featuring targeted defect passivation for efficient perovskite photovoltaics. Energy Environ. Sci. 16, 178–189 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  45. Yang, F. et al. Low temperature processed fully printed efficient planar structure carbon electrode perovskite solar cells and modules. Adv. Energy Mater. 11, 2101219 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Zhu, A. et al. Playdough-like carbon electrode: a promising strategy for high efficiency perovskite solar cells and modules. eScience 4, 100221 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Du, T. et al. Precursor-engineered volatile inks enable reliable blade-coating of cesium-formamidinium perovskites toward fully printed solar modules. Adv. Sci. 11, 2401783 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  48. Grancini, G. et al. One-year stable perovskite solar cells by 2D/3D interface engineering. Nat. Commun. 8, 15684 (2017).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  49. Hu, Y. et al. Stable large-area (10 × 10 cm2) printable mesoscopic perovskite module exceeding 10% efficiency. Sol. RRL. 1, 1600019 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. Xu, M. et al. Efficient triple-mesoscopic perovskite solar mini-modules fabricated with slot-die coating. Nano Energy 74, 104842 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Priyadarshi, A. et al. A large area (70 cm2) monolithic perovskite solar module with a high efficiency and stability. Energy Environ. Sci. 9, 3687–3692 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Burlingame, Q. C., Loo, Y.-L. & Katz, E. A. Accelerated ageing of organic and perovskite photovoltaics. Nat. Energy 8, 1300–1302 (2023).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  53. Zhu, H. et al. Long-term operating stability in perovskite photovoltaics. Nat. Rev. Mater. 8, 569–586 (2023).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

S.Y. acknowledges support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U2001217, 22261160370 and 21972006), the Shenzhen Peacock Plan (KQTD2016053015544057), the Nanshan Pilot Plan from the Shenzhen Science-Technology Innovation Commission and the Shenzhen Innovation Fund (JCYJ2022081810101838). H.C. acknowledges support from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. Y.B. acknowledges support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52172182) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities. We are grateful to the Analysis & Testing Center of Beihang University for the facilities and the scientific and technical assistance.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Xiaozhen Wei, Kai Zhang.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China

    Xiaozhen Wei, Haining Chen, Chunyu Lv, Huicong Liu & Weiping Li

  2. School of Advanced Materials, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, China

    Xiaozhen Wei, Kai Zhang, Weibiao Zhong, Qifeng Lin, Xianzhen Huang, Chunyu Lv & Shihe Yang

  3. Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen, China

    Kai Zhang & Shihe Yang

  4. School of Materials Science & Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

    Yujiang Du, Cheng Zhu & Yang Bai

  5. Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, Zhejiang University, Quzhou, China

    Guangtong Hai

Authors
  1. Xiaozhen Wei
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kai Zhang
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Haining Chen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Weibiao Zhong
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Qifeng Lin
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Xianzhen Huang
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Chunyu Lv
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Yujiang Du
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Huicong Liu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Guangtong Hai
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Cheng Zhu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Weiping Li
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Yang Bai
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Shihe Yang
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

X.W. and K.Z. contributed equally to this work. X.W., K.Z., H.C., Y.B. and S.Y. conceived the idea. S.Y. and H.C. supervised the research. X.W. and K.Z. carried out the fabrication and characterization of the modules. W.Z., Q.L., X.H., Y.D. and C.L. also contributed to the device fabrication. Y.B. carried out the time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry measurement. C.Z., W.L. and H.L. provided advice on measurements. G.H. conducted the DFT calculations. X.W., K.Z., Y.B., H.C. and S.Y. wrote the manuscript. All authors discussed and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Haining Chen, Yang Bai or Shihe Yang.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Photonics thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information (download PDF )

Supplementary Figs. 1–53, Notes 1 and 2 and Tables 1–6.

Reporting Summary (download PDF )

Supplementary Video 1 (download MOV )

Vapour treatment process.

Supplementary Video 2 (download MOV )

C-PSM array used for driving a fan and charging a phone.

Supplementary Video 3 (download MOV )

C-PSM array used for water splitting.

Source data

Source Data Fig. 1 (download XLSX )

Source data for Fig. 1e.

Source Data Fig. 4 (download XLSX )

Source data for Fig. 4e,f,h–j.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wei, X., Zhang, K., Chen, H. et al. Vapour-assisted surface treatment for highly stable fully printed carbon-electrode perovskite solar modules. Nat. Photon. 20, 170–177 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-025-01790-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-025-01790-2

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

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