Solvent-dripping modulated 3D/2D heterostructures for high-performance perovskite solar cells

Xiaoming Chang; Randi Azmi; Tinghuan Yang; Nan Wu; Sang Young Jeong; Herui Xi; Drajad Satrio Utomo; Badri Vishal; Furkan H Isikgor; Hendrik Faber; Zhaoheng Ling; Mingjie He; Marco Marengo; Pia Dally; Adi Prasetio; Yu-Ying Yang; Chuanxiao Xiao; Han Young Woo; Kui Zhao; Martin Heeney; Stefaan De Wolf; Leonidas Tsetseris; Thomas D Anthopoulos

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-56409-5

Solvent-dripping modulated 3D/2D heterostructures for high-performance perovskite solar cells

Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 26;16(1):1042. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56409-5.

Authors

Xiaoming Chang^#¹, Randi Azmi^#², Tinghuan Yang³, Nan Wu³, Sang Young Jeong⁴, Herui Xi⁵, Drajad Satrio Utomo¹, Badri Vishal¹, Furkan H Isikgor¹, Hendrik Faber¹, Zhaoheng Ling¹, Mingjie He¹, Marco Marengo¹, Pia Dally¹, Adi Prasetio¹, Yu-Ying Yang¹, Chuanxiao Xiao^{5

6}, Han Young Woo⁴, Kui Zhao³, Martin Heeney¹, Stefaan De Wolf¹, Leonidas Tsetseris⁷, Thomas D Anthopoulos^{8

9}

Affiliations

¹ KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical and Engineering Division (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
² School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
³ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo City, China.
⁶ Ningbo New Materials Testing and Evaluation Center Co. Ltd, Ningbo City, China.
⁷ Department of Physics, School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
⁸ KAUST Solar Center (KSC), Physical and Engineering Division (PSE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [email protected].
⁹ Henry Royce Institute, Photon Science Institute, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 39863604
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56409-5

Abstract

The controlled growth of two-dimensional (2D) perovskite atop three-dimensional (3D) perovskite films reduces interfacial recombination and impedes ion migration, thus improving the performance and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Unfortunately, the random orientation of the spontaneously formed 2D phase atop the pre-deposited 3D perovskite film can deteriorate charge extraction owing to energetic disorder, limiting the maximum attainable efficiency and long-term stability of the PSCs. Here, we introduce a meta-amidinopyridine ligand and the solvent post-dripping step to generate a highly ordered 2D perovskite phase on the surface of a 3D perovskite film. The reconstructed 2D/3D perovskite interface exhibits reduced energetic disorder and yields cells with improved performance compared with control 2D/3D samples. PSCs fabricated with the meta-amidinopyridine-induced phase-pure 2D perovskite passivation show a maximum power conversion efficiency of 26.05% (a certified value of 25.44%). Under damp heat and outdoor tests, the encapsulated PSCs maintain 82% and 75% of their initial PCE after 1000 h and 840 h, respectively, demonstrating improved practical durability.