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.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03806-x
References Lin, R. et al. Nature 648, 600–606 (2025). Kojima, A., Teshima, K., Shirai, Y. & Miyasaka, T. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 6050–6051 (2009). Mailoa, J. P. et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 121105 (2015). Heo, J. H. & Im, S. H. Adv. Mater. 28, 5121–5125 (2016). Eperon, G. E. et al. Science 354, 861–865 (2016). Lee, M. M. et al. Science 338, 643–647 (2012). Hao, F., Stoumpos, C. C., Chang, R. P. H. & Kanatzidis, M. G. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 136, 8094–8099 (2014). Goyal, A. et al. Chem. Mater. 30, 3920–3928 (2018). Hu, S. et al. Energy Environ. Sci. 15, 2096–2107 (2022). Hu, S. et al. Nature 639, 93–101 (2025). Liang, Y. et al. Nature 648, 91–96 (2025). Haegel, N. M. et al. Science 380, 39–42 (2023). 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.
Related Articles
Subjects