Additive-assisted perovskite crystallization on industrial TOPCon silicon for tandem solar cells with improved efficiency

Qilin Zhou; Renjun Guo; Shunchang Liu; Nengxu Li; Menglei Xu; Xinyu Zhang; Xianyuan Jiang; Lu Wang; Laura-Isabelle Dion-Bertrand; Zhuojie Shi; Xiao Guo; Haoming Liang; Zijing Dong; Jinxi Chen; Yu-Duan Wang; Ran Luo; Xi Wang; Jungan Wang; Jie Yang; Hao Jin; Chun-Hsiao Kuan; Sung-Fu Hung; Zhenrong Jia; Ling Kai Lee; Donny Lai; Eric Wei-Guang Diau; Wentao Yan; Yi Hou

doi:10.1038/s41560-026-02010-z

Additive-assisted perovskite crystallization on industrial TOPCon silicon for tandem solar cells with improved efficiency

Qilin Zhou (Co-first Author)
, Renjun Guo (Co-first Author)
, Shunchang Liu (Co-first Author)
, Nengxu Li (Co-first Author)
, Menglei Xu (Co-first Author)
, Xinyu Zhang^*
, Xianyuan Jiang
, Lu Wang
, Laura-Isabelle Dion-Bertrand
, Zhuojie Shi
, Xiao Guo
, Haoming Liang
, Zijing Dong
, Jinxi Chen
, Yu-Duan Wang
, Ran Luo
, Xi Wang
, Jungan Wang
, Jie Yang
, Hao Jin

Chun-Hsiao Kuan, Sung-Fu Hung, Zhenrong Jia, Ling Kai Lee, Donny Lai, Eric Wei-Guang Diau, Wentao Yan, Yi Hou^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Thin silicon wafers used in tunnel oxide passivated contact tandem solar cells have reduced thermal mass and higher thermal conductivity, which accelerate heat transfer during perovskite subcell deposition. This rapid heat transfer induces fast crystallization of the perovskite layer, compromising film quality and tandem performance. Here we introduce 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, which exhibits dual-mode binding with perovskite organic cations, to modulate crystallization dynamics. This approach improves morphological uniformity, eliminates voids and suppresses halide segregation, while reducing non-radiative recombination and lowering the trap-assisted recombination rate from 3.2 × 105 to 4.3 × 104 cm s−1. The two-terminal monolithic perovskite/tunnel oxide passivated contact tandem cell achieves a certified stabilized power conversion efficiency of 32.76% and retains 91% of its initial efficiency after 1,700 h of continuous operation. This work uncovers a previously overlooked perovskite crystallization issue on industrial silicon wafers, providing critical insights for integrating perovskite solar cells into mainstream silicon technology.

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2026105033540669

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	732-742
Number of pages	13
Journal	Nature Energy
Volume	11
Issue number	5
Online published	16 Mar 2026
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-02010-z
Publication status	Published - May 2026

Funding

Y.H. acknowledges the support from Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) under its Materials Technology Cluster Industrial Research Grant (M23M6c0108). Q.Z., R.G., S.L., N.L., Z.S., X.G., H.L., Z.D., J.C., Y.-D.W., R.L., X.W., Z.J., L.K.L., D.L. and Y.H. are affiliated with the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS), a research institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS). SERIS is supported by the National University of Singapore (NUS), the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF), the Energy Market Authority of Singapore (EMA) and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). This work was supported in part by the BL14B1 beamline of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF), Shanghai, China. We would like to acknowledge that computational work involved in this research work is partially supported by NUS IT’s Research Computing group under grant number NUSREC-HPC-00001.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

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Zhou, Q., Guo, R., Liu, S., Li, N., Xu, M., Zhang, X., Jiang, X., Wang, L., Dion-Bertrand, L.-I., Shi, Z., Guo, X., Liang, H., Dong, Z., Chen, J., Wang, Y.-D., Luo, R., Wang, X., Wang, J., Yang, J., ... Hou, Y. (2026). Additive-assisted perovskite crystallization on industrial TOPCon silicon for tandem solar cells with improved efficiency. Nature Energy, 11(5), 732-742. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-02010-z

@article{9fa94d350c384698bb7d7709cbe30e31,

title = "Additive-assisted perovskite crystallization on industrial TOPCon silicon for tandem solar cells with improved efficiency",

abstract = "Thin silicon wafers used in tunnel oxide passivated contact tandem solar cells have reduced thermal mass and higher thermal conductivity, which accelerate heat transfer during perovskite subcell deposition. This rapid heat transfer induces fast crystallization of the perovskite layer, compromising film quality and tandem performance. Here we introduce 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, which exhibits dual-mode binding with perovskite organic cations, to modulate crystallization dynamics. This approach improves morphological uniformity, eliminates voids and suppresses halide segregation, while reducing non-radiative recombination and lowering the trap-assisted recombination rate from 3.2 × 105 to 4.3 × 104 cm s−1. The two-terminal monolithic perovskite/tunnel oxide passivated contact tandem cell achieves a certified stabilized power conversion efficiency of 32.76\% and retains 91\% of its initial efficiency after 1,700 h of continuous operation. This work uncovers a previously overlooked perovskite crystallization issue on industrial silicon wafers, providing critical insights for integrating perovskite solar cells into mainstream silicon technology. {\textcopyright} The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2026105033540669",

author = "Qilin Zhou and Renjun Guo and Shunchang Liu and Nengxu Li and Menglei Xu and Xinyu Zhang and Xianyuan Jiang and Lu Wang and Laura-Isabelle Dion-Bertrand and Zhuojie Shi and Xiao Guo and Haoming Liang and Zijing Dong and Jinxi Chen and Yu-Duan Wang and Ran Luo and Xi Wang and Jungan Wang and Jie Yang and Hao Jin and Chun-Hsiao Kuan and Sung-Fu Hung and Zhenrong Jia and Lee, \{Ling Kai\} and Donny Lai and Diau, \{Eric Wei-Guang\} and Wentao Yan and Yi Hou",

year = "2026",

month = may,

doi = "10.1038/s41560-026-02010-z",

language = "English",

volume = "11",

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Zhou, Q, Guo, R, Liu, S, Li, N, Xu, M, Zhang, X, Jiang, X, Wang, L, Dion-Bertrand, L-I, Shi, Z, Guo, X, Liang, H, Dong, Z, Chen, J, Wang, Y-D, Luo, R, Wang, X, Wang, J, Yang, J, Jin, H, Kuan, C-H, Hung, S-F, Jia, Z, Lee, LK, Lai, D, Diau, EW-G, Yan, W & Hou, Y 2026, 'Additive-assisted perovskite crystallization on industrial TOPCon silicon for tandem solar cells with improved efficiency', Nature Energy, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 732-742. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-02010-z

Additive-assisted perovskite crystallization on industrial TOPCon silicon for tandem solar cells with improved efficiency. / Zhou, Qilin (Co-first Author); Guo, Renjun (Co-first Author); Liu, Shunchang (Co-first Author) et al.
In: Nature Energy, Vol. 11, No. 5, 05.2026, p. 732-742.

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Additive-assisted perovskite crystallization on industrial TOPCon silicon for tandem solar cells with improved efficiency

AU - Zhou, Qilin

AU - Guo, Renjun

AU - Liu, Shunchang

AU - Li, Nengxu

AU - Xu, Menglei

AU - Zhang, Xinyu

AU - Jiang, Xianyuan

AU - Wang, Lu

AU - Dion-Bertrand, Laura-Isabelle

AU - Shi, Zhuojie

AU - Guo, Xiao

AU - Liang, Haoming

AU - Dong, Zijing

AU - Chen, Jinxi

AU - Wang, Yu-Duan

AU - Luo, Ran

AU - Wang, Xi

AU - Wang, Jungan

AU - Yang, Jie

AU - Jin, Hao

AU - Kuan, Chun-Hsiao

AU - Hung, Sung-Fu

AU - Jia, Zhenrong

AU - Lee, Ling Kai

AU - Lai, Donny

AU - Diau, Eric Wei-Guang

AU - Yan, Wentao

AU - Hou, Yi

PY - 2026/5

Y1 - 2026/5

N2 - Thin silicon wafers used in tunnel oxide passivated contact tandem solar cells have reduced thermal mass and higher thermal conductivity, which accelerate heat transfer during perovskite subcell deposition. This rapid heat transfer induces fast crystallization of the perovskite layer, compromising film quality and tandem performance. Here we introduce 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, which exhibits dual-mode binding with perovskite organic cations, to modulate crystallization dynamics. This approach improves morphological uniformity, eliminates voids and suppresses halide segregation, while reducing non-radiative recombination and lowering the trap-assisted recombination rate from 3.2 × 105 to 4.3 × 104 cm s−1. The two-terminal monolithic perovskite/tunnel oxide passivated contact tandem cell achieves a certified stabilized power conversion efficiency of 32.76% and retains 91% of its initial efficiency after 1,700 h of continuous operation. This work uncovers a previously overlooked perovskite crystallization issue on industrial silicon wafers, providing critical insights for integrating perovskite solar cells into mainstream silicon technology. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2026105033540669

AB - Thin silicon wafers used in tunnel oxide passivated contact tandem solar cells have reduced thermal mass and higher thermal conductivity, which accelerate heat transfer during perovskite subcell deposition. This rapid heat transfer induces fast crystallization of the perovskite layer, compromising film quality and tandem performance. Here we introduce 2-mercaptobenzothiazole, which exhibits dual-mode binding with perovskite organic cations, to modulate crystallization dynamics. This approach improves morphological uniformity, eliminates voids and suppresses halide segregation, while reducing non-radiative recombination and lowering the trap-assisted recombination rate from 3.2 × 105 to 4.3 × 104 cm s−1. The two-terminal monolithic perovskite/tunnel oxide passivated contact tandem cell achieves a certified stabilized power conversion efficiency of 32.76% and retains 91% of its initial efficiency after 1,700 h of continuous operation. This work uncovers a previously overlooked perovskite crystallization issue on industrial silicon wafers, providing critical insights for integrating perovskite solar cells into mainstream silicon technology. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2026105033540669

UR - https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/full-record/WOS:001715244700001

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105033540669

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105033540669#tab=impact

U2 - 10.1038/s41560-026-02010-z

DO - 10.1038/s41560-026-02010-z

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 2058-7546

VL - 11

SP - 732

EP - 742

JO - Nature Energy

JF - Nature Energy

IS - 5

ER -

Additive-assisted perovskite crystallization on industrial TOPCon silicon for tandem solar cells with improved efficiency

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