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.
Advertisement
Nature Energy (2026)
15
Metrics details
Hole-selective self-assembled monolayers have advanced the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), yet their excessive intermolecular interactions result in undesirable self-aggregation and weak interfacial contact. Here we devise a bicarbazole-based dimeric structure incorporating amide units as dual hydrogen-bond donors and acceptors to enable the formation of hydrogen-bonding networks within the molecules and with transparent conductive oxide. This design promotes homogeneous molecular arrangement and well-aligned energy levels, minimizing hole-transport loss and enhancing interfacial stability. We achieve an efficiency of 21.56% in a 1.77 eV PSC, with an open-circuit voltage of 1.35 V and a fill factor of 85.76%. This strategy is also applicable to 1.56 eV PSCs, affording efficiencies of 26.80% (certified 26.57% by current density–voltage (J–V) scan and 25.92% steady-state measured over 300 s). Most notably, the integrated all-perovskite tandem solar cell yields an efficiency of 30.19% (certified 29.38% by J–V scan and 28.40% steady state measured over 120 s).
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
The data that support the findings of this study are available within the Article and its Supplementary Information. Source data are provided with this paper.
Leijtens, T., Bush, K. A., Prasanna, R. & McGehee, M. D. Opportunities and challenges for tandem solar cells using metal halide perovskite semiconductors. Nat. Energy 3, 828–838 (2018).
Article Google Scholar
Eperon, G. E., Hörantner, M. T. & Snaith, H. J. Metal halide perovskite tandem and multiple-junction photovoltaics. Nat. Rev. Chem. 1, 0095 (2017).
Article Google Scholar
McMeekin, D. P. et al. A mixed-cation lead mixed-halide perovskite absorber for tandem solar cells. Science 351, 151–155 (2016).
Article Google Scholar
Lin, R. et al. All-perovskite tandem solar cells with dipolar passivation. Nature 648, 600–606 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Zhu, P. et al. Aqueous synthesis of perovskite precursors for highly efficient perovskite solar cells. Science 383, 524–531 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Liu, Z. et al. All-perovskite tandem solar cells achieving >29% efficiency with improved (100) orientation in wide-bandgap perovskites. Nat. Mater. 24, 252–259 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Wu, S. et al. Redox mediator-stabilized wide-bandgap perovskites for monolithic perovskite-organic tandem solar cells. Nat. Energy 9, 411–421 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Liu, C. et al. Bimolecularly passivated interface enables efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells. Science 382, 810–815 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Wang, D. et al. Rigid molecules anchoring on NiOx enable >26% efficiency perovskite solar cells. Joule 9, 101815 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Zhang, X. et al. A spiro-type self-assembled hole transporting monolayer for highly efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells and modules. Energy Environ. Sci. 18, 468–477 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Chen, J. et al. Determining the bonding–degradation trade-off at heterointerfaces for increased efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells. Nat. Energy 10, 181–190 (2024).
Google Scholar
Li, M., Liu, M., Qi, F., Lin, F. R. & Jen, A. K. Self-assembled monolayers for interfacial engineering in solution-processed thin-film electronic devices: design, fabrication, and applications. Chem. Rev. 124, 2138–2204 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Al-Ashouri, A. et al. Conformal monolayer contacts with lossless interfaces for perovskite single junction and monolithic tandem solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 12, 3356–3369 (2019).
Article Google Scholar
Zhang, S. et al. Minimizing buried interfacial defects for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells. Science 380, 404–409 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Jiang, W. et al. Spin-coated and vacuum-processed hole-extracting self-assembled multilayers with H-aggregation for high-performance inverted perovskite solar cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 63, e202411730 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Wang, X. et al. Regulating phase homogeneity by self-assembled molecules for enhanced efficiency and stability of inverted perovskite solar cells. Nat. Photonics 18, 1269–1275 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Jiang, W., Hu, Y., Li, F., Lin, F. R. & Jen, A. K. Y. Hole-selective contact with molecularly tailorable reactivity for passivating high-performing inverted perovskite solar cells. CCS Chem. 6, 1654–1661 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Tan, Q. et al. Inverted perovskite solar cells using dimethylacridine-based dopants. Nature 620, 545–551 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Zhao, K. et al. peri-Fused polyaromatic molecular contacts for perovskite solar cells. Nature 632, 301–306 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Qu, G. et al. Conjugated linker-boosted self-assembled monolayer molecule for inverted perovskite solar cells. Joule 8, 2123–2134 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Li, Z. et al. Stabilized hole-selective layer for high-performance inverted p–i–n perovskite solar cells. Science 382, 284–289 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Jiang, W. et al. pi-expanded carbazoles as hole-selective self-assembled monolayers for high-performance perovskite solar cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 61, e202213560 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Zhou, J. et al. Molecular contacts with an orthogonal π-skeleton induce amorphization to enhance perovskite solar cell performance. Nat. Chem. 17, 564–570 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Truong, M. A. et al. Tripodal triazatruxene derivative as a face-on oriented hole-collecting monolayer for efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 145, 7528–7539 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Park, S. M. et al. Low-loss contacts on textured substrates for inverted perovskite solar cells. Nature 624, 289–294 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Liu, S. et al. Buried interface molecular hybrid for inverted perovskite solar cells. Nature 632, 536–542 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Qu, G. et al. Self-assembled materials with an ordered hydrophilic bilayer for high performance inverted Perovskite solar cells. Nat. Commun. 16, 86 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
He, R. et al. Improving interface quality for 1-cm2 all-perovskite tandem solar cells. Nature 618, 80–86 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Liu, M. et al. Compact hole-selective self-assembled monolayers enabled by disassembling micelles in solution for efficient perovskite solar cells. Adv. Mater. 35, e2304415 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Ren, J. et al. Manipulating aggregation kinetics toward efficient all-printed organic solar cells. Adv. Mater. 37, 2418353 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Paramonov, P. B. et al. Theoretical characterization of the indium tin oxide surface and of its binding sites for adsorption of phosphonic acid monolayers. Chem. Mater. 20, 5131–5133 (2008).
Article Google Scholar
Zhang, R. et al. Equally high efficiencies of organic solar cells processed from different solvents reveal key factors for morphology control. Nat. Energy 10, 124–134 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Li, L. et al. Flexible all-perovskite tandem solar cells approaching 25% efficiency with molecule-bridged hole-selective contact. Nat. Energy 7, 708–717 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Luo, C. et al. Engineering bonding sites enables uniform and robust self-assembled monolayer for stable perovskite solar cells. Nat. Mater. 24, 1265–1272 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Wu, H. et al. Tailored lattice-matched carbazole self-assembled molecule for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 147, 8004–8011 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Wu, J. et al. Bisphosphonate-anchored self-assembled molecules with larger dipole moments for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells with excellent stability. Adv. Mater. 36, e2401537 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Peng, W. et al. A versatile energy-level-tunable hole-transport layer for multi-composition inverted perovskite solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 18, 874–883 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
McGettrick, J. D. et al. Sources of Pb0 artefacts during XPS analysis of lead halide perovskites. Mater. Lett. 251, 98–101 (2019).
Article Google Scholar
Zhan, C. et al. Indium tin oxide induced internal positive feedback and indium ion transport in perovskite solar cells. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 63, e202403824 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Chen, W. et al. Monolithic perovskite/organic tandem solar cells with 23.6% efficiency enabled by reduced voltage losses and optimized interconnecting layer. Nat. Energy 7, 229–237 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Qin, S. et al. Constructing monolithic perovskite/organic tandem solar cell with efficiency of 22.0% via reduced open-circuit voltage loss and broadened absorption spectra. Adv. Mater. 34, 2108829 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Wen, J. et al. Steric engineering enables efficient and photostable wide-bandgap perovskites for all-perovskite tandem solar cells. Adv. Mater. 34, 2110356 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Jiang, X. et al. Surface heterojunction based on n-type low-dimensional perovskite film for highly efficient perovskite tandem solar cells. Natl Sci. Rev. 11, nwae055 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Sun, Q. et al. Surface charge transfer doping of narrow-bandgap Sn–Pb perovskites for high-performance tandem solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 17, 2512–2520 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Chen, P. et al. Multifunctional ytterbium oxide buffer for perovskite solar cells. Nature 625, 516–522 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Pu, D. et al. Enhancing efficiency and intrinsic stability of large-area blade-coated wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells through strain release. Adv. Funct. Mater. 34, 2314349 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Yong, J. et al. Enhancement of interfacial properties by indoloquinoxaline-based small molecules for highly efficient wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 34, 2312505 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Yang, F. et al. Minimizing interfacial recombination in 1.8 eV triple-halide perovskites for 27.5% efficient all-perovskite tandems. Adv. Mater. 36, 2307743 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Yi, Z. et al. Achieving a high open-circuit voltage of 1.339 V in 1.77 eV wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells via self-assembled monolayers. Energy Environ. Sci. 17, 202–209 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Wen, J. et al. Heterojunction formed via 3D-to-2D perovskite conversion for photostable wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells. Nat. Commun. 14, 7118 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Cui, H. et al. Lead halide coordination competition at buried interfaces for low VOC-deficits in wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 16, 5992–6002 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Gao, M. et al. Enhancing efficiency of large-area wide-bandgap perovskite solar modules with spontaneously formed self-assembled monolayer interfaces. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 15, 4015–4023 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Zhou, J. et al. Phase-stable wide-bandgap perovskites with 2D/3D structure for all-perovskite tandem solar cells. ACS Energy Lett. 9, 1984–1992 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Dong, Y. et al. Interface reactive sputtering of transparent electrode for high-performance monolithic and stacked perovskite tandem solar cells. Adv. Mater. 36, 2312704 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Lin, Y.-H. et al. Bandgap-universal passivation enables stable perovskite solar cells with low photovoltage loss. Science 384, 767–775 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Li, Y. et al. Highly durable inverted inorganic perovskite/organic tandem solar cells enabled by multifunctional additives. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 63, e202412515 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Wang, Y. et al. Homogenized contact in all-perovskite tandems using tailored 2D perovskite. Nature 635, 867–873 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Wei, Z. et al. Surpassing 90% Shockley–Queisser VOC limit in 1.79 eV wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells using bromine-substituted self-assembled monolayers. Energy Environ. Sci. 18, 1847–1855 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Wu, Z. et al. Enhancing photovoltaically preferred orientation in wide-bandgap perovskite for efficient all-perovskite tandem solar cells. Adv. Mater. 37, 2412943 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Peng, W. et al. Reducing nonradiative recombination in perovskite solar cells with a porous insulator contact. Science 379, 683–690 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Hu, S. et al. Steering perovskite precursor solutions for multijunction photovoltaics. Nature 639, 93–101 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Bai, Y. et al. Decoupling light- and oxygen-induced degradation mechanisms of Sn–Pb perovskites in all perovskite tandem solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 17, 8557–8569 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Zhang, Z. et al. Suppression of phase segregation in wide-bandgap perovskites with thiocyanate ions for perovskite/organic tandems with 25.06% efficiency. Nat. Energy 9, 592–601 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Wang, D. et al. All-in-one additive enabled efficient and stable narrow-bandgap perovskites for monolithic all-perovskite tandem solar cells. Adv. Mater. 36, e2411677 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
An, Y. et al. Optimizing crystallization in wide-bandgap mixed halide perovskites for high-efficiency solar cells. Adv. Mater. 36, 2306568 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Li, F. et al. Regulating surface termination for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells with greater than 23% efficiency. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 142, 20134–20142 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
Hu, S. et al. Optimized carrier extraction at interfaces for 23.6% efficient tin–lead perovskite solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 15, 2096–2107 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Hu, S. et al. A universal surface treatment for p–i–n perovskite solar cells. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 14, 56290–56297 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Zeng, J. et al. Small-molecule hole transport materials for >26% efficient inverted perovskite solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 147, 725–733 (2025).
Article Google Scholar
Kresse, G. & Furthmüller, J. Efficient iterative schemes for ab initio total-energy calculations using a plane-wave basis set. Phys. Rev. B 54, 11169–11186 (1996).
Article Google Scholar
Lu, T. & Chen, F. Multiwfn: a multifunctional wavefunction analyzer. J. Comput. Chem. 33, 580–592 (2012).
Article Google Scholar
Thompson, A. P. et al. LAMMPS—a flexible simulation tool for particle-based materials modeling at the atomic, meso, and continuum scales. Comput. Phys. Commun. 271, 108171 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Martínez, L., Andrade, R., Birgin, E. G. & Martínez, J. M. PACKMOL: a package for building initial configurations for molecular dynamics simulations. J. Comput. Chem. 30, 2157–2164 (2009).
Article Google Scholar
Walsh, A., Catlow, C. R. A., Sokol, A. A. & Woodley, S. M. Physical properties, intrinsic defects, and phase stability of indium sesquioxide. Chem. Mater. 21, 4962–4969 (2009).
Article Google Scholar
Neese, F. Software update: the ORCA program system—version 5.0. WIREs Comput. Mol. Sci. 12, e1606 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Lin, R. et al. Monolithic all-perovskite tandem solar cells with 24.8% efficiency exploiting comproportionation to suppress Sn(II) oxidation in precursor ink. Nat. Energy 4, 864–873 (2019).
Article Google Scholar
Xiao, K. et al. All-perovskite tandem solar cells with 24.2% certified efficiency and area over 1 cm2 using surface-anchoring zwitterionic antioxidant. Nat. Energy 5, 870–880 (2020).
Article Google Scholar
Dai, X. et al. Efficient monolithic all-perovskite tandem solar modules with small cell-to-module derate. Nat. Energy 7, 923–931 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Lin, R. et al. All-perovskite tandem solar cells with improved grain surface passivation. Nature 603, 73–78 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Jiang, Q. et al. Compositional texture engineering for highly stable wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells. Science 378, 1295–1300 (2022).
Article Google Scholar
Lin, R. et al. All-perovskite tandem solar cells with 3D/3D bilayer perovskite heterojunction. Nature 620, 994–1000 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Zhou, S. et al. Aspartate all-in-one doping strategy enables efficient all-perovskite tandems. Nature 624, 69–73 (2023).
Article Google Scholar
Pan, Y. et al. Surface chemical polishing and passivation minimize non-radiative recombination for all-perovskite tandem solar cells. Nat. Commun. 15, 7335 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Green, M. A. et al. Solar cell efficiency tables (version 65). Prog. Photovolt Res. Appl. 33, 3–15 (2024).
Article Google Scholar
Download references
This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Project from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (grant no. 2021YFB3800101), the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (grant nos. 2023B1515120031 and 2022A1515110413), the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee (grant nos. JCYJ20220818100211025, SGDX20230116091649013 and KCXST20221021111616039), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 224B2904), SUSTech Energy Institute for Carbon Neutrality (high level of special funds) (grant no. G03034K001) and the Project for Building a Science and Technology Innovation Center Facing South Asia and Southeast Asia (grant no. 202403AP140015). We also acknowledge the technical support from SUSTech Core Research Facilities and the Center for Computational Science and Engineering at SUSTech and the support of the BL14B1 beamline at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) for facilitating GIWAXS and in situ GIWAXS measurements.
These authors contributed equally: Deng Wang, Zhixin Liu, Zhi-Wen Gao, Xia Lei, Peide Zhu, Jie Zeng.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Shenzhen Engineering Research and Development Center for Flexible Solar Cells, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
Deng Wang, Zhixin Liu, Xia Lei, Peide Zhu, Jie Zeng, Lida Wang, Siru He, Yuqi Bao, Qing Lian, Zonglong Song, Yintai Xu, Xingzhu Wang & Baomin Xu
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Deng Wang, Jie Zeng, Qian Li, Dangyuan Lei & Alex K.-Y. Jen
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Photonic-Thermal-Electrical Energy Materials and Devices, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
Zhixin Liu, Xia Lei, Peide Zhu, Lida Wang, Siru He, Yuqi Bao, Zonglong Song & Baomin Xu
School of Instrument Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
Zhi-Wen Gao
Eastern Institute for Advanced Study, Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, China
Zhen Zhang & Meng Gu
Hoffmann Institute of Advanced Materials, Shenzhen Polytechnic University, Shenzhen, China
Jingbai Li
Engineering and Research Center for Integrated New Energy Photovoltaics and Energy Storage Systems of Hunan Province and School of Electrical Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang, China
Yintai Xu & Xingzhu Wang
Shenzhen Putai Technology Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, China
Xingzhu Wang
Department of Chemistry and Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Alex K.-Y. Jen
SUSTech Energy Institute for Carbon Neutrality, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
Baomin Xu
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
PubMed Google Scholar
D.W., Z.L. and Z.-W.G. conceived the idea and designed the research. X.W., A.K.-Y.J. and B.X. supervised the project. D.W. fabricated all the devices and conducted the major characterizations. Z.L. and L.W. synthesized and characterized the molecules. X.L. and J.L. conducted the MD simulations and major DFT calculations, with S.H. contributing to partial DFT calculations. P.Z. performed photoluminescence measurements. Q.L. and D.L. conducted TAS. Z.Z. and M.G. contributed to collecting TEM images. Y.B. performed FTIR spectrometer. Y.X. operated ALD deposition equipment. Q.L., Z.S. and J.Z. helped optimize device performance and long-term stability. D.W. drafted the original manuscript. All authors analysed the data and finalized the manuscript.
Correspondence to Xingzhu Wang, Alex K.-Y. Jen or Baomin Xu.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature Energy thanks Emilio Palomares and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Methods, Figs. 1–77, Notes 1–3 and Tables 1–7.
Source data of Supplementary Figs. 62, 63b, 64, 67a, 69, 70b, 72, 74, 75a and 76c.
Source data for Fig. 4a,e,h.
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
Wang, D., Liu, Z., Gao, ZW. et al. Self-assembled molecules with hydrogen-bond networks enable efficient all-perovskite tandem solar cells. Nat Energy (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-01964-4
Download citation
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Version of record:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-026-01964-4
Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:
Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative
Advertisement
Nature Energy (Nat Energy)
ISSN 2058-7546 (online)
© 2026 Springer Nature Limited
Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.
