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 (2026) Cite this article
8830 Accesses
45 Altmetric
Metrics details
Conventional n–i–p architecture remains a robust platform for scalable perovskite photovoltaics^1,2, yet its steady-state efficiency has stagnated at about 26% (ref. ³), lagging behind their p–i–n counterparts⁴. This performance gap arises from persistent non-radiative recombination at textured electron transport layer (ETL)/perovskite interfaces, yet the underlying physical origin remains unknown. Here we show that these losses originate from the synergistic combination of band misalignment and electron accumulation at the buried interface. To address this dual challenge, we develop a continuously graded n⁺/n-doped SnO₂ ETL through a ligand-competitive binding strategy, which enables spatially defined doping that creates a built-in electric field. This graded architecture simultaneously minimizes band offset and accelerates electron extraction, thereby effectively suppressing the cross-interface recombination. The resulting n–i–p perovskite solar cells (PSCs) achieve a certified steady-state power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 27.17% (27.50% in reverse scan), the highest for n–i–p PSCs reported so far. The scalability of this strategy is further demonstrated by achieving a PCE of 25.79% for a 1 cm² device and 23.33% for a perovskite module with a 16.02 cm² aperture area. This work establishes a generalized example for energy-band engineering in metal-oxide transport layers, overcoming a fundamental efficiency bottleneck in conventional perovskite photovoltaics.
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 52 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.83 per issue
Buy this article
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
All data are available in the main text or the supplementary materials. Other data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
Wang, H. et al. Impurity-healing interface engineering for efficient perovskite submodules. Nature 634, 1091–1095 (2024).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Ding, B. et al. Dopant-additive synergism enhances perovskite solar modules. Nature 628, 299–305 (2024).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 
Qu, Z. et al. Enhanced charge carrier transport and defects mitigation of passivation layer for efficient perovskite solar cells. Nat. Commun. 15, 8620 (2024).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 
Xiong, Z. et al. Homogenized chlorine distribution for >27% power conversion efficiency in perovskite solar cells. Science 390, 638–642 (2025).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Chen, H. et al. Improved charge extraction in inverted perovskite solar cells with dual-site-binding ligands. Science 384, 189–193 (2024).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Yang, Y. et al. Amidination of ligands for chemical and field-effect passivation stabilizes perovskite solar cells. Science 386, 898–902 (2024).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Li, S. et al. High-efficiency and thermally stable FACsPbI₃ perovskite photovoltaics. Nature 635, 82–88 (2024).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Park, S. M. et al. Low-loss contacts on textured substrates for inverted perovskite solar cells. Nature 624, 289–294 (2023).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Yoo, J. J. et al. Efficient perovskite solar cells via improved carrier management. Nature 590, 587–593 (2021).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Dong, J. et al. Carrier management through electrode and electron-selective layer engineering for 10.70% efficiency antimony selenosulfide solar cells. Nat. Energy 10, 857–868 (2025).
Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 
Kim, M. et al. Conformal quantum dot-SnO₂ layers as electron transporters for efficient perovskite solar cells. Science 375, 302–306 (2022).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Zhang, S. et al. Minimizing buried interfacial defects for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells. Science 380, 404–409 (2023).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  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  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Green, M. et al. Solar cell efficiency tables (version 66). Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 33, 795–810 (2025).
Article  Google Scholar 
Seo, G. et al. Efficient and luminescent perovskite solar cells using defect-suppressed SnO₂ via excess ligand strategy. Nat. Energy 10, 774–784 (2025).
Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 
Park, J. et al. Controlled growth of perovskite layers with volatile alkylammonium chlorides. Nature 616, 724–730 (2023).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Min, H. et al. Perovskite solar cells with atomically coherent interlayers on SnO₂ electrodes. Nature 598, 444–450 (2021).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Chen, H. et al. Regulating surface potential maximizes voltage in all-perovskite tandems. Nature 613, 676–681 (2023).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Lin, Y. et al. A Nd@C₈₂-polymer interface for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells. Nature 642, 78–84 (2025).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Jiang, Q. et al. Enhanced electron extraction using SnO₂ for high-efficiency planar-structure HC(NH₂)₂PbI₃-based perovskite solar cells. Nat. Energy 2, 16177 (2017).
Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 
Kim, H., Lim, K. -G. & Lee, T. -W. Planar heterojunction organometal halide perovskite solar cells: roles of interfacial layers. Energy Environ. Sci. 9, 12–30 (2016).
Article  CAS  Google Scholar 
Paik, M. J., Kim, Y. Y., Kim, J., Park, J. & Seok, S. I. Ultrafine SnO₂ colloids with enhanced interface quality for high-efficiency perovskite solar cells. Joule 8, 2073–2086 (2024).
Article  CAS  Google Scholar 
Lu, Y. et al. Rational design of a chemical bath deposition based tin oxide electron-transport layer for perovskite photovoltaics. Adv. Mater. 35, e2304168 (2023).
Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Lee, J. H. et al. Interfacial α-FAPbI₃ phase stabilization by reducing oxygen vacancies in SnO_2−x. Joule 7, 380–397 (2023).
Article  CAS  Google Scholar 
Park, S. Y. & Zhu, K. Advances in SnO₂ for efficient and stable n–i–p perovskite solar cells. Adv. Mater. 34, 2110438 (2022).
Article  CAS  Google Scholar 
Han, D. et al. Tautomeric mixture coordination enables efficient lead-free perovskite LEDs. Nature 622, 493–498 (2023).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Ning, Z. et al. Graded doping for enhanced colloidal quantum dot photovoltaics. Adv. Mater. 25, 1719–1723 (2013).
Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Jiang, Q. et al. Surface reaction for efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells. Nature 611, 278–283 (2022).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Chen, H. et al. Quantum-size-tuned heterostructures enable efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells. Nat. Photon. 16, 352–358 (2022).
Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 
Li, J. et al. Enhancing the efficiency and longevity of inverted perovskite solar cells with antimony-doped tin oxides. Nat. Energy 9, 308–315 (2024).
Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 
Wang, J. et al. Bilayer interface engineering through 2D/3D perovskite and surface dipole for inverted perovskite solar modules. eScience 4, 100308 (2024).
Article  Google Scholar 
Khenkin, M. V. et al. Consensus statement for stability assessment and reporting for perovskite photovoltaics based on ISOS procedures. Nat. Energy 5, 35–49 (2020).
Article  ADS  Google Scholar 
Duan, T. et al. Chiral-structured heterointerfaces enable durable perovskite solar cells. Science 384, 878–884 (2024).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Zhao, Y. et al. Inactive (PbI₂)₂RbCl stabilizes perovskite films for efficient solar cells. Science 377, 531–534 (2022).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  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  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 
Perdew, J. P., Burke, K. & Ernzerhof, M. Generalized gradient approximation made simple. Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 3865–3868 (1996).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Lee, K., Murray, E. D., Kong, L., Lundqvist, B. I. & Langreth, D. C. Higher-accuracy van der Waals density functional. Phys. Rev. B 82, 081101 (2010).
Article  ADS  Google Scholar 
Heyd, J., Scuseria, G. E. & Ernzerhof, M. Hybrid functionals based on a screened Coulomb potential. J. Chem. Phys. 118, 8207–8215 (2003).
Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 
Paier, J. et al. Screened hybrid density functionals applied to solids. J. Chem. Phys. 124, 154709 (2006).
Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Kühne, T. D. et al. CP2K: an electronic structure and molecular dynamics software package – Quickstep: efficient and accurate electronic structure calculations. J. Chem. Phys. 152, 194103 (2020).
Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Nosé, S. A unified formulation of the constant temperature molecular dynamics methods. J. Chem. Phys. 81, 511–519 (1984).
Article  ADS  Google Scholar 
VandeVondele, J. & Hutter, J. Gaussian basis sets for accurate calculations on molecular systems in gas and condensed phases. J. Chem. Phys. 127, 114105 (2007).
Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 
Goedecker, S., Teter, M. & Hutte, J. Separable dual-space Gaussian pseudopotentials. Phys. Rev. B 54, 1703–1710 (1996).
Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 
Liu, S. et al. Buried interface molecular hybrid for inverted perovskite solar cells. Nature 632, 536–542 (2024).
Gao, D. et al. High-efficiency perovskite solar cells enabled by suppressing intermolecular aggregation in hole-selective contacts. Nat. Photon. 19, 1070–1077 (2025).
Tang, X. et al. Enhancing the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells via a polymer heterointerface bridge. Nat. Photon. 19, 701–708 (2025).
Li, Q. et al. Harmonizing the bilateral bond strength of the interfacial molecule in perovskite solar cells. Nat. Energy 9, 1506–1516 (2024).
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).
Zai, H. et al. Wafer-scale monolayer MoS₂ film integration for stable, efficient perovskite solar cells. Science 387, 186–192 (2025).
Wang, Y. et al. Solvent-assisted reaction for spontaneous defect passivation in perovskite solar cells. Nat. Photon. 19, 985–991 (2025).
Yu, S. et al. Homogenized NiO_x nanoparticles for improved hole transport in inverted perovskite solar cells. Science 382, 1399–1404 (2023).
Liu, C. et al. Bimolecularly passivated interface enables efficient and stable inverted perovskite solar cells. Science 382, 810–815 (2023).
Zhao, J. et al. Impact of lithium dopants in hole-transporting layers on perovskite solar cell stability under day-night cycling. Nat. Energy 10, 1226–1236 (2025).
Liang, Z. et al. Homogenizing out-of-plane cation composition in perovskite solar cells. Nature 624, 557–563 (2023).
Download references
We thank the staff of beamlines BL17B1, BL14B1, BL03HB, BL13SSW, BL13U and BL02U2 at SSRF for providing the beam time. This work was partly supported by Analysis Platform of New Matter Structure at Nankai University. This work was supported by the HE Research Fellowships from the HE Science Foundation.
This work is financially supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (grant no. T2225024), the Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Disciplines Breakthrough Plan of the Ministry of Education of China (JYB2025XDXM410), the Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 22121005), the National Science Foundation (grant nos. 62261160389, 22475107, 224B2906, 22509015 and 525B2187) and the China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents (BX20250103). We extend our appreciation to the Deputyship for Research and Innovation, Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia, for funding this research work (project no. IFKSU-DSR-NS-2026-1).
These authors contributed equally: Di Wang, Saisai Li, Zijin Ding
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Frontiers Science Center for New Organic Matter, Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
Di Wang  (王迪), Saisai Li  (李赛赛), Zijin Ding  (丁紫津), Xingyu Chen  (陈星宇), Qiao Zheng  (郑樵), Keyu Wei  (韦科妤), Yuanzhi Jiang  (姜源植), Jun Chen  (陈军) & Mingjian Yuan  (袁明鉴)
School of Interdisciplinary Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
Jian Xu  (徐健)
Department of Physics, College of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Thamraa Alshahrani
Nano-Science Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Siyu Liu  (刘思宇)
College of Physics Science and Technology, Hebei University, Baoding, People’s Republic of China
Tingwei He  (何庭伟)
Ultrafast Electron Microscopy Laboratory, The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, College of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
Xinxin Yue  (岳鑫欣) & Xuewen Fu  (付学文)
Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Saif M. H. Qaid
PHI Analytical Laboratory, ULVAC-PHI Instruments, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China
Lin Feng  (冯林), Ou Yang  (杨欧) & Huanxin Ju  (鞠焕鑫)
Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China
Yuanzhi Jiang  (姜源植), Jun Chen  (陈军) & Mingjian Yuan  (袁明鉴)
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar
M.Y. conceived the idea. M.Y. and J.C. supervised the project. D.W. and Z.D. fabricated the devices. J.X. did the DFT and AIMD calculations. X.C. did the ³¹P-NMR test. S. Liu., K.W., X.F., Y.J. and X.Y. did the TR measurement and analysis. H.J., L.F., O.Y., T.H., D.W. and S. Li were responsible for IPES, HAXPES and TOF-SIMS characterization. D.W., Q.Z., T.H., T.A., S.M.H.Q. and S. Li carried out the electrical and optical characterization. M.Y. and D.W. co-wrote the paper. All the authors contributed to the discussion and commented on the paper.
Correspondence to Jian Xu  (徐健), Yuanzhi Jiang  (姜源植) or Mingjian Yuan  (袁明鉴).
The authors have filed a provisional patent for this work to the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).
Nature thanks Thad Druffel, Deying Luo and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available.
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
The certified steady-state PCEs (>25%) and the corresponding V_oc loss reported to date for PSCs in both n–i–p and p-i-n configurations^{44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54}.
J–V curves for n–i–p devices based on control-SnO₂ ETL (a) and continuously graded-doped SnO₂ ETL (b). J–V curves of PSCs based on continuously graded-doped SnO₂ ETL for a 1 cm² device (c) and a 5 × 5 cm² solar module (d), respectively.
a, Cross-sectional HAADF-STEM images of conformal SnO₂ ETLs with varying thicknesses as a function of deposition time. b, TEM image of SnO₂ NPs (3–5 nm) in solution (i), and cross-sectional TEM images of the corresponding SnO₂ film, showing a uniform assembly of nanoparticles with diameters of 3–5 nm (ii, iii).
a, Schematic diagram of electrostatic assembly of SnO₂ NPs capped with bidentate ligands. b, Molecular structures of the introduced bidentate ligands (left) and their corresponding configurations under acidic conditions (pH = 1.5–3) (right). SEM images (c), zeta potential (d) and CV measurements (e) for SnO₂ capped with ET, TA, TGA, TE ligands.
Supplementary Notes 1–12, including Supplementary Figs. 1–54, Supplementary Tables 1–7 and additional references.
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., Li, S., Ding, Z. et al. Continuously graded-doped SnO₂ for efficient n–i–p perovskite solar cells. Nature (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10587-4
Download citation
Received: 23 October 2025
Accepted: 23 April 2026
Published: 30 April 2026
Version of record: 27 May 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10587-4
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 (Nature)
ISSN 1476-4687 (online)
ISSN 0028-0836 (print)
© 2026 Springer Nature Limited
Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

source