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Nature Materials (2026)
Environmentally benign and earth-abundant kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe) solar cells have advanced rapidly through solution-based processing. However, scaling from laboratory-scale devices to modules remains a major challenge, largely because complex coordination networks in the precursors hinder the formation of uniform large-area films. Here we show that molecular-level regulation of metal–organic coordination can suppress the formation of cross-linked networks in precursor solutions, promoting efficient solvent removal and uniform selenization and crystallization. This coordination-controlled strategy enables the blade coating of highly homogeneous films over 10 cm2, realizing certified efficiencies of 14.2% for 1 cm2 cells and 13.0% for 10.5 cm2 modules, representing a leap-forward improvement in scalable kesterite photovoltaics. Beyond performance, the provided molecular insights into kesterite solution chemistry facilitate establishing a scalable and low-cost route towards industrial deployment of this thin-film solar technology.
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We thank the ID46(HEPS)-X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Beamline of High Energy Photon Source (https://cstr.cn/31138.02.HEPS.ID46), L. Zheng and F. Zhan for providing technical support and assistance in XAFS data collection and analysis. We gratefully acknowledge B. Wang at Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for assistance with the mass spectrometry measurements. We also acknowledge the Excellent Science and Technology Innovation Group of Jiangsu Province at Nanjing University of Science and Technology for their help in theoretical calculations.
This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2024YFB4205000), National Natural Science Foundation of China (52222212, 52227803, 52172261 and 52402243), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (LQN25E020011). J.S. also gratefully acknowledges the support from the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2022006).
These authors contributed equally: Bowen Zhang, Menghan Jiao, Xiao Xu, Jiazheng Zhou.
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Renewable Energy Laboratory, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, P. R. China
Bowen Zhang, Menghan Jiao, Xiao Xu, Jiazheng Zhou, Jinlin Wang, Tan Guo, Yuan Li, Jingchen Wang, Shudan Chen, Yiming Li, Jiangjian Shi, Huijue Wu, Yanhong Luo, Dongmei Li & Qingbo Meng
School of Physical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
Bowen Zhang, Menghan Jiao, Jingchen Wang, Shudan Chen, Yanhong Luo, Dongmei Li & Qingbo Meng
College of Materials Science and Optoelectronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
Tan Guo
Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan, P. R. China
Yanhong Luo, Dongmei Li & Qingbo Meng
Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
Qingbo Meng
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B.Z., J.S. and Q.M. conceived of the idea, proposed the theoretical mechanism and designed the experiments. B.Z., M.J., X.X. and J.Z. performed the experiments and data analysis. Jinlin Wang, T.G., Yuan Li and S.C. supported CZTSSe solar cell fabrication. Jingchen Wang supported the colour value analysis. Yiming Li participated in photoelectric characterization. H.W. and Yanhong Luo supported the discussion. B.Z., J.S. and Q.M. participated in writing and revising the paper. All authors discussed the results and approved the paper.
Correspondence to Jiangjian Shi or Qingbo Meng.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature Materials thanks Stela Canulescu and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work.
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Supplementary Notes 1–4 and Figs. 1–32.
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Zhang, B., Jiao, M., Xu, X. et al. Molecular coordination achieves uniform kesterite absorber film for efficient solar modules. Nat. Mater. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02703-6
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