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Nature Synthesis (2026)
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Scalable fabrication of perovskite solar modules is hindered by processing inconsistencies and moisture-induced degradation. Although classic coordination solvents form thermodynamically stable intermediate phases with lead iodide (PbI2) under inert gas atmospheres, they are highly hygroscopic in ambient conditions. Moreover, due to minimal entropy change, this phase is difficult to remove during annealing, leading to micropores and unwanted phases. Here we introduce an enthalpy–entropy competition strategy for scalable, humidity-tolerant perovskite printing, in which dimethyl sulfoxide/N-methylpyrrolidone is replaced by N-butylpyrrolidone. N-butylpyrrolidone forms strong carbonyl–PbI2 coordination at ambient temperatures (enthalpy-driven), yet readily dissociates on heating (entropy-driven), facilitating easier formamidinium iodide embedding and intermediate-phase protection. The strategy yields perovskite solar modules with certified power conversion efficiencies of 23.97% in a 100-cm2 rigid module and 19.71% in a flexible counterpart. Encapsulated devices retain 80% of initial performance after 1,440 hours under the double 85 condition (85 °C, 85% relative humidity), demonstrating outstanding operational durability.
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All the data in the paper were derived from our group experiments and are therefore available. These data are published alongside the paper. Source data are provided with this paper.
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A portion of this work is based on the data obtained at Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (BSRF) and SSRF. We thank the 1W1A-Diffuse X-ray Scattering Beamline of BSRF (https://cstr.cn/31109.02.BSRF.1W1A) and BL16B1, BL02U2 and BL03HB of SSRF for providing technical support and assistance in GIWAXS data collection.
We thank the following for support: National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant nos. 2024YFF1401100 and 2024YFB3815200), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (grant nos. 52527804, 52573277, 52403323 and 22461142139), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province (grant no. 20242BAB24002), Hebei Province Central Guidance Fund for Local Science and Technology Development (grant no. 254Z4301G), Nanchang University Interdisciplinary Research Funding Program (grant no. 202505300006), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (grant no. JCYJ20241202124937050) and the State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials.
These authors contributed equally: Zhaoyang Chu, Junliang Li, Jiaju Gao.
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Film Energy Chemistry for Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory, Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
Zhaoyang Chu, Junliang Li, Jiaju Gao, Sihao Li, Zongyi Gu, Yihuan Xie, Yaling Luo, Xiangchuan Meng, Xiaotian Hu & Yiwang Chen
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Fluorine and Silicon for Energy Materials and Chemistry of Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
Baojin Fan & Yiwang Chen
College of Chemistry and Materials, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, China
Zhi Xing & Yiwang Chen
College of Materials and Energy, Guang’an Institute of Technology, Guang’an, China
Hongxiang Li
Key Laboratory for Advanced Optoelectronic Integrated Chips of Jiangsu Province, Peking University Yangtze Delta Institute of Optoelectronics, Nantong, China
Xiaotian Hu & Yiwang Chen
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X.H. and Y.C. directed and supervised the project. Z.C. and X.H. conceived of and designed the experiments. Z.C. and X.H. completed the writing of the paper. Z.C., J.L., Y.X., Z.G. and J.G. fabricated the PSMs. Z.C., S.L., B.F. and Y.L. fabricated the PSCs. Z.C., J.L., J.G. and H.L. characterized the GIWAXS. Z.C., Z.X., Z.G. and X.M. characterized the various photoelectric properties. All authors contributed to discussions and finalizing the paper.
Correspondence to Xiaotian Hu or Yiwang Chen.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Nature Synthesis thanks Yonghua Chen, Jingrui Li and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Alexandra Groves, in collaboration with the Nature Synthesis team.
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Supplementary Text, Figs. 1–32, Tables 1–8 and references.
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Chu, Z., Li, J., Gao, J. et al. An enthalpy–entropy competition strategy enables moisture-stable and scalable perovskite photovoltaics. Nat. Synth (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44160-026-01142-0
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