We use cookies to improve your experience and for marketing. Read our cookie policy Manage cookies
Search across reports, market insights, and blog stories.
Researchers at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) have devised a catalytic method that may prolong the working life of perovskite solar cells without sacrificing high power conversion efficiencies.
According to the team, the hole transport layer (HTL) in such cells is usually treated with lithium-based salts and additives whose solubility is enhanced to boost electrical conductivity and ease charge transport. Yet these additives are volatile, which poses a serious obstacle to long-term device stability. Under real-world conditions, especially heat and moisture, the compounds may evaporate or migrate out of the HTL, damaging the interfaces between neighboring layers. The voids and structural defects that result can speed up degradation and cut short the cells’ operational lifespan. The researchers further noted that at elevated temperatures and high humidity, lithium ions released from lithium salts spread into the cell interior in an uncontrolled fashion, shortening lifespan even more, and that no alternative routes to the same efficiency gain—whether dropping lithium salts and additives altogether or substituting other agents—had been proposed until now.
To tackle these problems, the team created a catalyst-assisted process in which lithium salts serve temporarily to drive the needed chemical reactions before the lithium ions and the catalyst are filtered out of the solution. The academics said the key is nickel oxide (NiOx) acting as a catalyst: added to the hole-transport layer solution, the nickel oxide powder interacts strongly with lithium ions and draws them in. This mechanism separates lithium ions from lithium salts and binds them to the nickel oxide surface without additives—something the researchers described as a major difficulty in conventional processes.
The process was evaluated in solar cells comprising a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate, a tin oxide (SnO2) electron transport layer (ETL), a formamidinium lead iodide (FAPbI3)-based perovskite absorber, a spiro-OMeTAD HTL and a gold (Au) electrode. The best device reached a power conversion efficiency of 25.24%, an open-circuit voltage of 1.175 V, a short-circuit current density of 25.83 mA/cm2 and a fill factor of 83.21%, along with a stabilized power output of 25.1% under one-sun illumination. After 500 hours of continuous operation the cells kept more than 90% of their initial efficiency, and 95% under accelerated damp-heat testing at 85 C and 85% relative humidity, pointing to better operational stability.
Per the scientists, the method oxidizes spiro-OMeTAD in under five seconds without the conventional additive 4-tert-butylpyridine (tBP). NiOx also helps dissolve lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) while trapping lithium ions, which are then removed together with the NiOx particles by filtration. Electrical conductivity of the HTL rose by a factor of 2.5, and films came out more uniform with better charge extraction.
The work appeared in the study published in Advanced Science. Se Jin Ahn, principal researcher at KIER and project leader, said the research went beyond commonly accepted ideas and strategies in conventional perovskite solar cell fabrication by proposing a novel catalytic and filtration process in which the catalyst only induces the necessary chemical reactions and is then removed, together with the target material, through filtration. Ahn added that the technology would represent a significant milestone in tackling persistent lifespan issues for perovskite tandem solar cells and in paving the way to commercialization.
In related work, another KIER team recently set a record power conversion efficiency of 26.7% for a tandem solar cell pairing a perovskite top cell with a copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) bottom cell. The researchers said Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) confirmed the result, which was included in the Best Research-Cell Efficiency Chart kept by the US Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies.
Report Scope and Analytical Framing
Concise View of Market Direction
Market Size, Growth and Scenario Framing
Commercial and Technical Scope
How the Market Splits Into Decision-Relevant Buckets
Where Demand Comes From and How It Behaves
Supply Footprint and Value Capture
Trade Flows and External Dependence
Price Formation and Revenue Logic
Who Wins and Why
How the Domestic Market Works
Commercial Entry and Scaling Priorities
Where the Best Expansion Logic Sits
Leading Players and Strategic Archetypes
How the Report Was Built
Tell us where to send the sample and whether you want this report customized.
Thank you. Our team will review your request and reply to your business email.
Our team will review your request and route it to support@indexbox.io.
IndexBox, Inc.
2093 Philadelphia Pike #1441
Claymont, DE 19703, USA
Contact us
© 2026 IndexBox, Inc
Instant access. No credit card needed.
Online access to 2M+ reports, dashboards, and tables. Trusted by Fortune 500 teams.
Free Data: Solar Cells and Light-Emitting Diodes — South Korea
Instant access. No credit card needed.

source