Lingnan University Team Develops Groundbreaking Solar Cell Strategy

Researchers from Lingnan University have made significant strides in solar technology, creating a strategy that enhances the stability of inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). This breakthrough was recently published in the prestigious journal Nature, marking a notable achievement for the university’s School of Interdisciplinary Studies.

The collaborative effort, which involved teams from the City University of Hong Kong, the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Jilin University, addresses a critical challenge in the commercialization of PSCs: their stability during long-term operation at high temperatures. Current PSC technologies, while efficient and cost-effective, often degrade under strenuous conditions, limiting their practical application in renewable energy solutions.

Prof. Wu Shengfan, an Assistant Professor at Lingnan University and a co-corresponding author of the study, played a vital role in developing a novel “self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) stabilization strategy.” This approach significantly improves the high-temperature operational stability of PSCs, enhancing their commercial viability.

The research team designed a crosslinkable SAM molecule, referred to as JJ24, which is paired with a hole-selective SAM molecule known as CbzNaph. The process involves annealing the molecules at 160°C, allowing JJ24 to form stable covalent bonds with the alkyl chains of neighboring CbzNaph molecules. This innovative methodology yields three key advantages:

1. It greatly enhances the conformational stability of SAM molecules, preventing degradation caused by substrate exposure.
2. It improves the orientation and dipole moment of the SAM molecules, which in turn increases charge extraction and reduces energy losses.
3. It facilitates better solute dispersion in the SAM precursor solution, leading to improved compactness on substrates.

As a result, the inverted PSCs achieved a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 26.98%, with a third-party certified efficiency of 26.82%. Under rigorous testing conditions outlined by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), these solar cells maintained their efficiency after 1,000 hours of continuous operation and retained over 98% of their initial efficiency after undergoing 700 thermal cycling tests between temperatures of -40°C and 85°C.

“The breakthrough lies in simultaneously achieving nearly 27% energy conversion efficiency and long-term continuous operation without efficiency degradation under high-temperature conditions,” said Prof. Wu. He emphasized that this strategy demonstrates good universality and excellent scalability, suggesting it could facilitate the practical deployment of large-area perovskite solar modules within the next 3-5 years.

The findings, published on September 17, 2025, under the title “Toughened self-assembled monolayers for durable perovskite solar cells,” represent a significant milestone for both the School of Interdisciplinary Studies and Lingnan University in the realm of renewable energy research. This accomplishment highlights the institution’s capabilities in advancing next-generation photovoltaic technology and lays an important foundation for its industrialization and large-scale application.