Antimony oxide buffer layer for single- and double-junction perovskite-based solar cells

B Biao Shi Z Zetong Sunli P Pengfei Liu W Wei Han R Rui Kong C Cong Sun Y Ying Liu Y Yuan Luo X XianZhao Wang Z Zhi Zhang D Dekun Zhang X Xiaona Du F Fu Zhang M Miao Yang Y Yongcai He B Bo He X Xixiang Xu R Rui Xia X Xueling Zhang (Anhui Basic Discipline Research Center for Clean Energy and Catalysis, College of Chemistry and Materials Science) Y Yifeng Chen (Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, Frontiers Science Center for Materiobiology and Dynamic Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237, China) J Jifan Gao F Fuzong Xu Y Ying Zhao (Division of Biobased Chemicals) S Stefaan De Wolf X Xiaodan Zhang (Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center, State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Materials and Cells)

Abstract

Abstract Atomic layer-deposited tin oxide serves as an effective buffer layer in perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells due to its efficient charge extraction and sputtering tolerance. Nevertheless, its unavoidable chemical erosion effect of atomic layer-deposited tin oxide on perovskite requires thicker fullerene charge transport layers, leading to increased parasitic optical absorption. Herein, we firstly integrated thermal evaporated antimony oxide into solar cells to effectively replace atomic layer-deposited tin oxide, enabling a thinner fullerene to minimize optical losses and prevent damage to the perovskite. The unique amorphous-nanocrystalline structure of, antimony oxide facilitates ultrafast carrier transport via its embedded nanocrystalline network. The antimony oxide-based tandem solar cells demonstrated a significant improvement in power conversion efficiency compared to tin oxide-based devices, primarily due to an enhanced short-circuit current density of approximately 1 mA/cm² in the perovskite top cell. Remarkably, even at 64.64 cm 2 scale, the antimony oxide-based encapsulated large-area tandem solar cell retains an efficiency of 28.16% (with a certified value of 27.70%), attesting the scalability of this approach.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 17, Issue 1
Published March 25, 2026
ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher Nature Portfolio

Journal Info

Nature Communications

Nature Portfolio

ISSN: 2041-1723 Open Access Life Sciences

Authors (25)

B

Biao Shi

Z

Zetong Sunli

P

Pengfei Liu

W

Wei Han

R

Rui Kong

C

Cong Sun

Y

Ying Liu

Y

Yuan Luo

X

XianZhao Wang

Z

Zhi Zhang

D

Dekun Zhang

X

Xiaona Du

F

Fu Zhang

M

Miao Yang

Y

Yongcai He

B

Bo He

X

Xixiang Xu

R

Rui Xia

X

Xueling Zhang

Anhui Basic Discipline Research Center for Clean Energy and Catalysis, College of Chemistry and Materials Science

Y

Yifeng Chen

Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Joint International Research Laboratory of Precision Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientist Joint Research Center, Frontiers Science Center for Materiobiology and Dynamic Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237, China

J

Jifan Gao

F

Fuzong Xu

Y

Ying Zhao

Division of Biobased Chemicals

S

Stefaan De Wolf

X

Xiaodan Zhang

Institute of Photoelectronic Thin Film Devices and Technology, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center, State Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Materials and Cells