journal article·2026-06-24Open access

Chiral Molecular Configuration‐Mediated Crystallization of Perovskites for High‐Performance Solar Cells

Runkang Wang, Yujie Zhu, Jiaxue You, Yunfan Wang, Jiarong Wu, Jinghao Ge, Pengda Tong, Shilong Jia, Xiaogang Wang, Yiran Tao, Hao‐Chung Kuo, Adel Najar, Lu Zhang, Yuanhao Gong, Shengzhong (Frank) Liu

Abstract

ABSTRACT Maximizing the binding affinity between molecular additives and perovskite is critical for long term device stability, yet how molecular configuration influences the interaction with perovskites remains unexplored. Here, we report a chiral stereo‐anchoring strategy to regulate the colloidal crystallization of FAPbI 3 perovskites through stereochemical molecular design. A pair of enantiomeric additives, (R)‐4‐(pyrrolidin‐3‐yl)thiomorpholine 1,1‐dioxide dihydrochloride (R)‐Pye and (S)‐Pye, are introduced as chiral‐selective crystallization modulators. Owing to its more favorable steric accessibility, R‐Pye exhibits a more favorable adsorption geometry on the perovskite surface than S‐Pye, resulting in a higher binding energy (9.45 vs 7.33 eV) and an increased iodine vacancy formation energy (4.56 vs 2.46 eV). This strengthened interaction optimizes nucleation kinetics, and promotes ordered crystal growth, leading to high‐quality perovskite films with reduced defect density and improved crystallinity. Consequently, R‐Pye‐treated devices achieve a remarkable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 26.13% with an open‐circuit voltage ( V OC ) of 1.20 V. Moreover, the resulting devices show excellent operational durability, retaining 94.8% of their initial efficiency after 550 h of continuous maximum power point tracking. This study underscores that the stereochemical configuration is a factor in governing the molecular‐level interaction and crystallization pathways, opening new horizons for crystallization control in perovskite solar cells.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Perovskite Materials and Applications · TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells · Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Advanced Energy Devices Shaanxi Engineering Lab For Advanced Energy Technology School of Materials Science and Engineering Shaanxi Normal University Xi'an China

Department of Materials Science and Engineering Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China

Department of Physics The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China

Semiconductor Research Center Hon Hai Research Institute Taipei China

Department of Physics College of Science United Arab Emirates University Al Ain UAE

Changchun Institute of Optics Fine Mechanics and Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun China

Key Laboratory of Photoelectric Conversion and Utilization of Solar Energy Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project

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