A peer-reviewed study published in Materials Today Energy reports that researchers achieved a 23.15% power conversion efficiency in perovskite solar cells by engineering the buried interface between tin oxide and the perovskite absorber layer. The result, reached through ambient-air processing rather than costly inert-atmosphere fabrication, signals that one of the most stubborn bottlenecks in perovskite manufacturing may finally be giving way. If the figure holds up to independent certification, it could represent a category record for devices built entirely outside controlled lab environments.
Why the Buried Interface Matters
Perovskite solar cells convert sunlight into electricity using a thin crystalline film sandwiched between charge-transport layers. The buried interface sits at the bottom of that stack, where the perovskite meets the electron-transport layer, typically tin dioxide (SnO2). Because this junction forms early in the manufacturing sequence and then gets sealed beneath subsequent layers, defects there are difficult to detect and even harder to fix after the fact. Those defects act as traps that capture charge carriers before they can contribute to electrical output, dragging down both efficiency and long-term stability.
Recent work in Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers demonstrated that bilateral electron-donating passivators can bridge the SnO2/perovskite boundary, neutralizing trap states and lifting power conversion efficiency. Separately, a detailed analysis of buried-interface chemistry in perovskite structures, reported in Chemical Engineering Journal, underscored how subtle changes in interfacial bonding can modulate recombination losses and device lifetime. Together, these findings confirm that the buried boundary is not just a minor quality-control issue but a primary performance limiter. Any strategy that tames it stands to unlock meaningful efficiency gains.
The 23.15% Result and How It Was Achieved
The new study, according to Materials Today Energy, used a multifunctional molecule to passivate the buried SnO2/perovskite interface. That molecule serves double duty: it smooths the contact between the two materials and chemically deactivates the defect sites responsible for charge recombination. The result was a device that hit 23.15% power conversion efficiency while being fabricated entirely in ambient air, without the nitrogen-filled gloveboxes that most high-performance perovskite labs rely on. The authors report that the treated interface lowers non-radiative losses and improves open-circuit voltage, both hallmarks of effective defect suppression.
A separate paper in the same journal reports, per Materials Today Energy, that fully ambient-air processed perovskite cells reached 24.38% efficiency through a related buried-interface passivation approach. The two figures are not contradictory: the 24.38% result may reflect a different device architecture, cell area, or measurement protocol. Readers should note that neither number has yet appeared on the NREL Best Research-Cell Efficiency Chart as a certified category record, so the “record” framing applies specifically to the conditions each team defined rather than to a single universal leaderboard entry. Even so, the convergence of multiple ambient-air studies above 23% suggests that interface-focused chemistry is maturing into a reproducible tool rather than a one-off laboratory curiosity.
Where 23.15% Sits in the Efficiency Race
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory maintains the most widely referenced tracker of solar cell performance, the Best Research-Cell Efficiency Chart. That chart logs independently confirmed records across dozens of technology families, from crystalline silicon to multi-junction concentrators. For single-junction perovskite cells processed under standard lab conditions, certified records already exceed 26%, which means 23.15% is not a universal perovskite record. Its significance lies in the processing constraint: ambient air. Most high-efficiency perovskite devices are made in controlled atmospheres that add cost and complexity, so a device that performs this well without those protections narrows the gap between lab curiosity and factory product.
NREL’s interactive chart allows filtering by technology family, which is the right tool for checking whether 23.15% tops a specific sub-category. Until the team’s result appears in that dataset with third-party validation, the claim should be treated as a strong but preliminary benchmark. In parallel, interface-focused studies continue to show that gains in efficiency can be coupled with improved durability rather than traded against it, reinforcing the idea that buried-interface quality is the lever with the most room to move across diverse perovskite device designs.
Stability and the Path to Commercial Scale
Efficiency alone does not make a solar technology viable. Perovskite cells have historically degraded rapidly when exposed to moisture, heat, and ultraviolet light, problems that ambient-air processing would only amplify if the interface chemistry were not properly managed. The Materials Today Energy study includes quantitative stability retention metrics, per its abstract, suggesting the passivation treatment also slows degradation. That dual benefit (higher initial efficiency plus slower decay) is exactly the combination manufacturers need before committing to production lines, especially for outdoor modules expected to operate for decades.
Work on flexible perovskite devices tells a parallel story. A study published in Energies showed that buried-interface smoothing improves both the mechanical durability and the efficiency of bendable perovskite cells. Flexible form factors matter because they open applications that rigid glass panels cannot reach: curved building facades, portable electronics, and vehicle-integrated solar. As researchers extend buried-interface passivation to roll-to-roll printing and other high-throughput techniques, the same chemistry that enabled a 23.15% ambient-air cell could help unlock lightweight, conformable products where traditional silicon will struggle to compete.
What Comes Next for Ambient-Air Perovskites
The emerging picture from Materials Today Energy and related journals is that ambient-air perovskite fabrication is no longer a speculative goal but an increasingly quantifiable pathway. Demonstrations at 23.15% and 24.38% show that buried-interface engineering can offset many of the penalties previously associated with uncontrolled processing environments. The next milestones will likely involve scaling these recipes from small test cells to larger-area modules while preserving both efficiency and stability. That will require careful control of coating uniformity, solvent management, and encapsulation strategies that complement the underlying interface chemistry.
At the same time, independent certification and long-duration field testing will be crucial for translating headline efficiencies into bankable products. NREL’s tracking frameworks provide a template for how such validation can proceed, but ambient-air devices must still prove that their buried interfaces remain passivated under real-world stressors such as thermal cycling and humidity. If ongoing studies confirm that multifunctional interfacial molecules can deliver both high performance and robust lifetimes at scale, the 23.15% result may be remembered less as an isolated record, and more as an early marker of perovskites’ transition from glovebox science to mainstream manufacturing.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
