Publication date: 11th March 2026
Hole-transporting materials (HTMs) play a pivotal role in achieving high efficiency and long-term stability in perovskite solar cells (PSCs), yet the limited operational stability and scalability of state-of-the-art HTMs remain major challenges. Our research group has been actively developing and engineering novel molecular HTMs and hybrid strategies aimed at simultaneously enhancing device performance, durability, and large-area applicability. In this context, we first reported two doped HTMs based on electron-rich spiranic scaffolds, namely spiro-POZ and spiro-PTZ. These materials deliver photovoltaic performance comparable to the benchmark spiro-OMeTAD while exhibiting markedly enhanced long-term stability, retaining performance for more than 300 days under ambient conditions and over 1200 h under continuous 1-sun illumination.[1] Building on these promising results, we designed a new family of four spiro-PTZ derivatives functionalized with asymmetric diphenylamine units. When integrated into PSCs, these materials enable power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) as high as 25.75%, clearly surpassing both the efficiency and stability of spiro-OMeTAD-based devices. Notably, large-area mini-modules (25 cm²) fabricated using these HTMs exhibit outstanding PCEs exceeding 22%, positioning spiro-PTZ derivatives among the most efficient HTMs reported to date.[2]
Beyond spiranic systems, our group has also explored alternative molecular frameworks and hybrid approaches. Chemically modified ullazine-based HTMs were successfully integrated into PSCs, showing excellent long-term stability under room ambient conditions in the dark, with operational lifetimes exceeding six months, underscoring the robustness of this molecular platform. Additionally, we developed a hybrid HTM approach by incorporating p-type-doped carbon nanostructures (zinc-metalated porphyrin (ZnP)-SWCNT) as additives in spiro-OMeTAD. This strategy enhances hole transport, improves device stability, and increases the photovoltaic performance from 18% to 19.8% compared to pristine devices.[3]
Overall, our collective work highlights that rational molecular design, chemical modification, and hybrid material engineering are effective routes to simultaneously enhance efficiency, stability, and scalability in perovskite solar cells, paving the way toward highly efficient, stable, and scalable photovoltaic technologies.
References
[1] Urieta-Mora, J.; García-Benito, I.; Illicachi, L. A.; Calbo, J.; Aragó, J.; Molina-Ontoria, A.; Ortí, E.; Martín, N.; Nazeeruddin, M. K. Improving the Long-Term Stability of Doped Spiro-Type Hole-Transporting Materials in Planar Perovskite Solar Cells. Sol. RRL 2021, 5 (12), 2100650.
[2] Urieta-Mora, J.; Choi, S. J.; Jeong, J.; Orecchio, S.; García-Benito, I.; Pérez-Escribano, M.; Calbo, J.; Zheng, L.; Byun, M.; Song, S.; et al. Spiro-Phenothiazine Hole-Transporting Materials: Unlocking Stability and Scalability in Perovskite Solar Cells. Adv. Mater. 2025, e05475.
[3] Khan, A. A.; Uceta, H.; Urieta-Mora, J.; Pérez-Escribano, M.; Abdollahzadeh, S.; Barrejón, M.; Calbo, J.; Ortí, E.; Langa, F.; Martín, N. Integration of p-type-doped carbon nanostructures as additives for boosting spiro-OMeTAD performance in perovskite solar cells. J. Mater. Chem. A 2025, 13 (47), 41260-41273.
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