Molecular Engineering Strategies for Stable and High-Efficiency Perovskite and Tandem Solar Cells

Dear Colleagues,

Perovskite solar cells have emerged as a transformative photovoltaic technology due to their low fabrication cost, solution or vacuum processability, and remarkable power conversion efficiencies that have now reached 27%, on par with conventional silicon-based devices. However, to unlock their full potential for long-term commercialization, it is increasingly recognized that molecular-level design and engineering play a central role in addressing key challenges such as stability, defect passivation, charge transport, and scalable manufacturing. In particular, molecular passivation strategies, functional additives, self-assembled monolayers, and interfacial dipole layers have proven effective in enhancing device performance and durability.

At the same time, perovskite-based tandem solar cells, including perovskite/silicon and all-perovskite tandems, have already demonstrated power conversion efficiencies above 34%. Here, molecular engineering provides additional opportunities to optimize band alignment, reduce interfacial recombination, and stabilize reduced-dimensional structures, thereby enabling even higher efficiencies. By integrating tailored molecular approaches into material design, interfacial modification, and scalable fabrication, researchers can accelerate progress toward commercially viable, high-performance tandem photovoltaics.

This Special Issue focuses on molecular strategies, material design, fabrication methodologies, and mechanistic studies that drive the advancement of perovskite and perovskite-based tandem devices. Therefore, IJMS welcomes both original research articles and reviews that explore the molecular mechanisms and engineering principles underlying perovskite solar cells and tandem photovoltaics.

Dr. Muhammad Adnan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.