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  • Ruihao CHEN, Kexin LIU, Kexin YANG, Shuyuan WAN, Yang YANG, Hongqiang WANG
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 973-981.

    Perovskite solar cells represent a new generation of photovoltaic technology. Their laboratory efficiency has exceeded 27%. However, their poor stability remains a major obstacle to industrialization. The efficiency degradation comes from four core issues: defect-induced non-radiative recombination, ion migration, interface energy level mismatch and chemical reactions, as well as environmental erosion from moisture, oxygen, light and heat. The common root cause of these problems is the large number of coordination-unsaturated sites on the surfaces, grain boundaries and interfaces of perovskite materials. Sulfur-based molecules possess soft Lewis base characteristics, tunable molecular structures and hydrophobic properties, which can form strong interactions with these sites. Therefore, they can synergistically repair the photoelectric conversion process from four aspects: defect passivation, crystallization control, moisture-oxygen barrier construction and interface energy level modulation. This paper systematically reviews the physicochemical nature of the above limiting factors. It also elaborates on the core mechanisms of sulfur-based molecules. Recent representative works are summarized. Finally, future directions for sulfur-based molecules in perovskite photovoltaics are discussed.

  • Xiaofeng HUANG, Kaihang QI, Chenxi YANG, Yiqiao WANG
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 982-993.

    The power conversion efficiency and long-term stability of perovskite solar cells are highly dependent on the synergistic regulation of multiscale factors during the fabrication process. This review systematically summarizes the device performance influence mechanisms by several key factors, ranging from precursor systems for the perovskite absorber and functional layers to overall device architectures. Particular emphasis is placed on the intrinsic correlations among molecular design of raw materials, film-formation dynamics, regulation of thin-film microstructure, interface and charge-transport-layer engineering, large-area module fabrication and system integration. Current studies indicate that precursor systems establish the foundation for high-quality perovskite films by regulating crystallization pathways, phase evolution and defect distributions. During film formation, antisolvent engineering, additive types and annealing conditions collectively regulate film crystallization processes, including grain size, crystallographic orientation, film coverage uniformity and residual stress, thereby affecting charge-carrier transport, trap-induced recombination and device hysteresis. Interface passivation and energy-level alignment of transport layers can effectively suppress non-radiative recombination losses and improve the selective extraction of charge carriers, leading to enhanced open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density and fill factor. Meanwhile, n-i-p and p-i-n device architectures exhibit distinct advantages and challenges in terms of fabrication compatibility, interfacial stability and large-area scalability. During module fabrication and system integration, film uniformity, series interconnection losses, defect accumulation, environmental stability and encapsulation reliability jointly determine the industrialization potential of perovskite solar cells. This review further summarizes the major bottlenecks encountered in the transition from small-area devices to large-area modules, including interfacial recombination, ion migration, phase segregation, module interconnection losses and encapsulation reliability. Future research should focus on following directions: multiscale synergistic optimization across materials, film formation, interfaces, devices and modules; the development of in-situ and operando characterization/testing techniques; machine-learning-assisted process screening; and the establishment of unified, comparable and traceable stability evaluation protocols.

  • Ruihao CHEN, Junshuo ZHANG, Xiaokang DAI, Yuxuan LIU, Yeermike YELAERSI, Yezhi LI
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 994-1002.

    The fabrication of high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs), inherently relies on solvent-based processing. However, conventional methods predominantly employ hazardous solvents, including N,N-dimethylformamide and chlorobenzene, which has severe ecological and biological toxicity, therefore undermines sustainable manufacturing pathways, and represents a critical bottleneck for PSCs industrial-scale deployment. To address this challenge, the search for suitable green solvents has gained attention in order to reduce environmental impact and occupational health risks, thereby achieving environmentally friendly production. This review systematically organizes currently explored green solvents for perovskite processing into four distinct groups based on their functions: green precursor solvents, green anti-solvents, auxiliary additives and mixed solvent systems. Building on this classification, the characteristics and key merits of each category are systematically summarized, and their functions and performance in PSCs fabrication are evaluated. Then, this review further outlines practical implementation approaches, such as solvent engineering, sequential deposition, and additive-assisted crystallization. In the end, this review critically examines recent key challenges of perovskite green solvents, including limited solubility of precursors, poor film uniformity, scalability constraints, and long-term stability concerns, and proposes forward-looking directions. This review aims to offer references to solvent selection for green fabrication of PSCs and provide ideas for green solvents' future development to support large-scale green fabrication of PSCs.

  • Pengzhen ZHAO
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 1003-1015.

    Driven by the increasing demand for building-integrated photovoltaics and space photovoltaics, flexible perovskite solar cells have demonstrated tremendous application potential and have emerged as one of the most active research frontiers in photovoltaic technology, owing to their outstanding power conversion efficiency, low-cost fabrication, excellent mechanical flexibility and high power-to-weight ratio. Nevertheless, the perovskite thin films serving as the photoactive layer exhibit a certain degree of soft-lattice characteristics, their intrinsically polycrystalline nature and lattice brittleness render them susceptible to structural damage under bending and mechanical deformation. Moreover, the mechanical durability of flexible perovskite solar cells is strongly governed by the mechanical properties of the individual functional layers and the interfacial bonding states between them, collectively constitute a critical bottleneck for their practical deployment and large-scale commercialization. In this context, this review systematically summarizes recent advances in enhancing the mechanical durability of flexible perovskite solar cells, with particular emphasis on flexible substrates, perovskite active layers, electrodes, and interface engineering. The major approaches for improving the mechanical durability of flexible perovskite solar cells are comprehensively reviewed, and the future prospects and key development directions for advancing flexible perovskite solar cells toward commercialization are further discussed.

  • Menghan HE, Lifei HE, Hongqiang WANG, Pengfei GUO
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 1016-1025.

    To address the key issues of energy level misalignment, high defect density and inadequate stability at the NiOx/perovskite interface in inverted perovskite solar cells, this work systematically investigates the triphenylamine-based self-assembled monolayer (SAM) ((2-(4-(bis(4-methoxyphenyl)amino)phenyl)-1-cyanovinyl)phosphonic acid, MPA-CPA), with the carbazole-based SAMs ((2-(3,6-dimethoxy-9H-carbazol-9-yl) ethyl) phosphonic acid, MeO-2PACz) and ((4-(3,6-dimethoxy-9H-carbazol-9-yl)butyl)phosphonic acid, MeO-4PACz) as references. This work spans molecular theoretical design, interfacial self-assembly behavior analysis, substrate surface characteristic regulation, interface defect passivation and carrier dynamics evolution, and device photovoltaic performance optimization. Density functional theory calculations reveal that MPA-CPA possesses a high dipole moment of 10.15 D and a propeller-like nonplanar configuration, enabling superior adsorption stability and assembly orderliness on the NiOx surface. Atomic force microscopy, Kelvin probe force microscopy and water contact angle measurements show that after MPA-CPA modification, the NiOx film surface roughness decreases to 6.2 nm, the average surface potential drops to 471 mV and the water contact angle is 67.3°, indicating improved energy level alignment with the valence band maximum of the perovskite. Through process optimization, the device with NiOx film modified by MPA-CPA achieves a peak power conversion efficiency of 26.21%, significantly higher than that of the control devices. Moreover, unencapsulated devices retain 99.5% and 88.0% of their initial efficiencies after 168 h of storage in ambient air (30%~40% relative humidity) and at (65±5) ℃ under a nitrogen atmosphere, respectively. Collectively, this study establishes a robust “molecular structure-interface property-device performance” relationship, offering important experimental guidance for the design of interfacial materials toward highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells.

  • Yali YANG, Jihu NIE, Nailin YANG, Shumin SUN, Liang CHENG
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 1026-1038.

    As an emerging non-invasive tumor treatment technique, sonodynamic therapy (SDT) uses ultrasound to stimulate the generation of reactive oxygen species to kill cancer cells. It has attracted much attention due to its excellent tissue penetration, efficient therapeutic effect and low toxicity side effect. In recent years, the development of efficient and low toxicity sonosensitizers have become a research hotspot in this field. Inorganic sonosensitizers have shown great potential in the field of SDT due to their excellent stability, controllable physicochemical properties, multifunctional integration ability and tumor targeting ability. This review systematically summarizes the evolution of inorganic sonosensitizers and divides them into three generations: the first generation improves performance by optimizing material structure, the second generation focuses on regulating the tumor microenvironment to enhance SDT efficacy, and the third generation achieves synergistic therapy by regulating immune response. Finally, this review discusses the challenges currently faced by inorganic sonosensitizers and looks forward to future development directions.

  • Yinglu LIU, Xinyi YU, Dan WANG
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 1039-1046.

    Optical clear adhesives (OCA) are key supporting materials in optical manufacturing and electronic assembly, which serve as critical supporting products for new-generation information technology, and refractive index of materials directly governs imaging quality and signal transmission efficiency in numerous application scenarios including lens assembly, filter lamination, fiber coupling and sensor packaging. Nevertheless, constrained by the structural properties of organic molecules and polymer chains, the refractive index of organic materials is usually below 1.7. Composites of polymers and inorganic nanoparticles have been proved to be an effective strategy to fabricate OCA featuring both high light transmittance and high refractive index. Focusing on recent research advances of organic-inorganic nanocomposites with high refractive index, this paper systematically summarizes research achievements covering design strategies, regulation mechanisms, preparation technologies and practical applications. Combined with relevant studies conducted by our research group, the future research direction toward transformation from lab-scale specimens to industrial commercial products is proposed.

  • Shen LIU, Tiebang ZHANG, Yujing LIU, Lin SONG, Yongfeng LIANG, Junpin LIN
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 1047-1058.

    TiAl alloys are regarded as a new generation of high-temperature structural materials with great application potential due to their excellent high-temperature performance. In particular, the deformation behavior of the B2 phase plays a crucial role in the service performance of the alloys. Although the B2 phase is often classified as a room-temperature brittle phase, and its presence often leads to a conflict between hot workability and room-temperature plasticity, recent studies have provided new perspectives for understanding its deformation mechanism. This paper reviews recent research progress on the deformation mechanisms of the B2 phase in TiAl alloys, systematically elucidating the crystallographic characteristics and slip system types, with a focus on the key factors constraining its plastic deformation. Studies have indicated that, under certain conditions, the B2 phase has the potential to activate various dislocation slip systems, including <111>, <110>, and <001>. However, its macroscopic plastic deformation is constrained by multiple factors, including temperature, stress state, internal precipitates (such as the ωo phase), and the surrounding microstructure. Furthermore, by comparing different alloy systems, the influence of ordering degree on slip system selection is discussed, and effective strategies for activating the plasticity of the B2 phase through interface engineering and alloy design are summarized. Finally, the paper provides an outlook on future research directions for further revealing the deformation mechanisms of the B2 phase in TiAl alloys.

  • Xing RAN, Zhe WANG
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 1059-1070.

    Titanium alloy serves as a core strategic material in the aviation field, its processing stage generates a substantial amount of return materials, this is primarily due to the relatively low material utilization rate. These return materials are highly enriched with crucial elements such as titanium, aluminum, and vanadium, thus possessing extremely high recycling value at the aviation grade level. Based on an in-depth review of both domestic and international literature, and practical applications in the aviation industry, this paper systematically summarizes the technological advancements across the entire chain of titanium alloy return materials, encompassing waste collection, pretreatment, remelting and regeneration processes, and their subsequent high-end applications. Particular emphasis is placed on the analysis of the distinctive key technology systems specific to titanium alloy return materials in the aviation field. By doing so, the paper clearly identifies the current bottlenecks in the application of titanium alloy return materials within the domestic aviation sector, and the disparities compared to developed foreign countries. Furthermore, the future development direction and challenges of domestic aerospace titanium alloy scrap are analyzed from four aspects: standard system, technological breakthroughs, industrial collaboration, and scale-up development. It underscores the strategic significance of the recycling and application of titanium alloy return materials in terms of cost reduction within the aviation industry and ensuring the security of the titanium material supply chain. Ultimately, this paper aims to provide valuable references for the engineering-scale application of titanium alloy return materials in the aviation field.

  • Xuehua ZHANG, Yifan YANG, Jianping GAO, Nanjun LIU, Xing WANG, Lichao SHI, Tao YIN, Yuchen LI, Zhanghong HUANG
    Materials China. 2026, 45(10): 1071-1085.

    Hydrogen energy, as a core clean energy for achieving the “dual carbon” goals, often involves multiple extreme operating conditions in its application scenarios, including high pressure, strong acidity, low temperature and long-term cyclic service. This imposes extremely stringent technical requirements on the key structural and functional materials in the core equipment of the hydrogen energy industry chain. Titanium and its alloys are critical materials for the full industrial chain of hydrogen energy production-storage-transportation-utilization due to excellent corrosion resistance, high specific strength and good low-temperature toughness. This paper systematically reviews the application progress of titanium materials in key areas of the hydrogen energy industry. These key areas include proton exchange membrane water electrolysis, high-pressure/solid-state hydrogen storage, hydrogen pipelines transportation and fuel cell. The review focuses on hydrogen embrittlement issues in hydrogen-rich environments, oxidation problems in oxygen-containing acidic environments, and forming challenges in complex components. It emphasizes the recent progress in titanium alloy composition design, anti-hydrogen embrittlement regulation, surface modification and forming technologies. The aim is to provide theoretical support and technical references for promoting the large-scale application of titanium-based materials in the hydrogen energy industry.