Xue Jingjing of Zhejiang University’s latest Nature Reviews Chemistry: A-Site Organic Cations in Metal Halide Perovskite Photovoltaic Devices

Xue Jingjing of Zhejiang University’s latest Nature Reviews Chemistry: A-Site Organic Cations in Metal Halide Perovskite Photovoltaic Devices

Perovskite solar cells represent a disruptive photovoltaic technology that can be fabricated via solution processing. Molecular engineering of the A-site organic cations is crucial to the rapid advancement of perovskite solar cells, as these cations influence the molecular structure of both the thin film and the interfaces. The wide range of choices and design flexibility offered by A-site organic cations provide tremendous opportunities for tuning various properties of metal-halide perovskites through chemical interactions. In light of this, on November 28, 2025, Xue Jingjing, Zhejiang University A review on A-site organic cations in metal-halide perovskite photovoltaic devices has been published in Nature Reviews Chemistry. This review summarizes the role of A-site organic cations in perovskites and provides an in-depth analysis of the structure–interaction–property relationships. It elucidates how the molecular structure of A-site cations influences chemical interactions within the perovskite lattice and how these interactions, in turn, affect the overall performance of perovskite solar cells. The review begins by introducing A-site organic cations and their bonding roles in perovskites, followed by a discussion—at both the lattice and electronic levels—of their impacts on crystal growth, stability, defect formation, charge-carrier transport, and band-edge states. Finally, it outlines future research directions, opportunities, and challenges.