Dr. Tao Chen is a full professor at the University of Science and Technology of China. His research centers on inorganic thin-film solar cells. His research group has established a hydrothermal deposition strategy to fabricate antimony selenosulfide (Sb₂(S,Se)₃) thin films for photovoltaic devices, breaking the longstanding 10% power conversion efficiency bottleneck.

Research Area: Antimony selenosulfide (SbSSe) materials chemistry and solar cell application.

Background: Antimony selenosulfide (SbSSe) is a kind of emerging photovoltaic material with a unique one-dimensional crystal structure and excellent stability. The applicant focuses on addressing the critical challenges in the synthesis of SbSSe thin film materials and the application in high efficiency solar cells. Two of the major research achievements are summarized as follows:

(1) Developed novel chemical synthesis method for SbSSe thin films; this method has been widely accepted as the most efficient fabrication strategy for SbSSe thin films and adopted by relevant research communities globally.

The applicant innovated a new precursor combination, using KSbC₄H₄O₇·0.5H₂O, Na₂S₂O₃·5H₂O, and selenourea as the sources of Sb, S, and Se, respectively. Combined with the rationally designed hydrothermal deposition process, this method enables the fabrication of SbSSe thin films with high compactness, good crystallinity, and low defect density—ultimately breaking the 10% efficiency bottleneck for SbSSe solar cells (certified efficiency: 10.0%, the highest record at that time) and 20% efficiency under indoor light illumination. This synthesis method has been recognized as the most efficient and widely adopted approach in the field. The related research was published in Nature Energy (2020, 5, 587–595; with over 500 citations in related studies) and Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. (2024, 63, e202406512). This study was also highlighted in a News & Views article of the same journal (Nature Energy 2020, 5, 559–560), underscoring its significant academic impact.

(2) Developed novel antimony-based solar cell structures, which have become the most efficient device architectures for antimony-based photovoltaic devices.

To enhance carrier separation and transport efficiency in SbSSe solar cells, the applicant proposed two innovative device structures: the planar heterojunction n-Sb₂(S,Se)₃-p solar cell and the internal homojunction solar cell (n-{n-Sb₂(S,Se)₃/p-Sb₂(S,Se)₃}-p). The planar heterojunction structure has since become the most efficient device architecture for SbSSe solar cells, and related research was published in Nature Energy (2026, 11, 415). The internal homojunction structure provides a new direction for the development of high-efficiency photovoltaic devices, with relevant findings published in Nature Photonics (2026, 20, 644). Both structures have been widely adopted by research teams at home and abroad, demonstrating their profound influence on the field of emerging solar cell research. In addition, the applicant was invited to contribute a review article to Accounts of Chemical Research (2026, 59, 1341), which further attests to the applicant’s established international reputation and standing in the field. 

Ÿ  Overall Publications: Author of 230 peer-reviewed journal articles with over 12,000 citations and an H-index of 70. High-impact corresponding-author papers include (2020-present): Nature Energy (3); Nature Photonics (1); Nature Communications (1); Advanced Materials (12); Angewandte Chemie-International Edition (3); Energy & Environmental Science (3); Advanced Energy Materials (5); etc.

Ten Representative Publications (from 2020)

(1)   Junjie Yang,^# Jianyu Li,^# Shuwei Sheng, Zhiyuan Cai, Ke Li, Zichen Ruan, Bo Che, Rongfeng Tang,* Tao Chen,* Internal Homojunction Sb₂Se₃ Solar Cell, Nature Photonics, 2026, 20, 644.

(2)   Xiaoqi Peng,^# Zichen Ruan,^# Changfei Zhu, Shangfeng Yang, Tao Chen,* Unique Defect Characteristics of Antimony Chalcogenide Photovoltaic Materials, Accounts of Chemical Research, 2026, 59, 1341 (Invited Review Article).

(3)   Chen Qian,* Kaiwen Sun, Jialiang Huang,* Junjie Yang, Jialin Cong, Mingrui He, Zhen Li, Ziyue Feng, Xu Liu, Rongfeng Tang, Martin Green, Tao Chen,* Xiaojing Hao,* Regulation of hydrothermal reaction kinetics with sodium sulfide for certified 10.7% efficiency Sb₂(S,Se)₃ solar cells, Nature Energy, 2026, 11, 415.

(4)   Jiabin Dong, Qianqian Gao, Li Wu, Junjie Yang, Huizhen Liu, Weihuang Wang, Rongfeng Tang, Jianyu Li, Zixiu Cao, Yue Liu, Han Xu, Pan Zhang, Rutao Meng, Jianpeng Li, Xuejun Xu, Zijun Zhang, Tianchi Li, Tao Chen,* Shengzhong Frank Liu,* Yi Zhang,*  Carrier management through electrode and electron-selective layer engineering for 10.70% efficiency antimony selenosulfide solar cells, Nature Energy, 2025, 10, 857.

(5)   Qi Zhao, Rongfeng Tang,* Bo Che, Yawu He, Ting Wu, Xiaoqi Peng, Junjie Yang, Shuwei Sheng, Changfei Zhu, Tao Chen,* Grain-Boundary Elimination via Liquid Medium Annealing toward High-Efficiency Sb₂Se₃ Solar Cells, Advanced Materials 2025, 37, 2414082.

(6)   Bo Che,^# Zhiyuan Cai,^# Haonan Xu, Shuwei Sheng, Qi Zhao, Peng Xiao, Junjie Yang,Changfei Zhu, Xusheng Zheng,* Rongfeng Tang,* Tao Chen,* Post-deposition Treatment of Sb₂Se₃ Enables Defect Passivation and Increased Carrier Transport Dimension for Efficient Solar Cell Application, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2025, 64, e202425639.

(7)   Lei Huang,^# Jiabin Dong,^# Yue Hu, Junjie Yang, Xiaoqi Peng, Haolin Wang, Aoxing Liu, Yizhe Dong, Hong Wang,* Changfei Zhu, Rongfeng Tang,* Yi Zhang,* Tao Chen,* Temperature-Gradient Solution Deposition Amends Unfavorable Band Structure of Sb₂(S,Se)₃ Film for Highly Efficient Solar Cells, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2024, 63, e202406512.

(8)   Bo Che,^# Zhiyuan Cai,^# Peng Xiao, Gang Li, Yuqian Huang, Rongfeng Tang, Changfei Zhu, Shangfeng Yang, and Tao Chen* Thermally Driven Point Defect Transformation in Antimony Selenosulfide Photovoltaic Materials, Advanced Materials 2023, 35, 2208564.

(9)   Weitao Lian, Chenhui Jiang, Yiwei Yin, Rongfeng Tang, Gang Li, Lijian Zhang, Bo Che, Tao Chen,* Revealing composition and structure dependent deep-level defect in antimony trisulfide photovoltaics, Nature Communications, 2021, 12, 3260.

(10) Rongfeng Tang,^# Xiaomin Wang,^# Weitao Lian,^# Jialiang Huang, Qi Wei, Menglin Huang, Yiwei Yin, Chenhui Jiang, Shangfeng Yang, Guichuan Xing, Shiyou Chen, Changfei Zhu,* Xiaojing Hao,* Martin A Green, Tao Chen,* Hydrothermal deposition of antimony selenosulfide thin films enables solar cells with 10% efficiency, Nature Energy, 2020, 5, 587.