Perovskite Dual PV-LED Hits 26.7% PCE, 31% EQE

• A single perovskite diode turns light into power—and power back into brilliant LEDs—thanks to porous alumina “sponge” islands that slash recombination, boosting solar efficiency and LED brightness.

Researchers at the University of Science and Technology of China and the University of Colorado Boulder reported a perovskite diode that functions simultaneously as a high-efficiency solar cell and a bright LED using a single 800 nm-thick absorber layer. The design embeds porous micrometer-scale alumina (Al₂O₃) “sponge” islands inside the perovskite to reconcile the typically conflicting thickness requirements for photovoltaics and LEDs.

The alumina islands, assembled from surface-functionalized nanoparticles, suppress interfacial defects and reduce surface recombination velocity to 1.4 cm/s from 20.2 cm/s. In LED mode, the device achieved about 31% electroluminescence external quantum efficiency and >1,200 W sr⁻¹ m⁻² radiance; in solar mode, it delivered 26.7% certified stabilized power-conversion efficiency and 27% overall, retaining 95% after 1,200 hours.

How do porous alumina islands enable a perovskite solar-cell/LED with 26.7% efficiency?

• Provide defect passivation at perovskite interfaces: porous Al₂O₃ “sponge” regions chemically and physically neutralize non-radiative recombination sites that normally form where perovskite contacts electrodes or transport layers.
  
• Reduce surface and interfacial recombination: the high internal surface area of the porous alumina increases the probability of capturing/neutralizing harmful defect species, lowering carrier loss and enabling higher photovoltage and fill factor (key contributors to certified 26.7% efficiency).
  
• Stabilize perovskite crystal quality in a thin, shared absorber: by mitigating defect formation during growth and operation, the islands help maintain a more uniform, less trap-rich perovskite across an absorber thickness that must work for both photovoltaic charge collection and LED light generation.
  
• Suppress ionic motion and electrochemical degradation: Al₂O₃ can hinder ion migration pathways and interfacial reactions, which helps preserve device parameters under prolonged illumination/electrical bias—supporting the long-term retention needed for high certified stabilized efficiency.
  
• Engineer local charge dynamics for both modes: the insulating/oxide scaffold encourages more balanced carrier distribution and improves injection/collection conditions, so the same thin absorber can operate effectively as a solar cell (extracting carriers) and as an LED (radiatively recombining carriers).
• Improve carrier transport near critical interfaces: porous structures can promote smoother effective interfaces and reduce “worst-case” regions of contact resistance, supporting efficient extraction under solar operation and efficient emission under LED operation.
• Increase radiative efficiency in LED mode without sacrificing solar performance: by lowering non-radiative pathways, the islands raise the fraction of recombination events that produce photons, while still keeping enough carrier extraction for high power conversion.
• Offer a built-in pathway for managing optical/electrical trade-offs in one device: the embedded porous islands help reconcile the opposite thickness and interface-quality needs of photovoltaic collection versus LED recombination—allowing a single compact perovskite layer to reach both strong radiance and top-tier stabilized power conversion.