A ferrocene-derived molecule called FcTc2 helped an inverted perovskite solar cell reach a reported 25% power-conversion efficiency, with an independent laboratory confirming 24.3%. The device also retained more than 95% of its initial power after a 1,000-hour accelerated test at 85°C and 85% relative humidity. Those results marked a notable advance for that device architecture in 2022—not proof of a 20-year outdoor lifetime or a current record across all perovskite cells.
What the 2022 study changed
The researchers added ferrocenyl-bis-thiophene-2-carboxylate, or FcTc2, as a molecular interfacial layer in an inverted perovskite solar cell. It sat between the electron-transporting layer and the perovskite absorber, where the interface can affect both charge movement and degradation.
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Ferrocene is an organometallic compound: an iron atom is held between carbon-based rings. In the proposed design, the ferrocene center supported charge extraction, while the molecule’s side groups interacted with the perovskite and helped inhibit ion migration associated with degradation. The importance of molecular design is captured by organometallic chemist Nicholas Long’s observation that “It’s these side arms on the metallocene that are particularly important.” Chemistry World’s 2022 report describes the device and the proposed mechanism.
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What the efficiency and stability figures show
Efficiency: 25% reported, 24.3% independently confirmed
The team reported a champion power-conversion efficiency of 25%; an independent testing laboratory confirmed 24.3%, according to Chemistry World. The 25% figure was presented as a record for inverted perovskite devices at the time. It should not be read as today’s overall perovskite efficiency record: it is specific to an architecture and a claim made in 2022, and later results use different device designs and protocols. City University of Hong Kong’s account also reports the team’s 25% result. Its characterization of the outcome as passing an IEC stability test is an attributed researcher statement, not an IEC certification claim.
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Stability: a demanding accelerated test, not a service-life forecast
In the 2022 stress test, cells experienced continuous solar-equivalent illumination for 1,000 hours at 85°C and 85% relative humidity. They retained more than 95% of their initial power, as reported by Chemistry World. Heat, moisture and light make this a useful accelerated test, but the result does not directly establish how many years a panel would operate outdoors. The duration and conditions are test measurements, not a conversion formula for decades of field use.
Zonglong Zhu, the study’s materials chemist, told Chemistry World, “In reality, it is impossible for us to test it for 20 years and then commercialise it.” He viewed the device as behaving similarly to silicon in the cited stress test; that is his interpretation of that test, not an independently established equivalence in real-world lifetime. There is also a perovskite-specific uncertainty: Georgia Tech materials scientist Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena noted that ion-driven processes can introduce degradation over longer periods that researchers do not yet fully understand.
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What later ferrocene research adds—and what it does not
A 2025 peer-reviewed study examined two different ferrocene-derived interlayer molecules. Both passivated undercoordinated lead sites in the perovskite. The more readily oxidized compound also altered and homogenized the surface work function, helping charge extraction. The authors reported a 25.16% champion efficiency and more than 92% power retention after 1,000 hours of maximum-power-point operation at 65°C. These findings support the broader idea that ferrocene-derived molecules can be tailored to improve interfaces, but they are results for different compounds and a different stress protocol—not a direct repeat or extension of the FcTc2 test. The 2025 study provides the details.
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Are ferrocene-enhanced perovskite cells ready for deployment?
The results show a promising materials strategy, not a commercially established product. In March 2026, Imperial College London described a separate approach using single-component ferrocene dopants in hole-transport layers. Its account says larger-area devices and operation under real-world conditions are still under investigation. That work is distinct from the 2022 FcTc2 interlayer and illustrates why strong laboratory results do not by themselves settle scale-up, field durability or commercial readiness. Imperial College London’s March 2026 account outlines that ongoing work.
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