# Yanfa Yan
**Yanfa Yan** is a physicist and materials scientist who works on the physics of materials for solar energy, and he is a Distinguished University Professor and Ohio Research Scholar Chair in the Department of Physics and [Astronomy](https://www.edgepedia.org/astronomy) at the [University of Toledo](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-toledo).[1](https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html) His research combines density functional theory, material synthesis, and device fabrication and characterization for energy materials, with a focus on perovskite solar cells and on using perovskite solar cells to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.[1](https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Current position | Distinguished University Professor and Ohio Research Scholar Chair, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Toledo[1](https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html) |
| Training | Ph.D. in Physics, Wuhan University, 1993[2](https://pvsec29.scievent.com/speaker/6544/) |
| Known for | Defect and interface physics of thin-film photovoltaics[3](https://eng.ua.edu/seminars/dr-yanfa-yan/) |
| Signature work | "Efficient two-terminal all-perovskite tandem solar cells enabled by high-quality low-bandgap absorber layers", *Nature Energy*, 2018[4](https://astro1.panet.utoledo.edu/~yyan/index.html); ["From Lead Halide Perovskites to Lead‐Free Metal Halide Perovskites and Perovskite Derivatives"](https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201803792), *Advanced Materials*, 2019 |
| Awards | R&D 100 Award and APS Fellowship, both 2011[1](https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html) |
| Active grant | DOE award DE-EE0010740 on all-perovskite tandem photoelectrodes, 10/2023 to 09/2026, $1.0M[5](https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/docs/hydrogenprogramlibraries/pdfs/review24/p218_yan_2024_o.pdf?sfvrsn=33b136be_3) |
## Education and career
Yan earned his Ph.D. in Physics from Wuhan University in 1993.[2](https://pvsec29.scievent.com/speaker/6544/) He then worked at the [National Renewable Energy Laboratory](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-renewable-energy-laboratory), where he served as a Principal Scientist.[2](https://pvsec29.scievent.com/speaker/6544/) In 2011 he moved to the University of Toledo as an Ohio Research Scholar Chair and Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and he has held that chair since.[2](https://pvsec29.scievent.com/speaker/6544/) He is now a Distinguished University Professor, holds an Ohio Research Scholar Endowed Chair, and is a faculty member of the Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and [Commercialization](https://www.edgepedia.org/commercialization) at Toledo.[1](https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html) • [3](https://eng.ua.edu/seminars/dr-yanfa-yan/)
## Research on perovskite solar cells
His group studies first-principles theory and the physics of semiconductor defects and interfaces in materials for energy applications, including thin-film photovoltaics, solar fuel, and catalytic devices.[3](https://eng.ua.edu/seminars/dr-yanfa-yan/)
A central line of this work is the low-bandgap mixed tin-lead perovskite. His group published the Nature Energy paper "Efficient two-terminal all-perovskite tandem solar cells enabled by high-quality low-bandgap absorber layers" in 2018.[4](https://astro1.panet.utoledo.edu/~yyan/index.html) A collaboration with the [University of Toronto](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-toronto) produced a record-setting [all-perovskite tandem solar cell](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-perovskite-tandem-solar-cell), an advance in tandem device performance at the time.[10](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-018-0278-x) • [1](https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html)
As Principal Investigator of the Department of Energy award DE-EE0008753 at Toledo, running from 6/1/2019 to 5/31/2023, his team fabricated, according to the award's final technical report, more than 6,000 single-junction perovskite solar cells and more than 2,000 all-perovskite tandem solar cells.[6](https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2478129) The best devices exceeded 19%, 23%, and 30% power-conversion efficiency respectively, and according to the DOE Final Technical Report for Award DE-EE0008753, the team demonstrated all-perovskite tandem cells with a [T80 lifetime](https://www.edgepedia.org/t80-lifetime), the time for efficiency to fall to 80% of its initial value, of more than 1,000 hours under maximum power point tracking in air.[6](https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2478129) Average efficiencies of benchmark-process devices were about 15% for wide-bandgap cells, about 17–18% for low-bandgap cells, and over 20% for tandem cells.[6](https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2478129) The report also states the limits: the team did not meet the stability goal under the 85 °C/85% relative humidity accelerated lifetime test, limited by the intrinsic instability of tin-lead perovskites under illumination at elevated temperatures.[6](https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2478129)
## Representative work
- "Efficient two-terminal all-perovskite tandem solar cells enabled by high-quality low-bandgap absorber layers", *Nature Energy*, 2018 ([DOI](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-018-0278-x)), demonstrated efficient two-terminal tandem cells built on high-quality low-bandgap absorber layers, the device architecture his group has developed since.[4](https://astro1.panet.utoledo.edu/~yyan/index.html)
- "From Lead Halide Perovskites to Lead-Free Metal Halide Perovskites and Perovskite Derivatives", *Advanced Materials*, 2019 ([DOI](https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201803792))
## Photoelectrochemical hydrogen production
Yan applies the same tandem architecture to solar fuels: perovskite photoelectrodes that split water into hydrogen and oxygen without an external bias.[1](https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html) • [7](https://datahub.h2awsm.org/project/about/ut-pec) He is Principal Investigator of Department of Energy award DE-EE0010740, running from 10/01/2023 to 09/30/2026 with $1.0M in project funding, on all-perovskite tandem photoelectrodes for solar hydrogen production from water splitting.[5](https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/docs/hydrogenprogramlibraries/pdfs/review24/p218_yan_2024_o.pdf?sfvrsn=33b136be_3) His prior project demonstrated 18% efficient tandem photoelectrodes, and, according to the award report, the current project pairs two low-cost perovskite absorbers in a tandem photoelectrode targeting up to 25% theoretical solar-to-hydrogen efficiency.[5](https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/docs/hydrogenprogramlibraries/pdfs/review24/p218_yan_2024_o.pdf?sfvrsn=33b136be_3) According to the HydroGEN Data Hub, the project is part of the HydroGEN consortium[7](https://datahub.h2awsm.org/project/about/ut-pec) and aims to support Department of Energy cost targets of less than $2/kg by 2026 and $1/kg by 2031 for clean hydrogen.[5](https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/docs/hydrogenprogramlibraries/pdfs/review24/p218_yan_2024_o.pdf?sfvrsn=33b136be_3) The project design uses a 1.80 eV wide-bandgap perovskite top photoelectrode and a 1.25 eV low-bandgap mixed lead-tin bottom photoelectrode, targeting solar-to-hydrogen efficiency up to 20% and long-term stability greater than 1,000 hours in spontaneous water splitting.[7](https://datahub.h2awsm.org/project/about/ut-pec)
## Awards and recognition
In 2011 Yan earned the R&D 100 Award and was recognized as an American Physical Society Fellow.[1](https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html) The University of Toledo has awarded him the President's Award for Excellence in [Creativity](https://www.edgepedia.org/creativity) and Scholarly Activity for three years (2018, 2021, and 2022), the 2015 Provost Shining Star Faculty Award, and the 2014 Sigma Xi/Dion D. Raftopoulos Award for Outstanding Research.[1](https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html)
## Record since 2024
Two post-2023 results address the tin-lead stability problem that the DE-EE0008753 report identified. In research published in Nature Energy in September 2024, with Yan as a corresponding author, adding diamine to lead-tin perovskites removes detrimental impurities from the perovskite surface and forms a protective amorphous layer against environmental corrosion; all-perovskite tandem cells incorporating the diamine-treated tin-lead cell achieved a power conversion efficiency of 28.8% and retained more than 90% of its original efficiency after 1,000 hours of operation.[8](https://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/09_17_2024/utoledo-physicists-collaborate-with-international-researchers-to-improve-stability-of-perovskite-solar-cells) In 2025, research published in Science, with his team working with collaborators at [Arizona State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/arizona-state-university), CubicPV Inc., KAUST, Newcastle University, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, substituted the common electron transport material C60 with an ionic salt called CPMAC; the substitution produced a three-fold increase in interfacial toughness and improved device efficiency and stability, including rates among the best on record for scaled-up minimodules of about six square centimeters.[9](https://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/05_05_2025/utoledo-physicists-contribute-to-perovskite-solar-cell-breakthrough) His DOE hydrogen award DE-EE0010740 remains active through September 2026.[5](https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/docs/hydrogenprogramlibraries/pdfs/review24/p218_yan_2024_o.pdf?sfvrsn=33b136be_3) The remaining barrier stated in the federal report is the intrinsic instability of tin-lead perovskites under illumination at elevated temperature, which the 85 °C/85% relative humidity test still exposes.[6](https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2478129)
## References
1. Faculty: Yanfa Yan, University of Toledo Physics and Astronomy. https://www.utoledo.edu/nsm/physast/people/yanfa-yan.html
2. Speaker biography, 29th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference (PVSEC-29). https://pvsec29.scievent.com/speaker/6544/
3. Dr Yanfa Yan, seminar biography, Lee J. Styslinger Jr. College of Engineering, University of Alabama. https://eng.ua.edu/seminars/dr-yanfa-yan/
4. Yan Research Group, laboratory website. https://astro1.panet.utoledo.edu/~yyan/index.html
5. DOE Hydrogen Program 2024 Annual Merit Review, All-Perovskite Tandem Photoelectrodes (Project p218). https://www.hydrogen.energy.gov/docs/hydrogenprogramlibraries/pdfs/review24/p218_yan_2024_o.pdf?sfvrsn=33b136be_3
6. DOE Final Technical Report, Award DE-EE0008753, Ultra-high efficiency and stable all-perovskite tandem solar cells (OSTI). https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/2478129
7. Perovskite/Perovskite Tandem Photoelectrodes For Low-Cost Unassisted Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting, HydroGEN Data Hub. https://datahub.h2awsm.org/project/about/ut-pec
8. UToledo Physicists Collaborate With International Researchers to Improve Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells, UToledo News, September 17, 2024. https://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/09_17_2024/utoledo-physicists-collaborate-with-international-researchers-to-improve-stability-of-perovskite-solar-cells
9. UToledo Physicists Contribute to Perovskite Solar Cell Breakthrough, UToledo News, May 2025. https://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/05_05_2025/utoledo-physicists-contribute-to-perovskite-solar-cell-breakthrough
10. S41560 018 0278 x (nature.com). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-018-0278-x
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Engineers and computer scientists › Engineers and materials scientists › Researchers in chemical engineering, batteries, solar, and energy materials › Photovoltaics and solar energy conversion › Perovskite solar cell researchers*
*Initially written Sep 20, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 25, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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