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Publications

Every interfacial design, translated into device performance

As of 2026 the group has published 80 SCI papers, 33 of them as (co-)first or corresponding author in Nature (2), Science (2), Nature Materials, Nature Energy and Nature Synthesis and other leading international journals, with more than 6,000 citations in total. The complete list is given below, separated into work Prof. Zhang led and work he contributed to as a co-author.

Complete List

Publications

All 80 publications on Prof. Yong Zhang's record, newest first and split by his authorship, so the work he led is easy to tell apart from the work he contributed to. # marks a co-first author and * a corresponding author.

33 First or corresponding author

Papers Prof. Zhang led as (co-)first or corresponding author - the core of the group's work on interfacial design, crystallization control and scalable perovskite photovoltaics. The full author list is given for each paper.

Energy Environ. Sci.2026

Homogenizing buried contact via pH-modulated NiOx for high-performance all-perovskite tandem solar cells

Zhang Zemin#; Zhang Xinpeng#; Liu Sanwan#; Zhang Yong*; Zhong Zijian; Tao Lei; Chen Jianlin; Zhao Haiyang; Wang Siyi; Zhang Jinming; Zhang Haoyuan; Du Yi'an; Ma Linchuan; Li Yitong; Zhang Zhiying; Zhou Hongmei; Zhou Zichun; Huang Zhihan; Lin Zexin; Yan Zhongliang; Bai Yang; Dai Linjie; Ouyang Chuying; Qi Yabing; Zhu Chen*; Park Nam-Gyu*; Li Yuelong*

Corresponding author Energy Environ. Sci., vol. 19, 2026, pp. 5452-5463
Paper
Science2026

Redirecting wet–interfacial redox pathways for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells

Liang Zheng#; Liu Boyuan#; Li Yuelong#; Zhang Yalan#; Yang Yi#; Cheng Shengbin; Ma Linchuan; Tu Bao; Liu Hua-Chao; Xu Huifen; Bao Yuqi; Fan Minghui; Zhu Peide; Zhang Xianfu; Li Congqi; Zhang Hui; Zhang Xinyuan; Li Yuheng; Chen Guodong; Liu Cheng*; Zhu Chen*; Ouyang Chuying; Park Nam-Gyu*; Zhang Yong*

Corresponding author Science, vol. 393(6813), 2026, pp. 800-806 1 citation
Paper
Nat. Energy2026

Solvated-intermediate-driven surface transformation of lead halide perovskites

Liu Sanwan#; Miao Tianyin#; Wang Jianan#; Zhang Yong#; Chen Rui; Lei Xia; Qin Wenming; Zhu Zhongjie; Lu Lanlu; Chen Zhenhua; Cui Peng; Li Liang; Li Meicheng; Xu Erxiang; Shen Yang; Cho Seong Chan; Lee Sang Uck; Cho Seong-Ho; Liu Zonghao*; Chen Wei*; Park Nam-Gyu*

Co-first author Nat. Energy, vol. 11, 2026, pp. 109-120 67 citations
Paper
Nat. Mater.2025

Suppression of PCBM dimer formation in inverted perovskite solar cells

Liang Zheng; Xu Huifen; Huang Zhenda; Lei Xia; Ye Jiajiu*; Zhang Yong*; Zhu Peide; Liu Boyuan; Chen Wenjing; Wang Xue; Li Yaru; Liao Yunxiao; Weng Shirui; Tao Yuli; Zhang Yalan; Zhang Hui; Chen Feng; Zeng Jie; Cai Xiangbin; Lee Sang-Uk; Dong Jiufeng; Liu Wanting; Zhou Hongmin; Lin Hongzhen; Yang Liangbao; Xu Guoning; Ding Yong; Sheng Jiang; Li Jingbai*; Yang Shangfeng; Xu Baomin; Xiao Zhengguo; Kirchartz Thomas; Pan Xu*; Park Nam-Gyu*

Corresponding author Nat. Mater., 2025 39 citations
Paper
Nature2024

Buried interface molecular hybrid for inverted perovskite solar cells

Liu Sanwan#; Li Jingbai#; Xiao Wenshan#; Chen Rui#; Sun Zhenxing#; Zhang Yong#; Lei Xia; Hu Shuaifeng; Kober-Czerny Manuel; Wang Jianan; Ren Fumeng; Zhou Qisen; Raza Hasan; Gao You; Ji Yitong; Li Sibo; Li Huan; Qiu Longbin; Huang Wenchao; Zhao Yan; Xu Baomin; Liu Zonghao; Snaith Henry J.; Park Nam-Gyu*; Chen Wei*

Co-first author Nature, vol. 632, 2024, pp. 536-542 1,249 citations
Paper
Nature2023

Homogenizing out-of-plane cation composition in perovskite solar cells

Liang Zheng#; Zhang Yong#; Xu Huifen#; Chen Wenjing; Liu Boyuan; Zhang Jiyao; Zhang Hui; Wang Zihan; Kang Dong-Ho; Zeng Jianrong; Gao Xingyu; Wang Qisheng; Hu Huijie; Zhou Hongmin; Cai Xiangbin; Tian Xingyou; Reiss Peter; Xu Baomin; Kirchartz Thomas; Xiao Zhengguo; Dai Songyuan*; Park Nam-Gyu*; Ye Jiajiu*; Pan Xu*

Co-first author Nature, vol. 624, 2023, pp. 557-563 871 citations
Paper

47 Co-authored papers

Papers where Prof. Zhang appears among the co-authors rather than leading the work. Author strings are shown as indexed by Google Scholar, which abbreviates long lists with an ellipsis; the position given is his place in the list as far as it can be read.

Keeping this list current: it is generated from Prof. Zhang's CV record together with his Google Scholar profile (also reachable through the HKUST(GZ) faculty profile). Both sources are reconciled paper by paper, so the split above is complete rather than a selection. Titles link to the publisher via DOI wherever one could be resolved.

Featured Figure

Mechanism figures from our papers

Figures make complex processes explicit. Below are mechanism schematics, synthesis schemes and device photographs taken from the group's papers.

Science, 2026 — redirecting wet-interfacial redox pathways

Wet-interfacial redox and additive redirection mechanism
"Ink redox" and additive redirection during film formation (Science, 2026).
Solution colour change over time
Evolution of solution colour for SAM and perovskite precursors at different ratios (Science, 2026, detail of Fig. 1).
1 m × 2 m perovskite module
1 m × 2 m (2.0 m² active area) perovskite photovoltaic module with 20.1% efficiency, demonstrating the potential for scalable manufacturing.
Science paper page
Paper page: Science, 20 Aug 2026, Vol. 393, Issue 6813, pp. 800–806.

Figures from the group's other recent papers

Solvated-intermediate-driven surface transformation: the solvent-dependent intermediate and the device efficiency it delivers
Solvated-intermediate-driven surface transformation: which solvent pulls the precursor into which intermediate, and the efficiency the resulting devices reach (Nature Energy, 2025).
Suppression of PCBM dimer formation: the device, the PCBM precursor solution with its matched additive, and the cycloaddition route to the dimer
Suppressing PCBM dimer formation: the device, the PCBM precursor solution with its matched additive, and the cycloaddition route by which the fullerene would otherwise dimerise (Nature Materials, 2025).
Buried-interface molecular hybrid: the four designed molecules and the mixed monolayer they form on the oxide surface
Buried-interface molecular hybrid: the four designed molecules, and the mixed monolayer they assemble into on the oxide surface (Nature, 2024).
Homogenizing out-of-plane cation composition: the cation map of the untreated film and the depth profile that flattens after treatment
Homogenizing the out-of-plane cation composition: the FA-rich surface and Cs-rich bottom of the untreated film, and the depth profile that flattens once it is treated (Nature, 2023).
Symmetry-driven design of long-range-ordered π–π stacking molecules: the synthesis route, the packing and the nanoscale current map
Symmetry-driven design of long-range-ordered π–π stacking molecules: from the synthesis route to the packing of the interfacial layer and the nanoscale current map it produces (Nature Synthesis, 2025).
Aqueous synthesis of perovskite precursors: the pH windows that set the purification step and a kilogram-scale precursor batch
Aqueous synthesis of perovskite precursors: the pH window that sets the purification step, and the kilogram-scale precursor batches it delivers (Science, 2024).

Awards & Service

Awards & academic service

01

National Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad

Awarded in 2021 by the China Scholarship Council (CSC).

02

Shenzhen Overseas High-level Talent (Category B)

Talent recognition by the City of Shenzhen.

03

SUSTech Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow

2021, Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Southern University of Science and Technology.

04

Young Editorial Board Member

Young editorial board member of eScience, Energy Materials and Energy Z.

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