In this paper, a super-twisting algorithm (STA) second-order sliding mode control (SOSMC) is proposed for single-phase photovoltaic grid-connected voltage source inverters. The SOSMC approach is aimed to inject sinusoidal current to grid with low total harmonic distortion (THD), strong robustness to parameter variations, and fast dynamic response to solar irradiance changes. As the discontinuous sign function in the traditional sliding mode control (SMC) is replaced by the continuous super-twisting function, the chattering problem is eliminated. Furthermore, a robust sliding mode differentiator (SMD) is proposed to acquire the derivative of current reference which is difficult to obtain in practice. The stability of the system under the proposed method is proved through the Lyapunov theory. The experimental results validate that the proposed method has satisfactory performance in both dynamic and steady-state conditions, as well as disturbance rejection.INDEX TERMS Super-twisting algorithm (STA), second order sliding mode control (SOSMC), sliding mode differentiator (SMD), single-phase photovoltaic grid-connected system.