Regulating the morphology of fluorinated non-fullerene acceptor and polymer donor via binary solvent mixture for high efficiency polymer solar cells

Fluorinated non-fullerene acceptors(NFAs) usually have planar backbone and a higher tendency to crystallize compared to their non-fluorinated counterparts, which leads to enhanced charge mobility in organic solar cells(OSCs). However, this selforganization behavior may result in excessive phase separation with electron donors and thereby deteriorate device efficiency.Herein, we demonstrate an effective approach to tune the molecular organization of a fluorinated NFA(INPIC-4 F), and its phase separation with the donor PBDB-T, by varying the casting solvent. A prolonged film drying time encourages the crystallization of INPIC-4 F into spherulites and consequently results in excessive phase separation, leading to a low device power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 8.1%. Contrarily, a drying time leads to fine mixed domains with inefficient charge transport properties,resulting in a moderate device PCE of 11.4%. An intermediate film drying time results in the formation of face-on π-π stacked PBDB-T and INPIC-4 F domains with continuous phase-separated networks, which facilitates light absorption, exciton dissociation as well as balanced charge transport towards the electrode, and achieves a remarkable PCE of 13.1%. This work provides a rational guide for optimizing the molecular ordering of NFAs and electron donors for high device efficiency.     

A chlorinated non-fullerene acceptor for efficient polymer solar cells

After additive and thermal annealing treatment, the PM6:Y15 based device obtains a high power conversion efficiency of 14.13%.     

A chlorinated non-fullerene acceptor for efficient polymer solar cells

Improving the performance and reducing the manufacturing costs are the main directions for the development of organic solar cells in the future. Here, the strategy that uses chemical structure modification to optimize the photoelectric properties is reported. A new narrow bandgap (1.30 eV) chlorinated non-fullerene electron acceptor (Y15), based on benzo[d][1,2,3] triazole with two 3-undecyl-thieno[2′,3′:4,5] thieno[3,2-b] pyrrole fused -7-heterocyclic ring, with absorption edge extending to the near-infrared (NIR) region, namely A-DA'D-A type structure, is designed and synthesized. Its electrochemical and optoelectronic properties are systematically investigated. Benefitting from its NIR light harvesting, the fabricated photovoltaic devices based on Y15 deliver a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.13%, when blending with a wide bandgap polymer donor PM6. Our results show that the A-DA'D-A type molecular design and application of near-infrared electron acceptors have the potential to further improve the PCE of polymer solar cells (PSCs).     

Rhodanine flanked indacenodithiophene as non-fullerene acceptor for efficient polymer solar cells

A fused-ring electron acceptor IDT-2BR1 based on indacenodithiophene core with hexyl side-chains flanked by benzothiadiazole rhodanine was designed and synthesized.In comparison with its counterpart with hexylphenyl side-chains(IDT-2BR),IDT-2BR1exhibits higher highest occupied molecular orbital(HOMO)energy but similar lowest unoccupied molecular orbital(LUMO)energy(IDT-2BR1:HOMO=-5.37eV,LUMO=-3.67eV;IDT-2BR:HOMO=-5.52eV,LUMO=-3.69eV),red-shifted absorption and narrower bandgap.IDT-2BR1 has higher electron mobility(2.2×10~(-3)cm~2 V~(-1)s~(-1))than IDT-2BR(3.4×10~(-4)cm~2 V~(-1)s~(-1))due to the reduced steric hindrance and ordered molecular packing.Fullerene-free organic solar cells based on PTB7-Th:IDT-2BRl yield power conversion efficiencies up to 8.7%,higher than that of PTB7-Th:IDT-2BR(7.7%),with a high open circuit voltage of0.95 V and good device stability.     

Rationally pairing photoactive materials for high-performance polymer solar cells with efficiency of 16.53%

The emergence of non-fullerene acceptors(NFA) offers a promising opportunity to develop high-performance donor/acceptor pairs with high power conversion efficiency,as NFAs offer tunable energy levels,broad absorption and suitable aggregation property.In order to enhance light-harvesting capability of active layers,we choose a wide bandgap polymer PTQ10 as the donor to blend with a narrow bandgap NFAY6 as the acceptor.In comparison with PTQ10:IDIC blend,~130 nm red-shifted absorption spectrum is observed in the PTQ10:Y6 blend,which potentially enhance the short-circuit current density(Jsc) for the PSCs.In addition,the optimal PTQ10:Y6 blend shows higher photoluminescence quenching efficiency and more efficient charge separation,higher charge mobilities,as well as weaker bimolecular recombination over the PTQ10:IDIC blend,which leads to an outstanding power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 16.53%,with a notable Jsc of 26.65 mA cm^-2 and fill factor(FF) of 0.751.     

High-performance polymer solar cells with efficiency over 18% enabled by asymmetric side chain engineering of non-fullerene acceptors

Side-chain engineering has been considered as one of the most promising strategies to optimize non-fullerene small-molecule acceptors(NFSMAs). Previous efforts were focused on the optimization of alkyl-chain length, shape, and branching sites. In this work, we propose that asymmetric side-chain engineering can effectively tune the properties of NFSMAs and improve the power conversion efficiency(PCE) for binary non-fullerene polymer solar cells(NFPSCs). Specifically, by introducing asymmetric side chains into the central core, both of the absorption spectra and molecule orientation of NFSMAs are efficiently tuned. When blended with polymer donor PM6, NFPSCs with EH-HD-4F(2-ethylhexyl and 2-hexyldecyl side chains) demonstrate a champion PCE of 18.38% with a short-circuit current density(J_(SC)) of 27.48 mA cm~(-2), an open circuit voltage(V_(OC)) of 0.84 V,and a fill factor(FF) of 0.79. Further studies manifest that the proper asymmetric side chains in NFSMAs could induce more favorable face-on molecule orientation, enhance carrier mobilities, balance charge transport, and reduce recombination losses.     

Organic solar cells based on small molecule donor and polymer acceptor

Small molecule donor/polymer acceptor(SD/PA)-type organic solar cells(OSCs) have attracted widespread attention in recent years due to the continuing power conversion efficiency(PCE) growth, near 10%, and the excellent thermal stability for the practical applications. However, the development of SD/PA-type OSCs lags far behind that of polymer donor/small molecule acceptor(PD/SA)-type OSCs, which are also based on the combination of small molecule and polymer, with the PCEs exceeding 18%. The rea...     

Achieving high efficiency and low voltage loss simultaneously for non-fullerene organic solar cells

<正>Conventional organic solar cells are based on fullerene acceptors, which caused several drawbacks including poor absorption in visible and near IR regions, limited tunability of energy levels, and most importantly, large voltage loss from the optical bandgap of the cell to the open circuit voltage of the solar cell [1]. During the past few years, nonfullerene OSCs have emerged as a promising alternative to     

Ternary organic solar cells based on polymer donor,polymer acceptor and PCBM components

In this work,ternary organic solar cells(OSCs)combining a fullerene derivative PC71BM with a nonfullerene acceptor N2200-F blended with a polymer donor PM6 were reported.Compared with the binary systems,the highest power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 8.11%was achieved in ternary solar cells with 30 wt%N2200-F content,mainly due to the improved short-circuit current density(Jsc)and fill factor(FF).Further studies showed that the improved Jsc could attribute to the complementary abso rption of the two acceptors and the enhanced FF was originated from the higher hole mobility and the fine-tuned morphology in the ternary system.These results demonstrate that the combination of fullere ne and nonfullerene acceptors in ternary organic solar cells is a promising approach to achieve high-performance OSCs.     

High-performance polymer solar cells with >13% efficiency

正In the last three years,polymer solar cells(PSCs)based on ntype organic semiconductor(n-OS)acceptor have become the focus of attention and made great progress.In 2017,the power conversion efficiencies(PCEs)have been boosted to~13%for PSCs with single-junction and~14%for PSCs     

High-performance polymer solar cells with >10% efficiency

<正>Polymer solar cells(PSCs)with bulky heterojunction structure have attracted considerable attention due to their advantages in making flexible,light weight and large area solar cell panels through the low cost roll-to-roll printing technologies.In the past decades,tremendous efforts have been devoted to developing new materials and device fabrication methods to improve the power conversion efficien-     

Additive-free non-fullerene organic solar cells with random copolymers as donors over 9% power conversion efficiency

The PBDB-TBT1:ITIC-based device obtains PCE of 9.09%, and is insensitive to additive and thermal annealing, and forms microstructural morphology.     

Non-fullerene acceptor fibrils enable efficient ternary organic solar cells with 16.6% efficiency

Optimizing the components and morphology within the photoactive layer of organic solar cells(OSCs) can significantly enhance their power conversion efficiency(PCE). A new A-D-A type non-fullerene acceptor IDMIC-4F is designed and synthesized in this work, and is employed as the third component to prepare high performance ternary solar cells. IDMIC-4F can form fibrils after solution casting, and the presence of this fibrillar structure in the PBDB-T-2F:BTP-4F host confines the growth of donors and acceptors into fine domains, as well as acting as transport channels to enhance electron mobility. Single junction ternary devices incorporating 10 wt% IDMIC-4F exhibit enhanced light absorption and balanced carrier mobility, and achieve a maximum PCE of 16.6% compared to 15.7% for the binary device, which is a remarkable efficiency for OSCs reported in literature. This non-fullerene acceptor fibril network strategy is a promising method to improve the photovoltaic performance of ternary OSCs.     

Synergistic effect of TiO_2 hierarchical submicrospheres for high performance dye-sensitized solar cells

The performance of dye-sensitized solar cells(DSCs) could be improved by using rationally designed mesoporous film structure for electron collection, dye adsorption and light scattering. The development of a novel double layer film prepared by TiO_2 hierarchical submicrospheres and nanoparticles was reported in this article. The submicrospheres were composed of rutile nanorods of 10 nm diameter and the length of 150–250 nm, which facilitated fast electron transport, charge collection and light scattering. Using a double layer structure consisting of the 10 wt% film as a dye loading layer and the 50 wt% film as the light scattering layer, C101 sensitizer and liquid electrolyte, DSC yielded power conversion efficiency of 9.68% under 1 sun illumination.     

A 3D star-shaped non-fullerene acceptor for solution-processed organic solar cells with a high open-circuit voltage of 1.18 V

A novel 3D star-shaped acceptor based on triphenylamine as a core and diketopyrrolopyrrole as arms (S(TPA-DPP)) was synthesized. S(TPA-DPP) exhibited excellent thermal stability, strong absorption, and very high open-circuit voltage (1.18 V) in solution-processed organic solar cells based on P3HT:S(TPA-DPP).     

Novel polymer acceptors achieving 10.18% efficiency for all-polymer solar cells

Polymer acceptors based on extended fused ring p skeleton has been proven to be promising candidates for all-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs), due to their remarkable improved light absorption than the traditional imide-based polymer acceptors. To expand structural diversity of the polymer acceptors, herein,two polymer acceptors PSF-IDIC and PSi-IDIC with extended fused ring p skeleton are developed by copolymerization of 2,20-((2 Z,20 Z)-((4,4,9,9-tetrahexadecyl-4,9-dihydro-s-indaceno [1,2-b:5,6-b']dithio phene-2,7-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1 H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile(IDIC-C16) block with sulfur(S) and fluorine(F) functionalized benzodithiophene(BDT) unit and silicon(Si) atom functionalized BDT unit, respectively. Both polymer acceptors exhibit strong light absorption.The PSF-IDIC exhibits similar energy levels and slightly higher absorption coefficient relative to the PSi-IDIC. After blended with the donor polymer PM6, the functional atoms on the polymer acceptors show quite different effect on the device performance. Both of the acceptors deliver a notably high open circuit voltage(V_OC) of the devices, but PSi-IDIC achieves higher V OCthan PSF-IDIC. All-PSC based on PM6:PSi-IDIC attains a power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 8.29%, while PM6:PSF-IDIC-based device achieves a much higher PCE of 10.18%, which is one of the highest values for the all-PSCs reported so far. The superior device performance of PM6:PSF-IDIC is attributed to its higher exciton dissociation and charge transport, decreased charge recombination, and optimized morphology than PM6:PSi-IDIC counterpart. These results suggest that optimizing the functional atoms of the side chain provide an effective strategy to develop high performance polymer acceptors for all-PSCs.     

High performance low band gap polymer solar cells with a non-conventional acceptor

A novel C70 fullerene derivative was designed and synthesized by [4+2] cyclic addition reaction between indene derivative (methyl 1H-indene-3-carboxylate) and C70. The absorption and photoluminescence of H120 and its mixed films with different polymer donor materials were investigated, as well as its electrochemical property and electron mobility. It was found that H120 has 0.05 eV higher LUMO level than that of PC(70)BM. Its electron mobility reached 6.32 × 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), which is slightly lower than 9.55 × 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) of PC(70)BM. The photovoltaic devices based on P3HT, and two high efficiency low band gap polymers, PBDTTT-C and PBDTTDPP as donors, with H120 as an acceptor gave power conversion efficiencies of 4.2%, 6.0% and 6.2%, respectively.     

Effects of processing additives in non-fullerene organic bulk heterojunction solar cells with efficiency >11%

The solar cell surface morphologies with different additives observed with slightly changed in roughness. It is easily to get the best PCE of 11.1% with using 0.5% DIO additives.     

A chlorinated low-bandgap small-molecule acceptor for organic solar cells with 14.1% efficiency and low energy loss

A new acceptor-donor-acceptor(A-D-A) type small-molecule acceptor NCBDT-4 Cl using chlorinated end groups is reported.This new-designed molecule demonstrates wide and efficient absorption ability in the range of 600–900 nm with a narrow optical bandgap of 1.40 eV. The device based on PBDB-T-SF:NCBDT-4 Cl shows a power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 13.1%without any post-treatment, which represents the best result for all as-cast organic solar cells(OSCs) to date. After device optimizations, the PCE was further enhanced to over 14% with a high short-circuit current density(Jsc) of 22.35 m A cm-2 and a fill-factor(FF) of 74.3%. The improved performance was attributed to the more efficient photo-electron conversion process in the optimal device. To our knowledge, this outstanding efficiency of 14.1% with an energy loss as low as 0.55 eV is among the best results for all single-junction OSCs.