Despite significant development recently, improving the power conversion efficiency of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) is still an ongoing challenge to overcome. One of the prerequisites to achieving ...this goal is to enable efficient charge separation and small voltage losses at the same time. In this work, a facile synthetic strategy is reported, where optoelectronic properties are delicately tuned by the introduction of electron-deficient-core-based fused structure into non-fullerene acceptors. Both devices exhibited a low voltage loss of 0.57 V and high short-circuit current density of 22.0 mA cm
, resulting in high power conversion efficiencies of over 13.4%. These unconventional electron-deficient-core-based non-fullerene acceptors with near-infrared absorption lead to low non-radiative recombination losses in the resulting organic photovoltaics, contributing to a certified high power conversion efficiency of 12.6%.
Energy loss within organic solar cells (OSCs) is undesirable as it reduces cell efficiency1–4. In particular, non-radiative recombination loss3 and energetic disorder5, which are closely related to ...the tail states below the band edge and the overall photon energy loss, need to be minimized to improve cell performance. Here, we report how the use of a small-molecule acceptor with torsion-free molecular conformation can achieve a very low degree of energetic disorder and mitigate energy loss in OSCs. The resulting single-junction OSC has an energy loss due to non-radiative recombination of just 0.17 eV and a high power conversion efficiency of up to 16.54% (certified as 15.89% by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory). The findings take studies of organic photovoltaics deeper into a new regime, beyond the limits of energetic disorder and large energy offset for charge generation.An organic solar cell designed with minimal energetic disorder exhibits very low energy loss due to non-radiative recombination and highly efficient operation.
The past three years have witnessed rapid growth in the field of organic solar cells (OSCs) based on non‐fullerene acceptors (NFAs), with intensive efforts being devoted to material development, ...device engineering, and understanding of device physics. The power conversion efficiency of single‐junction OSCs has now reached high values of over 18%. The boost in efficiency results from a combination of promising features in NFA OSCs, including efficient charge generation, good charge transport, and small voltage losses. In addition to efficiency, stability, which is another critical parameter for the commercialization of NFA OSCs, has also been investigated. This review summarizes recent advances in the field, highlights approaches for enhancing the efficiency and stability of NFA OSCs, and discusses possible strategies for further advances of NFA OSCs.
Significant progress has been made in non‐fullerene organic solar cells (OSCs) in recent years, including in materials development, device engineering, and mechanistic understanding. This review summarizes progress and offers some reflections on the emerging methods for enabling high efficiency and improved stability for non‐fullerene OSCs.
A major challenge for organic solar cell (OSC) research is how to minimize the tradeoff between voltage loss and charge generation. In early 2019, we reported a non-fullerene acceptor (named Y6) that ...can simultaneously achieve high external quantum efficiency and low voltage loss for OSC. Here, we use a combination of experimental and theoretical modeling to reveal the structure-property-performance relationships of this state-of-the-art OSC system. We find that the distinctive π-π molecular packing of Y6 not only exists in molecular single crystals but also in thin films. Importantly, such molecular packing leads to (i) the formation of delocalized and emissive excitons that enable small non-radiative voltage loss, and (ii) delocalization of electron wavefunctions at donor/acceptor interfaces that significantly reduces the Coulomb attraction between interfacial electron-hole pairs. These properties are critical in enabling highly efficient charge generation in OSC systems with negligible donor-acceptor energy offset.
Finding effective molecular design strategies to enable efficient charge generation and small energy loss is among the long-standing challenges in developing high performance non-fullerene organic ...solar cells (OSCs). Recently, we reported Y-series non-fullerene acceptors with an electron-deficient-core-based fused structure (typically Y6), opening a new door to achieve high external quantum efficiency (∼80%) while maintaining low energy loss (∼0.57 eV). On this basis, further reducing the energy losses and ultimately improving the performance of OSCs has become a research hotspot. In this paper, we design and synthesize a new member of the Y-series acceptor family, Y18, which adopts a fused benzotriazole segment with unique luminescence properties as its electron-deficient core. Compared to Y6, the benzotriazole-based acceptor Y18 exhibits extended optical absorption and higher voltage. Consequently, the device delivers a promising power conversion efficiency of 16.52% with a very low energy loss of 0.53 eV. Further device optimization by exploiting a ternary blend strategy allowed us to achieve a high efficiency of 17.11% (certified as 16.76% by NREL). Y18 may become one of the most important candidate materials for its broader absorption spectra and higher voltage of Y18 (compared to Y6) in the OSCs field.
A new small molecule acceptor, Y18, was designed and synthesized. Over 17% efficiency was obtained with single junction solar cells based on Y18.
Great progress in organic solar cells (OSCs) has been recently achieved owing to the advent of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). Indeed, low-bandgap NFAs ranging from 1.3 to 1.6 eV with broad ...absorption and easily tunable energy levels can utilize more solar radiation and maintain a small voltage loss when paired with suitable donors. Efficient OSCs are dependent on the good compatibility between donor and acceptor materials, active layer morphology control, and device engineering. In this review, we summarize some design and synthesis strategies for NFAs, achieving low bandgap and high power conversion efficiency. We also propose solutions toward innovative materials and device engineering to advance the development and applications of OSCs.
Organic solar cells are currently experiencing a second golden age thanks to the development of novel non‐fullerene acceptors (NFAs). Surprisingly, some of these blends exhibit high efficiencies ...despite a low energy offset at the heterojunction. Herein, free charge generation in the high‐performance blend of the donor polymer PM6 with the NFA Y6 is thoroughly investigated as a function of internal field, temperature and excitation energy. Results show that photocurrent generation is essentially barrierless with near‐unity efficiency, regardless of excitation energy. Efficient charge separation is maintained over a wide temperature range, down to 100 K, despite the small driving force for charge generation. Studies on a blend with a low concentration of the NFA, measurements of the energetic disorder, and theoretical modeling suggest that CT state dissociation is assisted by the electrostatic interfacial field which for Y6 is large enough to compensate the Coulomb dissociation barrier.
The efficiency of photocurrent generation is studied in the high‐efficiency nonfullerene PM6:Y6 blend, using a combination of field‐ and temperature‐dependent optoelectronic measurements. These experiments reveal barrierless free charge generation, despite a small driving force. Theoretical modeling suggests the existence of a large electrostatic interfacial field, which pushes charges away from the donor–acceptor interface.
The field of organic solar cells has seen rapid developments after the report of a high-efficiency (15.7%) small molecule acceptor (SMA) named Y6. In this paper, we design and synthesize a family of ...SMAs with an aromatic backbone identical to that of Y6 but with different alkyl chains to investigate the influence of alkyl chains on the properties and performance of the SMAs. First, we show that it is beneficial to use branched alkyl chains on the nitrogen atoms of the pyrrole motif of the Y6. In addition, the branching position of the alkyl chains also has a major influence on material and device properties. The SMA with 3rd-position branched alkyl chains (named N3) exhibits optimal solubility and electronic and morphological properties, thus yielding the best performance. Further device optimization using a ternary strategy allows us to achieve a high efficiency of 16.74% (and a certified efficiency of 16.42%).
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•A new non-fullerene acceptor, named N3, achieving better performance than Y6•3rd-position branched alkyl chain yielding optimal properties•A certified power conversion efficiency of 16.42% was achieved•Ternary strategy achieving a high power conversion efficiency of 16.74%
Non-fullerene organic solar cells (OSCs) have attracted considerable attention due to their advantages of light weight, mechanical flexibility, and low-cost production via printing processes. In the past 2 years, the OSC field has been developing rapidly thanks to the emergence of non-fullerene small molecular acceptors (SMAs), the molecular design of which is a crucial subject of research. Herein, we design and synthesize a series of SMAs that have an aromatic backbonoe identical to that of the state-of-the-art SMA (named Y6) but with different alkyl chains (linear or 3rd- or 4th-position branched alkyl chains) on the nitrogen atoms of the pyrrole motif of Y6. It was found that the SMA with 3rd-position branched alkyl chains exhibited the best performance with a power conversion efficiency of 16.74% and a certified efficiency of 16.42%.
A new non-fullerene acceptor, named N3, was developed by using a 3rd-position branched alkyl chain on the pyrrole motif of the molecule, which yielded better performance than the state-of-the-art acceptor Y6. Ternary devices were fabricated, achieving a power conversion efficiency of 16.74% in the lab and a certified efficiency of 16.42% by Newport.
Narrow bandgap n‐type organic semiconductors (n‐OS) have attracted great attention in recent years as acceptors in organic solar cells (OSCs), due to their easily tuned absorption and electronic ...energy levels in comparison with fullerene acceptors. Herein, a new n‐OS acceptor, Y5, with an electron‐deficient‐core‐based fused structure is designed and synthesized, which exhibits a strong absorption in the 600–900 nm region with an extinction coefficient of 1.24 × 105 cm−1, and an electron mobility of 2.11 × 10−4 cm2 V−1 s−1. By blending Y5 with three types of common medium‐bandgap polymers (J61, PBDB‐T, and TTFQx‐T1) as donors, all devices exhibit high short‐circuit current densities over 20 mA cm−2. As a result, the power conversion efficiency of the Y5‐based OSCs with J61, TTFQx‐T1, and PBDB‐T reaches 11.0%, 13.1%, and 14.1%, respectively. This indicates that Y5 is a universal and highly efficient n‐OS acceptor for applications in organic solar cells.
Employing an electron‐deficient‐core‐based fused structure instead of a fused donor unit represents a new strategy to adjust the optoelectronic properties of acceptor–donor–acceptor‐type n‐type organic semiconductors. The electron‐deficient‐core based on benzothiadiazole together with dicyanomethylene derivative realizes a low bandgap, high electron mobility, and suitable energy level simultaneously, affording universal and high performances when blending with different donor polymers.
In this paper, a strategy of asymmetric alkyl and alkoxy substitution is applied to state‐of‐the‐art Y‐series nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs), and it achieves great performance in organic solar cell ...(OSC) devices. Since alkoxy groups can have a significant influence on the material properties of NFAs, alkoxy substitution is applied to the Y6 molecule in a symmetric manner. The resulting molecule (named Y6‐2O), despite showing improved open‐circuit voltage (Voc), yields extremely poor performance due to low solubility and excessive aggregation properties, a change that is due to the conformational locking effect of alkoxy groups. In contrast, asymmetric alkyl and alkoxy substitution on Y6, yields a molecule named Y6‐1O that can maintain the positive effect of Voc improvement and obtain reasonably good solubility. The resulting molecule Y6‐1O enables highly efficient nonfullerene OSCs with 17.6% efficiency and the asymmetric side‐chain strategy has the potential to be applied to other NFA‐material systems to further improve their performance.
Novel asymmetric alkoxy and alkyl substitutions on the well‐known nonfullerene acceptor Y6 yield a molecule named Y6‐1O, and its photoelectric properties and photovoltaic performance are systematically compared with the two related symmetric molecules (Y6 and Y6‐2O), which suggests that this design strategy is promising and effective.
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