Mastering morphology of non-fullerene acceptors towards long-term stable organic solar cells

An, Kang; Zhong, Wenkai; Peng, Feng; Deng, Wanyuan; Shang, Ying; Quan, Huilei; Qiu, Hong; Wang, Cheng; Liu, Feng; Wu, Hongbin; Li, Ning; Huang, Fei; Ying, Lei

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-38306-x

Title: Mastering morphology of non-fullerene acceptors towards long-term stable organic solar cells

Journal Article · 09 May 2023 · Nature Communications

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38306-x · OSTI ID:2229342

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^[3]; Deng, Wanyuan ^[1];

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^[1]; Qiu, Hong ^[1];

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South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou (China)
South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou (China); Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ. (China)
South China Institute of Collaborative Innovation, Dongguan (China)
South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou (China); Pazhou Lab, Guangzhou (China)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)
Shanghai Jiao Tong Univ. (China)

Despite the rapid progress of organic solar cells based on non-fullerene acceptors, simultaneously achieving high power conversion efficiency and long-term stability for commercialization requires sustainable research effort. Here, we demonstrate stable devices by integrating a wide bandgap electron-donating polymer (namely PTzBI-dF) and two acceptors (namely L8BO and Y6) that feature similar structures yet different thermal and morphological properties. The organic solar cell based on PTzBI-dF:L8BO:Y6 could achieve a promising efficiency of 18.26% in the conventional device structure. In the inverted structure, excellent long-term thermal stability over 1400 h under 85 °C continuous heating is obtained. The improved performance can be ascribed to suppressed charge recombination along with appropriate charge transport. We find that the morphological features in terms of crystalline coherence length of fresh and aged films can be gradually regulated by the weight ratio of L8BO:Y6. Additionally, the occurrence of melting point decrease and reduced enthalpy in PTzBI-dF:L8BO:Y6 films could prohibit the amorphous phase to cluster, and consequently overcome the energetic traps accumulation aroused by thermal stress, which is a critical issue in high efficiency non-fullerene acceptors-based devices. This work provides insight into understanding non-fullerene acceptors-based organic solar cells for improved efficiency and stability.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Key Research and Development Program of China; Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation; Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research; National Natural Science Foundation of China

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 2229342

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Journal Name: Nature Communications Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 14; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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