Significant Efficiency Enhancements in Non‐Y Series Acceptors by the Addition of Outer Side Chains
[1];
[8]
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics Imperial College London London W12 0BZ UK
- Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and KAUST Solar Center Thuwal 23955‐6900 Saudi Arabia
- Department of Physics and Organic and Carbon Electronics Laboratories (ORaCEL) North Carolina State University Raleigh NC 27695 USA
- Institute of Molecular Plus and Department of Chemistry Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics Imperial College London London W12 0BZ UK, Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry TU Wien Vienna 1060 Austria
- Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and KAUST Solar Center Thuwal 23955‐6900 Saudi Arabia, Department of Chemistry LMU Munich Butenandtstraße 5–13 (E) D‐81377 München Germany
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Henry Royce Institute and Photon Science Institute The University of Manchester Manchester M13 9PL UK
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics Imperial College London London W12 0BZ UK, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and KAUST Solar Center Thuwal 23955‐6900 Saudi Arabia
Abstract Most current highly efficient organic solar cells utilize small molecules like Y6 and its derivatives as electron acceptors in the photoactive layer. In this work, a small molecule acceptor, SC8‐IT4F, is developed through outer side chain engineering on the terminal thiophene of a conjugated 6,12‐dihydro‐dithienoindeno[2,3‐d:2′,3′‐d′]‐s‐indaceno[1,2‐b:5,6‐b′]dithiophene (IDTT) central core. Compared to the reference molecule C8‐IT4F, which lacks outer side chains, SC8‐IT4F displays notable differences in molecule geometry (as shown by simulations), thermal behavior, single‐crystal packing, and film morphology. Blend films of SC8‐IT4F and the polymer donor PM6 exhibit larger carrier mobilities, longer carrier lifetimes, and reduced recombination compared to C8‐IT4F, resulting in improved device performance. Binary photovoltaic devices based on the PM6:SC8‐IT4F films reveal an optimal efficiency over 15%, which is one of the best values for non‐Y type small molecule acceptors (SMAs). The resultant devices also show better thermal and operational stability than the control PM6:L8‐BO devices. SC8‐IT4F and its blend exhibit a higher relative degree of crystallinity and π coherence length, compared to C8‐IT4F samples, beneficial for charge transport and device performance. The results indicate that outer side chain engineering on existing small electron acceptors can be a promising molecular design strategy for further pursuing high‐performance organic solar cells.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231
- OSTI ID:
- 2504620
- Journal Information:
- Advanced Science, Journal Name: Advanced Science Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 12; ISSN 2198-3844
- Publisher:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- Germany
- Language:
- English
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