Organic photovoltaic cell with 17% efficiency and superior processability. Issue 7 (5th December 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cui, Yong; Yao, Huifeng; Hong, Ling; Zhang, Tao; Tang, Yabing; Lin, Baojun; Xian, Kaihu; Gao, Bowei; An, Cunbin; Bi, Pengqing; Ma, Wei; Hou, Jianhui
• Is Part Of: National science review. Volume 7:Issue 7(2020)
• Page Start: 1239
• Page End: 1246
• Publication Date: 2019-12-05
• Subjects: organic photovoltaic cells -- power conversion efficiency -- scalable large-area production -- processability -- non-fullerene acceptor; Science -- Periodicals; 505
• DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwz200
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2095-5138

Abstract

Abstract: The development of organic photoactive materials, especially the newly emerging non-fullerene electron acceptors (NFAs), has enabled rapid progress in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells in recent years. Although the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the top-performance OPV cells have surpassed 16%, the devices are usually fabricated via a spin-coating method and are not suitable for large-area production. Here, we demonstrate that the fine-modification of the flexible side chains of NFAs can yield 17% PCE for OPV cells. More crucially, as the optimal NFA has a suitable solubility and thus a desirable morphology, the high efficiencies of spin-coated devices can be maintained when using scalable blade-coating processing technology. Our results suggest that optimization of the chemical structures of the OPV materials can improve device performance. This has great significance in larger-area production technologies that provide important scientific insights for the commercialization of OPV cells.