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An end-capped strategy for crystalline polymer donor to improve the photovoltaic performance of non-fullerene solar cells

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An Erratum to this article was published on 12 December 2022

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Abstract

The effects of end-capped modifications of a polymer donor with high molecular weight on non-fullerene solar cells are largely ignored, even if the chain-end-functionalized method of conjugated polymers is an effective strategy in modulating polymeric optical-electronic properties. In this study, we design and synthesize an end-capped polymer, PM6TPO, via a reaction with the parent polymer PM6. Meanwhile, the conventional detection methods of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF), and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) were replaced by simple solution-based inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to evaluate the end-capped efficacy of PM6TPO. By introducing end-capped groups on a high molecular weight polymer donor, we could finely tune the aggregated behavior, strengthen the miscibility between the donor and acceptor without sacrificing the strong aggregated properties, and reduce the non-radiative recombination with a lower energy loss. Therefore, the PM6TPO-based organic solar cell (OSC) realized a higher open-circuit voltage of 0.843 V and PCE of 17.26% than that of the non-end-capped parent polymer, PM6 (0.824 V and 16.21%, respectively). This work not only provides a straightforward method for verifying the end-capped efficacy of a high molecular weight polymer but also indicates a new research direction for improving the photovoltaic performance of non-fullerene-based solar cells.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (2212032), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21774003, 51873221, 52073292, 51673207, 51373183), the Key Laboratory of Bioinspired Materials and Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Municipal Science & Technology Commission (Z181100004418012), and the Beihang University Youth Talent Support Program (YWF-18-BJ-J-218).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China

    Bing Zheng, Jianling Ni, Lei Jiang & Lijun Huo

  2. Key Laboratory of Bioinspired Smart Interfacial Science, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Yuchen Yue, Jingxia Wang & Lei Jiang

  3. School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yuchen Yue, Jingxia Wang & Lei Jiang

  4. The Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Rui Sun & Jie Min

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  1. Bing Zheng
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Correspondence to Jingxia Wang or Lijun Huo.

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Supporting information The supporting information is available online at http://chem.scichina.com and http://link.springer.com/journal/11426. The supporting materials are published as submitted, without typesetting or editing. The responsibility for scientific accuracy and content remains entirely with the authors.

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11426_2021_1205_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

An End-capped Strategy for Crystalline Polymer Donor to Improve the Photovoltaic Performance of Non-fullerene Solar Cells

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Zheng, B., Yue, Y., Ni, J. et al. An end-capped strategy for crystalline polymer donor to improve the photovoltaic performance of non-fullerene solar cells. Sci. China Chem. 65, 964–972 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-021-1205-5

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