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Material and device design for organic solar cells: towards efficiency and stability

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Abstract

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have garnered significant attention as a novel photovoltaic technology and have been extensively investigated. In recent years, OSCs have made rapid strides in power conversion efficiency (PCE), demonstrating their significant potential in practical applications. In addition to high PCE, the practical application of OSCs demands a prolonged operating lifespan. The rational design of materials and devices to achieve efficient and stable OSCs is pivotal. This feature article presents a thorough analysis of our group’s studies on enhancing efficiency and stability through material and device design. We introduce a range of exceptional chlorine-mediated organic photovoltaic materials and systematically summarize chlorine atom (Cl) induced effects on energy levels, molecular stacking, active layer film morphology and photovoltaic performance. Furthermore, the use of single-crystal diffraction technology allows for a comprehensive understanding of inter-molecular packing and interaction at the molecular level. A series of highly efficient non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) with three-dimensional (3D) network packing structures are developed and discussed. Subsequently, based on efficient 3D network brominated NFAs, the studies on polymer and oligomer acceptor materials are carried out and achieve efficient and stable OSCs. In addition to materials design, the development of the “quasiplanar heterojunction” (Q-PHJ) based OSC device also plays an important role in achieving superior efficiency and stability. These design experiences of materials and devices hope to provide valuable guidance for the development of efficient and stable OSCs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22225504, 21975115), the Shenzhen Fundamental Research Program (JCYJ20200109140801751, JCYJ202103241-20010028), the Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (KQTD20170810111314625) and the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Catalysis (2020B121201002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shenzhen Grubbs Institute and Department of Chemistry, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Mingrui Pu & Feng He

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Feng He

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  1. Mingrui Pu
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  2. Feng He
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Correspondence to Feng He.

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Pu, M., He, F. Material and device design for organic solar cells: towards efficiency and stability. Sci. China Chem. 66, 3484–3494 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-023-1856-4

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