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Enhanced photovoltaic performance of A–D–A’–D–A type non-fused ring electron acceptors via side chain engineering

通过侧链工程提高A–D–A’–D–A型非稠环电子受体 的光伏性能

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Abstract

Featuring simplified synthesis and flexible chemical alteration, non-fused ring electron acceptors (NFREAs) are the ideal candidates for constructing low-cost organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, we report three A–D–A’–D–A type NFREAs, namely ffBTz-BO, ffBTz-EH, and ffBTz-C4, where difluorinated benzotriazole (ffBTz) with different side chain lengths were employed as the weak electron-deficient A’ core. Compared with ffBTz-BO and ffBTz-C4, ffBTz-EH with appropriate side chain length strikes a balance between the enhanced molecular crystallinity and the favorable face-on orientation, resulting in high charge mobilities. Consequently, ffBTz-EH-based OSC delivered the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 12.96% enabled by its efficient charge transport and most suitable phase separation, which represents one of the highest efficiencies among A–D–A’–D–A type NFREAs. This work demonstrates that alkyl side chain on the central A’ core plays a critical role in tuning molecular crystallinity, active layer morphology, and further device performance, which provides a meaningful perspective for designing highly efficient A–D–A’–D–A type non-fused ring electron acceptors in the future.

摘要

非稠环电子受体(NFREA)具有合成简单和结构修饰灵活的特点, 是制备高性能低成本有机太阳电池(OSCs)的理想材料. 本工作以不同 侧链修饰的二氟苯并三氮唑(ffBTz)作为弱缺电子核(A’), 分别设计合 成了三种A–D–A’–D–A型NFREA, 即ffBTz-BO、ffBTz-EH和ffBTz-C4. 其中, ffBTz-EH, 由于其合适的侧链长度, 在分子结晶度和分子堆积优 势取向之间取得了平衡, 从而获得了更高的电荷迁移率. 并且得益于高 效的电荷传输和最合适的相分离形貌, 基于ffBTz-EH的OSC获得 12.96%的最高能量转换效率, 这也是A–D–A’–D–A型NFREA获得的最 高效率之一. 本研究表明, A’核心上的烷基侧链在调节分子结晶度、活 性层形貌和进一步调控器件性能方面起着至关重要的作用, 这为未来 设计高效低成本的A–D–A’–D–A型非稠环电子受体提供了思路.

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Acknowledgements

The research received financial support from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2019YFA0705900), National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A6002, 22275058, and 22109046), Guangdong Innovative and Entrepreneurial Research Team Program (2019ZT08L075), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2022B1515120008), and the Start-up Founding Research and Cultivation Project funded by Ningbo University of Technology (2022KQ65 and 2022TS03).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of New Energy, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo, 315336, China

    Xia Zhou  (周霞)

  2. Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Xia Zhou  (周霞), Wenkui Wei  (魏文魁), Shuting Pang  (庞淑婷), Xiyue Yuan  (袁熙越), Fei Huang  (黄飞), Yong Cao  (曹镛) & Chunhui Duan  (段春晖)

  3. Molecular Materials and Nanosystems & Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, Netherlands

    Junyu Li  (李俊宇)

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  1. Xia Zhou  (周霞)
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Contributions

Author contributions Zhou X synthesized the electron acceptors and conducted the characterization; Zhou X and Wei W performed the data analysis. Pang S performed the photovoltaic device fabrication and characterization. Yuan X synthesized the polymer donor. Li J performed the GIWAXS measurements and data analysis. Huang F and Cao Y participated in project administration. Duan C conceived the idea and supervised the project. Zhou X, Wei W, and Duan C prepared the manuscript. All authors contributed to the general discussion.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Junyu Li  (李俊宇) or Chunhui Duan  (段春晖).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Supplementary information Experimental details and supporting data are available in the online version of the paper.

Xia Zhou received her PhD degree in materials science and engineering from the South China University of Technology. She is currently a lecturer at Ningbo University of Technology. Her current research focuses on the design and synthesis of non-fullerene acceptors, molecular packing analysis and organic solar cells.

Wenkui Wei is currently a PhD candidate in the South China University of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Chunhui Duan. He received his bachelor and master degrees from Dalian University of Technology in 2018 and 2021. His main research interest is the design and synthesis of non-fullerene acceptors and applications in organic solar cells.

Shuting Pang received her PhD degree from the South China University of Technology in 2020. She is currently an associate professor at Hangzhou Dianzi University. Her current research interests include organic solar cells and perovskite solar cells.

Chunhui Duan received his BS degree from Dalian University of Technology in 2008 and PhD degree from the South China University of Technology in 2013. After a postdoc training at Eindhoven University of Technology, he joined the South China University of Technology as a full professor in 2017. His research interests focus on organic optoelectronic materials and their applications in solar cells, photodetectors, and transistors.

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Zhou, X., Wei, W., Pang, S. et al. Enhanced photovoltaic performance of A–D–A’–D–A type non-fused ring electron acceptors via side chain engineering. Sci. China Mater. 67, 1594–1601 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-023-2867-6

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