High-Performance Non-Fullerene Polymer Solar Cells Based on a Pair of Donor-Acceptor Materials with Complementary Absorption Properties

Fine energy level modulation without negatively affecting other properties is realized for random conjugated copolymers, allowing rigorous investigation of the relationship of the chemical structure and device performance in solar cells.

Download Full-text

Effects of the Electron-Deficient Third Components in n-Type Terpolymers on Morphology and Performance of All-Polymer Solar Cells

Organic Materials ◽

10.1055/s-0040-1713857 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 02 (03) ◽

pp. 214-222

Author(s):

Bin Liu ◽

Huiliang Sun ◽

Chang Woo Koh ◽

Mengyao Su ◽

Bao Tu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

High Performance ◽

Noncovalent Interactions ◽

Polymer Solar Cells ◽

Energy Levels ◽

Building Blocks ◽

The Third ◽

Donor Acceptor ◽

And Performance ◽

P Type

Compared with p-type terpolymers, less effort has been devoted to n-type analogs. Herein, we synthesized a series of n-type terpolymers via incorporating three electron-deficient third components including thienopyrroledione (TPD), phthalimide, and benzothiadiazole into an imide-functionalized parent n-type copolymer to tune optoelectronic properties without sacrificing the n-type characteristics. Due to effects of the third components with different electron-accepting ability and solubility, the resulting three polymers feature distinct energy levels and crystallinity. In addition, heteroatoms (S, O, and N) attached on the third components trigger intramolecular noncovalent interactions, which can increase molecule planarity and have a significant effect on the packing structures of the polymer films. As a result, the best power conversion efficiency of 8.28% was achieved from all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) based on n-type terpolymer containing TPD. This is contributed by promoted electron mobility and face-on polymer packing, showing the pronounced advantages of the TPD used as a third component for thriving efficient n-type terpolymers. The generality is also successfully validated in a benchmark polymer donor/acceptor system by introducing TPD into the benchmark n-type polymer N2200. The results demonstrate the feasibility of introducing suitable electron-deficient building blocks as the third components for high-performance n-type terpolymers toward efficient all-PSCs.

Download Full-text

Engineering the vertical concentration distribution within the polymer:fullerene blends for high performance inverted polymer solar cells

Journal of Materials Chemistry A ◽

10.1039/c6ta10678a ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

pp. 2319-2327 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Yaping Wang ◽

Honglu Zhu ◽

Zhenzhen Shi ◽

Fuzhi Wang ◽

Bing Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Concentration Distribution ◽

High Performance ◽

Polymer Solar Cells ◽

Donor Acceptor ◽

Inverted Polymer Solar Cells

Optimized morphology and vertically distributed donor/acceptor concentrations are achieved simply by flushing the PTB7-Th:PC71BM blends with a selectively dissolvable 2-chlorophenol solvent.

Download Full-text

Polymer Solar Cells: Fabricating High Performance, Donor-Acceptor Copolymer Solar Cells by Spray-Coating in Air (Adv. Energy Mater. 4/2013)

Advanced Energy Materials ◽

10.1002/aenm.201370016 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. 410-410

Author(s):

Tao Wang ◽

Nicholas W. Scarratt ◽

Hunan Yi ◽

Alan D. F. Dunbar ◽

Andrew J. Pearson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

High Performance ◽

Polymer Solar Cells ◽

Spray Coating ◽

Donor Acceptor ◽

Energy Mater

Download Full-text

Employing PCBTDPP as an Efficient Donor Polymer for High Performance Ternary Polymer Solar Cells

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym11091423 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 1423 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Xu ◽

Saianand ◽

Roy ◽

Qiao ◽

Reza ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

High Performance ◽

Bulk Heterojunction ◽

Polymer Solar Cells ◽

Power Conversion ◽

Acid Methyl Ester ◽

Acid Methyl ◽

Donor Acceptor ◽

Butyric Acid Methyl Ester ◽

Ternary Polymer

A compatible low-bandgap donor polymer (poly[N-90-heptadecanyl-2,7carbazole-alt-3,6-bis(thiophen-5-yl)-2,5-dioctyl-2,5-dihydropyrrolo [3,4] pyrrole-1,4-dione], PCBTDPP) was judicially introduced into the archetypal poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PC61BM) photoactive system to fabricate highly efficient ternary based bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells (PSCs). The PCBTDPP ternary-based PSC with optimal loading (0.2 wt.%) displayed outstanding performance with a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.28% as compared to the PCE (4.67%) for P3HT:PC61BM-based PSC (reference). The improved PCE for PCBTDPP ternary-based PSC can be mainly attributed to the incorporation of PCBTDPP into P3HT:PC61BM that beneficially improved the optical, morphological, electronic, and photovoltaic (PV) performance. This work instills a rational strategy for identifying components (donor/acceptor (D/A) molecules) with complementary beneficial properties toward fabricating efficient ternary PSCs.

Download Full-text