A low cost and high performance polymer donor material for polymer solar cells

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Organic Electronics
• Photovoltaics

Background:

• Polymer solar cells (PSCs) require efficient, stable, and cost-effective materials for commercial viability.
• Current PSCs face challenges in balancing performance, cost, and scalability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel, low-cost polymer donor, poly[(thiophene)-alt-(6,7-difluoro-2-(2-hexyldecyloxy)quinoxaline)] (PTQ10).
• To evaluate the photovoltaic performance and scalability potential of PTQ10-based solar cells.

Main Methods:

• Two-step synthesis of PTQ10 from inexpensive raw materials, achieving an 87.4% overall yield.
• Fabrication and testing of conventional and inverted PSC devices using PTQ10 as the polymer donor.
• Assessment of device performance, including power conversion efficiency (PCE) and active layer thickness insensitivity.

Main Results:

• PTQ10 was synthesized with high yield and low cost.
• Conventional PTQ10 devices achieved a PCE of 12.70%.
• Inverted PTQ10 devices reached a certified PCE of 12.0%, and as-cast devices showed 10.41% PCE.
• Devices demonstrated high efficiency with active layer thickness insensitivity (100–300 nm).

Conclusions:

• PTQ10 is a promising low-cost polymer donor for PSCs.
• The material's high efficiency and thickness insensitivity are advantageous for large-area fabrication.
• PTQ10 shows potential for commercial application in the polymer solar cell market.