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Published on: March 2, 2021
Organic photovoltaic cell with 17% efficiency and superior processability
Yong Cui1, Huifeng Yao1, Ling Hong1
1State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
Chemically modified non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) achieve 17% power conversion efficiency (PCE) in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. This breakthrough enables high-efficiency, large-area OPV production using scalable blade-coating methods.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Electronics
- Photovoltaics
Background:
- Organic photoactive materials, particularly non-fullerene electron acceptors (NFAs), have driven significant advancements in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells.
- Current high-performance OPV cells (over 16% power conversion efficiency, PCE) typically rely on spin-coating, limiting their suitability for large-area manufacturing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of fine-tuning NFA side chains on OPV performance.
- To assess the compatibility of optimized NFAs with scalable fabrication techniques for large-area OPV devices.
Main Methods:
- Chemical modification of NFA flexible side chains.
- Fabrication of OPV cells using the modified NFAs.
- Evaluation of device performance using blade-coating processing technology.
Main Results:
- Achieved a 17% PCE in OPV cells through fine-modification of NFA side chains.
- The optimized NFA demonstrated suitable solubility and morphology for scalable processing.
- High efficiencies comparable to spin-coated devices were maintained using blade-coating.
Conclusions:
- Optimization of NFA chemical structures is crucial for enhancing OPV device performance.
- Scalable blade-coating technology can maintain high efficiencies, paving the way for commercialization.
- This research offers significant insights into the large-area production of OPV cells.
