Chalcogen Atoms Regulate the Organic Solar Cell Performance of B-N-Based Polymer Donors

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Organic Electronics
• Photovoltaics

Background:

• Donor polymers are crucial for organic solar cells (OSCs).
• B-N-based polymer donors offer high E(T1), small ΔE_ST, and green solvent processability.
• Systematic structure-performance relationships for B-N-based polymers are underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically investigate the effect of chalcogen atoms on B-N-based polymer donors for OSCs.
• To understand how O, S, and Se substitutions modulate polymer absorption and energy levels.
• To establish structure-performance relationships for optimizing B-N-based polymer donors.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of B-N-based polymers with varying chalcogen atoms (O, S, Se).
• Characterization of polymer optical and electronic properties.
• Fabrication and testing of organic solar cell devices using these polymers.

Main Results:

• Halogen substitution did not impact the high E(T1) and small ΔE_ST of B-N-based polymers.
• O, S, and Se atom substitution effectively tuned polymer absorption and energy levels.
• PBNT-TAZ:Y6-BO-based OSCs achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.36%.
• Layer-by-layer optimization resulted in a PCE of 16.34% for PBNT-TAZ/Y6-BO-based OSCs.

Conclusions:

• Chalcogen atoms significantly modulate the electronic properties of B-N-based polymers.
• Systematic structure-property investigations are vital for advancing B-N-based materials for next-generation OSCs.
• Demonstrated a clear pathway for designing high-performance B-N-based polymer donors.