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Updated: Jan 22, 2026
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Aggregation-Induced Emission Molecular Design for Mitigating Non-Radiative Energy Loss in Organic Solar Cells
Yingze Zhang1,2, Rongkun Zhou3, Mingjie Rong2
1Department of Chemistry, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Optoelectronic and Magnetic Functional Materials, Energy Institute and Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration & Reconstruction, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|January 21, 2026
Summary
Organic solar cells (OSCs) efficiency is boosted by using aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules to reduce energy loss. This molecular design strategy significantly enhances open-circuit voltage (VOC) and device performance.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Electronics
- Photovoltaics
Background:
- Non-radiative energy loss limits open-circuit voltage (VOC) and efficiency in organic solar cells (OSCs).
- Aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) is a major contributor to energy loss in solid-state OSC devices.
- Developing strategies to enhance solid-state photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) is crucial for improving OSC performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a molecular design strategy using aggregation-induced emission (AIE) to suppress ACQ and enhance PLQY in OSCs.
- To mitigate non-radiative recombination losses and improve the VOC of organic solar cells.
- To establish AIE molecular design as an effective approach for next-generation OSCs.
Main Methods:
- Incorporated a prototypical AIE motif, tetraphenylethylene (TPE), into the terminal group of a Y-series non-fullerene acceptor to create dTPE.
- Investigated the photoluminescence properties of dTPE, including solid-state PLQY and electroluminescence external quantum efficiency.
- Fabricated and characterized organic solar cell devices using D18:dTPE and D18:L8BO-C4 blends to assess VOC and non-radiative voltage loss.
Main Results:
- The novel dTPE acceptor exhibited distinct AIE characteristics and a threefold enhancement in solid-state PLQY compared to L8BO-C4.
- Electroluminescence external quantum efficiency of dTPE was over an order of magnitude higher than that of D18:L8BO-C4.
- The D18:dTPE device achieved a remarkably low non-radiative recombination loss of 0.130 eV, a non-radiative voltage loss of 0.190 eV, and an unprecedented VOC of 0.93 V, leading to 20.5% efficiency.
Conclusions:
- Molecular design leveraging AIE is an effective strategy to overcome intrinsic limitations of Y-series acceptors in OSCs.
- This approach significantly mitigates non-radiative energy loss, leading to record VOC for high-efficiency OSCs.
- The findings provide guiding principles for designing next-generation OSCs with enhanced performance and reduced energy losses.
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