Article
Chemistry, Physical
Joel Troughton, Sebastian Neubert, Nicola Gasparini, Diego Rosas Villalva, Jules Bertrandie, Akmaral Seitkhan, Sri Harish Kumar Paleti, Anirudh Sharma, Michele De Bastiani, Erkan Aydin, Thomas D. Anthopoulos, Stefaan De Wolf, Rutger Schlatmann, Derya Baran
Summary: Monolithically stacked tandem solar cells offer the opportunity to absorb more solar radiation with reduced energy loss, with carefully adjusted bandgaps to avoid competition for photons. Two-terminal tandem solar cells using wide bandgap amorphous silicon and narrow bandgap NFA bulk-heterojunction show high power conversion efficiencies exceeding 15%, with interface engineering allowing for stability across a wide range of light intensities. The addition of an inorganic silicon subcell enhances operational stability and reduces light-stress on the bulk heterojunction, addressing a longstanding challenge in organic photovoltaic research.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ailing Tang, Peiqing Cong, Tingting Dai, Zongtao Wang, Erjun Zhou
Summary: The A(2)-A(1)-D-A(1)-A(2)-type nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) have higher molecular energy levels and wider optical bandgaps compared to other NFAs, making them suitable for high-voltage organic photovoltaics (OPVs), ternary OPVs, and indoor OPVs. This review summarizes the recent progress in the molecular engineering, structure-property relationships, voltage loss, device stability, and photovoltaic performance of binary, ternary, and indoor OPVs based on A(2)-A(1)-D-A(1)-A(2)-type NFAs. The challenges and future prospects for the further development of this type of NFAs are also discussed.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jinsheng Song, Zhishan Bo
Summary: Nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) with symmetric skeletons have gained great attention recently. Breaking the symmetry of NFAs can adjust many properties and improve photovoltaic performance. This review summarizes the recent advances in high-performance asymmetric NFAs and provides an outlook on future materials exploration.
CHINESE CHEMICAL LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jinqiu Xu, Francis Lin, Lei Zhu, Ming Zhang, Tianyu Hao, Guanqing Zhou, Ke Gao, Yecheng Zou, Gang Wei, Yuanping Yi, Alex K. Y. Jen, Yongming Zhang, Feng Liu
Summary: This research investigates the structure features and intermolecular interactions of nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) in single crystal and thin films, as well as their solar cell applications. Key parameters and intermolecular forces that lead to different crystalline packing motifs are identified. Atomic modification induces hydrogen bonding or pi-pi stacking column, resulting in different crystalline packing. Molecular assembly in thin films is initiated by hydrogen bonding and completed by pi-pi stacking reorganization. The crystalline packing motif is not directly related to device efficiency, but the crystalline morphology influences exciton/carrier dynamics and device performance. A broader understanding of the scaling behavior of organic semiconductor crystals ranging from oligoacenes to NFAs is established.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Mathias Nyman, Oskar J. Sandberg, Wei Li, Stefan Zeiske, Robin Kerremans, Paul Meredith, Ardalan Armin
Summary: To produce organic bulk-heterojunction solar cells with thick active layers and high efficiencies based on nonfullerene acceptors, it is important to consider factors such as charge carrier mobility, unintentional doping concentrations, and bimolecular recombination prefactor.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tian-Jiao Wen, Zhi-Xi Liu, Zeng Chen, Jiadong Zhou, Ziqiu Shen, Yiqun Xiao, Xinhui Lu, Zengqi Xie, Haiming Zhu, Chang-Zhi Li, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: Despite recent progress, organic photovoltaics (OPVs) still need to work on balancing efficiency, stability, and cost. This study developed two non-fused electron acceptors which, when blended with a specific polymer, achieved the highest reported efficiency for fully unfused electron acceptors.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Siying Du, Nannan Yao, Shungang Liu, Yongzhuo Xu, Jiamin Cao, Wenliu Zhuang, Junting Yu, Nong Wang, Donghong Yu, Fengling Zhang, Ergang Wang
Summary: The fusion of ring-shaped donor cores in state-of-the-art A-D-A nonfullerene acceptors has been shown to optimize light-harvesting, molecular orbital levels, and photovoltaic properties, demonstrating great potential for organic photovoltaic applications.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiaobin Gu, Xin Zhang, Hui Huang
Summary: Organic solar cells (OSCs) have been extensively studied, and oligomerized fused-ring electron acceptors (OFREAs) have recently emerged as a promising alternative. OFREAs have unique advantages such as well-defined structures, batch reproducibility, and excellent stability. In this Minireview, we provide a systematic summary of the recent research progress of OFREAs, including their structural diversity, synthesis approach, molecular conformation and packing, and long-term stability. We also discuss future perspectives and potential research directions to encourage the development of novel OFREAs for OSC applications.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Bo Wang, Wenbin Lai, Shijie Liang, Yikun Wang, Chao Wang, Chengyi Xiao, Weiwei Li
Summary: This study investigates the feasibility of using non-fused electron acceptors in all-polymer solar cells for indoor applications. Different polymers were designed and synthesized with modified linker units, and the impact of these linkers on various properties was explored. The results suggest that optimum phase separation and charge mobilities can lead to high power conversion efficiency in these all-polymer solar cells.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hongyuan Fu, Jia Yao, Ming Zhang, Lingwei Xue, Qiuju Zhou, Shangyu Li, Ming Lei, Lei Meng, Zhi-Guo Zhang, Yongfang Li
Summary: This study developed a simple and inexpensive boron trifluoride etherate-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation method for the efficient synthesis of high-performing acceptor-donor-acceptor structured small molecule acceptors. Compared with traditional methods, this approach significantly reduces costs and provides an important synthetic tool for the development of PSCs and other emerging technologies.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Xiaodong Wang, Hao Lu, Yahui Liu, Andong Zhang, Na Yu, Hang Wang, Song Li, Yuanyuan Zhou, Xinjun Xu, Zheng Tang, Zhishan Bo
Summary: NFREAs with increasing pi-conjugation length show enhanced molar extinction coefficient and electron mobility in blend films. The molecular conformation of 2BTh-2F is planar, supported by S···N and S···O intramolecular interactions, and it forms a 3D network packing structure compared to the 2D packing of 2Th-2F. 2BTh-2F:PBDB-T-based organic solar cells achieve a high power conversion efficiency of 14.53%, reaching a record efficiency of 15.44% when D18 is used as the donor polymer.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Chao Li, Guangkai Lu, Hwa Sook Ryu, Xiaobo Sun, Han Young Woo, Yanming Sun
Summary: In this study, the effect of the electron-withdrawing abilities of terminal groups on the properties of fused-ring electron acceptors (FREAs) was investigated. It was found that rational selection of terminal groups with different electron-withdrawing capabilities is desirable for designing high-performance asymmetric FREAs.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Huifeng Yao, Jingwen Wang, Ye Xu, Jianhui Hou
Summary: Materials design greatly impacts the efficiency of organic solar cells. Nonfullerene acceptors have significantly increased the power conversion efficiency of these cells, with current state-of-the-art cells reaching PCEs of over 19%. The molecular structure of these nonfullerene acceptors, particularly the electron push-pull effect and the design of terminal groups, plays a critical role in achieving high efficiency.
CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hongtao Liu, Yibin Li, Shaoheng Xu, Yinhua Zhou, Zhong'an Li
Summary: In the past five years, the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells has significantly improved due to the emergence of fused-ring electron acceptors. In order to achieve commercialization, it is crucial to address the stability issues of OCSs from materials to devices. The state-of-the-art FREAs, synthesized by Knoevenagel condensation, exhibit poor chemical and photochemical stabilities due to their vulnerability to nucleophile attacking and/or photooxidation.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jingyi Li, Zhenyu Zhang, Guangliu Ran, Xiaoyun Xu, Cai'e Zhang, Wenlong Liu, Xinming Zheng, Dawei Li, Xinjun Xu, Yahui Liu, Zheng Tang, Wenkai Zhang, Zhishan Bo
Summary: Motivated by simplifying the synthesis of nonfullerene acceptor and establishing the relation between molecular structure and photovoltaic performance, this study designed and synthesized two isomeric nonfused ring electron acceptors with different side chains. The results showed that the acceptor with V-shaped side chain exhibited better solubility, ordered packing, and charge transport, leading to a higher power conversion efficiency compared to the acceptor with a linear side chain.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhenyu Chen, Jinfeng Ge, Yuntong Guo, Mengyu Zhao, Jingyu Shi, Yi Qiu, Erjun Zhou, Ziyi Ge
Summary: This study synthesized four efficient non-fullerene acceptors by modifying the quinoxaline core, which showed improved molecular solubility and elevated lowest unoccupied molecular orbital levels. The introduction of a thiophene ring and a fluorine atom further optimized the blend morphology and enhanced device performance.
ACS ENERGY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jialing Zhou, Qing Guo, Bao Zhang, Si-Xuan Cheng, Xiao-Tao Hao, Yufei Zhong, Ailing Tang, Xiangnan Sun, Erjun Zhou
Summary: A novel photovoltaic polymer with enhanced performance by introducing sulfur atoms and the effect of multi-step solvent extraction strategy on polymer performance were investigated.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Peiqing Cong, Zongtao Wang, Yanfang Geng, Yuhan Meng, Chao Meng, Lie Chen, Ailing Tang, Erjun Zhou
Summary: This review focuses on the structure characteristics, evolution, and device development of 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BT)-based p-type polymers, which have played a significant role in constructing photovoltaic materials. It discusses the milestones achieved by representative BT-based polymers and how polymer structures affect optoelectronic properties and photovoltaic performance. The importance of designing new BT-derived building blocks and understanding fundamental photoelectron conversion mechanisms is also emphasized.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jinfeng Ge, Zhenyu Chen, Qinrui Ye, Lin Xie, Wei Song, Yuntong Guo, Jinna Zhang, Xinyu Tong, Jianqi Zhang, Erjun Zhou, Zhixiang Wei, Ziyi Ge
Summary: There is a dilemma between strong N-N stacking/crystallinity and suitable domain size in all-small-molecule organic solar cells (ASM-OSCs), which requires careful design of molecular donors. A series of novel molecular donors with different 2-ethylhexy (EH) attachments were designed and synthesized. EH-substitution on end groups (SM-REH) improved N-N interaction and crystallinity but reduced solubility and phase size, resulting in higher efficiency. In contrast, EH-substitution on the N bridge (SM-EH-R) suppressed N-N stacking and increased solubility, leading to lower efficiency. Further EH substitution on end-groups of SM-EH-R, namely SM-EH-REH, recovered N-N stacking strength and achieved moderate efficiency.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Review
Polymer Science
Mengwei Ji, Chuanqi Dong, Qing Guo, Mengzhen Du, Qiang Guo, Xiangnan Sun, Ergang Wang, Erjun Zhou
Summary: Organic solar cells (OSCs) have made significant progress due to the development of wide bandgap electron donors and narrow bandgap non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). Thiazole (Tz) and its derived fused heterocycles have been widely used to construct photovoltaic materials, especially conjugated polymers. These Tz-containing heterocycles have favorable characteristics such as electron deficiency, rigidity, high planarity, and enhanced intra/intermolecular interactions, leading to excellent photovoltaic performance.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ailing Tang, Peiqing Cong, Tingting Dai, Zongtao Wang, Erjun Zhou
Summary: The A(2)-A(1)-D-A(1)-A(2)-type nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) have higher molecular energy levels and wider optical bandgaps compared to other NFAs, making them suitable for high-voltage organic photovoltaics (OPVs), ternary OPVs, and indoor OPVs. This review summarizes the recent progress in the molecular engineering, structure-property relationships, voltage loss, device stability, and photovoltaic performance of binary, ternary, and indoor OPVs based on A(2)-A(1)-D-A(1)-A(2)-type NFAs. The challenges and future prospects for the further development of this type of NFAs are also discussed.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiangyu Li, Ailing Tang, Helin Wang, Zongtao Wang, Mengzhen Du, Qiang Guo, Qing Guo, Erjun Zhou
Summary: In this study, 3D-structured molecules were introduced as guest acceptors to improve the photovoltaic performance of ternary organic solar cells (OSCs). Three four-arm molecules were successfully synthesized and added to the classical system, resulting in ultra-high power-conversion efficiencies. These molecules acted as energy donors to increase charge generation and also enhanced charge transfer between PM6 and the molecules. Introducing these molecules modified the molecular energy level and inhibited self-aggregation, reducing energy loss and balancing charge transport.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yuhan Meng, Tingting Dai, Jialing Zhou, Helin Wang, Ailing Tang, Yanfang Geng, Erjun Zhou
Summary: This study designed a wide-band-gap small molecule Cl-Qx3b and clarified the effect of halogen atoms on the photovoltaic property. Chlorination was found to show lower nonradiative voltage loss, while fluorination exhibited suppressed charge carrier recombination.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hongbo Wu, Zaifei Ma, Mengyang Li, Hao Lu, Ailing Tang, Erjun Zhou, Jin Wen, Yanming Sun, Wolfgang Tress, Jogvan Magnus Haugaard Olsen, Simone Meloni, Zhishan Bo, Zheng Tang
Summary: Donor halogenation improves the performance of organic solar cells by increasing the energy of the charge transfer state and reducing reorganization energy. The impact of donor halogenation varies depending on the acceptor type, with stronger effects observed for Y-series acceptors. Halogen substitution on side groups of the donor molecule is more effective in reducing voltage losses.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zongtao Wang, Helin Wang, Mengzheng Du, Xue Lai, Feng He, Qing Guo, Qiang Guo, Ailing Tang, Xiangnan Sun, Erjun Zhou
Summary: A fused NDTI derivative is used as a cathode interlayer material in organic solar cells, showing excellent film-forming capacity and strong crystallinity. The NDTI-based solar cells achieve a high power conversion efficiency using different active layer materials and exhibit good stability.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Peiqing Cong, Xianda Li, Ailing Tang, Jiang Wu, Jianhua Chen, Lie Chen, Erjun Zhou
Summary: In this study, an asymmetric small molecule nonfullerene acceptor was synthesized through chlorination on one side, resulting in a large dipole moment, close molecular packing, and high-efficiency charge transfer and transport. When blended with a carboxylate-based polymer donor, the acceptor achieved a high open-circuit voltage and a satisfactory power conversion efficiency, reaching some of the highest values for carboxylate-based polymers.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Zehua He, Tingting Dai, Ting Meng, Peng Lei, Yanfang Geng, Linjiao Qin, Jiang Wu, Jiagui Yu, Qingdao Zeng, Erjun Zhou
Summary: By attaching different side chains onto the IDTT unit through side chain engineering, the molecular packing and morphology of the polymers can be effectively modulated, leading to improved charge generation and transport properties. This results in higher power conversion efficiency for IDTT-based polymers.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Qiang Guo, Yuanjia Ding, Zheng Dai, Zongwei Chen, Mengzhen Du, Zongtao Wang, Lei Gao, Chen Duan, Qing Guo, Erjun Zhou
Summary: Wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have adjustable bandgap, low-cost fabrication and superior photovoltaic performance, making them a promising top-cell for multi-junction solar cells. This study demonstrates that by introducing cesium formate (CsFa) as the Cs precursor, WBG PSCs show improved perovskite crystallization, reduced trap-state density, and better phase stability, leading to higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) under one sun illumination and indoor LED light illumination.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Mengzhen Du, Yuzhang Xiao, Yanfang Geng, You Chen, Hai Jiang, Chuanqi Dong, Qiang Guo, Qing Guo, Gongqiang Li, Erjun Zhou
Summary: Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is a low-cost photovoltaic polymer that has been considered as a potential donor material for commercial applications. To enhance the photovoltaic performance of P3HT, various non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), including A(2)-A(1)-D-A(1)-A(2) type molecules with one electron-donating (D) unit and two electron-withdrawing (A) units, have been designed. In this study, two novel A(2)-A(1)-D-A(1)-A(2) type NFAs BTA46 and BTA47 were synthesized using indacenodiselenophene (IDSe) and benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole (BTA) as the central D part and bridged A(1) unit, respectively. The P3HT:BTA47 blend demonstrates a higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.12% compared to the P3HT:BTA46 blend with an inferior PCE of 3.99%. Detailed analysis suggests that IDSe is a promising central core for A(2)-A(1)-D-A(1)-A(2) type NFAs to combine with P3HT.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jialing Zhou, Peng Lei, Yanfang Geng, Zehua He, Xianda Li, Qingdao Zeng, Ailing Tang, Erjun Zhou
Summary: Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are a promising technology for indoor low-energy-consumption portable electronic equipment. In this study, researchers developed a new two-dimensional polymer, PE6, which showed lower voltage loss and higher power conversion efficiency compared to other photovoltaic polymers. These findings provide valuable insights for the future development of OPVs.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2022)
