Unraveling the influence of non-fullerene acceptor molecular packing on photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells

Ye L, Weng K, Xu J, Du X, Chandrabose S, Chen K, Zhou J, Han G, Tan S, Xie Z, Yi Y, Li N, Liu F, Hodgkiss JM, Brabec C, Sun Y (2020)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

Nature Communications Nature Publishing Group: Nature Communications

Book Volume: 11

Article Number: 6005

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19853-z

Abstract

In non-fullerene organic solar cells, the long-range structure ordering induced by end-group π–π stacking of fused-ring non-fullerene acceptors is considered as the critical factor in realizing efficient charge transport and high power conversion efficiency. Here, we demonstrate that side-chain engineering of non-fullerene acceptors could drive the fused-ring backbone assembly from a π–π stacking mode to an intermixed packing mode, and to a non-stacking mode to refine its solid-state properties. Different from the above-mentioned understanding, we find that close atom contacts in a non-stacking mode can form efficient charge transport pathway through close side atom interactions. The intermixed solid-state packing motif in active layers could enable organic solar cells with superior efficiency and reduced non-radiative recombination loss compared with devices based on molecules with the classic end-group π–π stacking mode. Our observations open a new avenue in material design that endows better photovoltaic performance.

Authors with CRIS profile

Xiaoyan Du Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Ning Li Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET) Christoph Brabec Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET)

Involved external institutions

Beihang University, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA) / 北京航空航天大学 CN China (CN) Shanghai Jiao Tong University / 上海交通大学 CN China (CN) Victoria University of Wellington NZ New Zealand (NZ) South China University of Technology (SCUT) / 华南理工大学 CN China (CN) Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) / 中国科学院 CN China (CN) Xiangtan University (XTU) / 湘潭大学 CN China (CN)

How to cite

APA:

Ye, L., Weng, K., Xu, J., Du, X., Chandrabose, S., Chen, K.,... Sun, Y. (2020). Unraveling the influence of non-fullerene acceptor molecular packing on photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells. Nature Communications, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19853-z

MLA:

Ye, Linglong, et al. "Unraveling the influence of non-fullerene acceptor molecular packing on photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells." Nature Communications 11.1 (2020).

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