Design of electroactive polymers for intrinsically-stretchable polymer solar cells

Considering the technical standards required for wearable electronics, such as mechanical robustness, the development of fully stretchable OSCs (f-SOSCs) should be accelerated. Concurrently, f-SOSCs offer an intriguing platform for testing the mechanical and electrical properties of new polymeric materials. This presentation will discuss key studies aimed at making each layer of f-SOSCs both stretchable and efficient, with an emphasis on strategies to simultaneously enhance the photovoltaic and mechanical properties of the active layer. I will outline material design strategies to enhance the mechanical robustness of the PSCs as well as their power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). These strategies include; i) incorporating a high-molecular weight polymer acceptor as a tie molecule into active layers, ii) developing new electroactive polymers consisting of hard and soft segments and iii) developing new materials that improve molecular miscibility in the donor-acceptor blends. With these contributions, the f-SOSCs achieving over 14% PCE and high stretchability have been developed.