A Refined Bulk P–I–N Structure in All-Polymer Solar Cells To Achieve 20.1% Efficiency and Improved Stability

All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) have shown good potential for achieving balanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) and operational stability. However, precise control of the morphology remains challenging. Here, we constructed a bulk p-i-n structure with a regulated i-region by incorporating a shamrock-shaped nonfullerene acceptor, AQI4. This ternary formulation resulted in optimized energy-level stairing, enhanced exciton dissociation, and reduced energy loss. In blended thin film fabrication, a binary solvent of chlorobenzene (CB):o-xylene (OXY) was used, which enhanced the crystallization of the polymers and formed a high-density fibril network. The i-region width was reduced to less than 2 nm. This structural refinement enabled efficient charge transport through tie-chains between polymer crystallizations, thereby suppressing charge recombination. As a result, the organic solar cell (OSC) devices achieved a PCE of 20.1% (certified as 19.5%) and retained good stability. The <i>T</i><sub>80</sub> lifetime of over 1800 h in the OSC structure was recorded. Notably, the binary solvent CB:OXY also contributed to a feasible printing fabrication; the 18.4 cm<sup>2</sup> OSC mini-modules achieved a PCE of 16.5%. Our results suggest that the shape of the guest molecule may be a key point to modulate the bulk p-i-n structure and improve the performance of all-PSCs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Published
2025-07-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.5c04656
Citations
65
Primary Topic
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
47.48

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article

A Refined Bulk P–I–N Structure in All-Polymer Solar Cells To Achieve 20.1% Efficiency and Improved Stability

Senke Tan, Jinge Zhu, Lin Yi, Lei Zhu et al.
65 citations
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
47.48
article

A Refined Bulk P–I–N Structure in All-Polymer Solar Cells To Achieve 20.1% Efficiency and Improved Stability

Senke Tan, Jinge Zhu, Lin Yi, Lei Zhu, Lixuan Kan, Erjun Zhou, Rui Zeng, Zongtao Wang, Jiaxin Zhuang, Jiawei Deng, Mengwei Ji, Chao Li, Feng Liu, Ming Zhang, Mengzhen Du, Qing Guo
article en
65 citations

Abstract

All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) have shown good potential for achieving balanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) and operational stability. However, precise control of the morphology remains challenging. Here, we constructed a bulk p-i-n structure with a regulated i-region by incorporating a shamrock-shaped nonfullerene acceptor, AQI4. This ternary formulation resulted in optimized energy-level stairing, enhanced exciton dissociation, and reduced energy loss. In blended thin film fabrication, a binary solvent of chlorobenzene (CB):o-xylene (OXY) was used, which enhanced the crystallization of the polymers and formed a high-density fibril network. The i-region width was reduced to less than 2 nm. This structural refinement enabled efficient charge transport through tie-chains between polymer crystallizations, thereby suppressing charge recombination. As a result, the organic solar cell (OSC) devices achieved a PCE of 20.1% (certified as 19.5%) and retained good stability. The <i>T</i><sub>80</sub> lifetime of over 1800 h in the OSC structure was recorded. Notably, the binary solvent CB:OXY also contributed to a feasible printing fabrication; the 18.4 cm<sup>2</sup> OSC mini-modules achieved a PCE of 16.5%. Our results suggest that the shape of the guest molecule may be a key point to modulate the bulk p-i-n structure and improve the performance of all-PSCs.

Journal of the American Chemical SocietyVol. 147(28)
Donghua University (CN), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN), Zhengzhou University (CN), Jiaxing University (CN), Materials Modification (United States) (US), Division of Materials Science and Engineering (AU)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
47.48
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