Pressure‐Modulated Molecular Stacking Strategy Extends Exciton Diffusion Length for Thick‐Film (300 nm) Organic Photovoltaics Exceeding 19% Efficiency
Thick-film (>300 nm) organic solar cells (OSCs) have attracted increasing attention in recent years due to their compatibility with large-scale industrial production. However, the inherently short exciton diffusion length (L<sub>D</sub>) of organic semiconductors severely restricts exciton diffusion to the interface in the larger donor/acceptor (D/A) domains, thereby impeding the photovoltaic performance, especially open circuit voltage and fill factor for the commercialized thick-film OSCs. Herein, a pressure-modulated molecular stacking (PMMS) strategy is employed to enhance crystallization and regulate fluid confinement depth (the grating depth of imprinted PM6) by controlling the imprinting pressure, thereby optimizing D/A inter-penetration with favorable vertical phase separation morphology. This strategy can significantly extend L<sub>D</sub> (from ≈ 26.5 to ≈ 40.3 nm) to facilitate efficient exciton diffusion and carrier transport by enhancing ordered molecular stacking. Consequently, the best devices achieve one of the highest power conversion efficiencies (PCE)s of 20.20% (100 nm) and 19.27% (300 nm, certified as 18.88%), respectively, while the large-area module (16.94 cm<sup>2</sup>) exhibits an impressive PCE of 17.01% for D18/BTP-eC9:L8-BO ternary system via blade-coating technology. This work provides a valuable approach to extending L<sub>D</sub> by constructing favorable vertical phase separation morphology for achieving large-scale high-efficiency thick-film OSCs.
Authors
- Lin Wen
- B. P. Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3461-1721)
- Qin Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4223-9522)
- Liming Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0199-2297)
- Houdong Mao
- Yiwang Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4709-7623)
- Licheng Tan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7208-7297)
- Chengdu Cao
- Yaxin Zhai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5862-1764)
- Lifu Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9527-3955)
- Y. B. Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6800-1597)
Institutions
- Nanchang University (CN)
- Hunan Normal University (CN)
- Jiangxi Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2025-11-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202514047
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.73