Efficiency Enhancement and Transparency Adaption of Bladed PM6:Y6 Solar Cells Doped with Binary Lanthanide (Eu <sup>3+</sup> /Sm <sup>3+</sup> )-Induced Polymeric Nanoaggregates

The emergence of convenient blading technology has enabled the development of large-area polymer solar cells (PSCs). However, the smart, efficient enhancement and transparency adaption of bladed PM6:Y6 solar cells requires demonstration of key performance indicators. Herein, we report the enhanced efficiency and adapted transparency of PSCs by binary lanthanide (Eu3+/Sm3+)-induced diblock polymer aggregates (EIPAs/SIPAs) with inclusion of ZnO (ZnO:EIPAs:SIPAs). First, the EIPA- and SIPA-cocapsulated ZnO nanoclusters (ESPAs-Z) were employed as the electron-transport layer (ETL). Owing to their distinct excitation and emission spectra, EIPAs and SIPAs can synergistically boost solar light harvesting and energy conversion. Thus, bladed devices using a PM6:Y6 active layer, with EIPAs and SIPAs in the ETL, have achieved an enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.47% that is notably enhanced by the ratio of 11.4% from 12.03% of the single ZnO ETL. Simultaneously, this ESPAs-Z-in-ETL improves the compatibility between ITO and the active layer and optimizes the energy-level alignment at the interface. In PM6:Y6-based semitransparent polymer solar cells (ST-PSCs), doping EIPAs and SIPAs yielded an optimal PCE of 6.09% while maintaining a high AVT of 39.32%. This work demonstrates that incorporating Eu3+/Sm3+ nanoaggregates into PSCs is a critical advance for the scalable fabrication of ST-PSCs.

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Journal
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Published
2026-05-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.6c05163
Primary Topic
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
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article
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article

Efficiency Enhancement and Transparency Adaption of Bladed PM6:Y6 Solar Cells Doped with Binary Lanthanide (Eu 3+ /Sm 3+ )-Induced Polymeric Nanoaggregates

Wenfei Shen, Matt J. Kipper, Christopher Snow, Yue Wang et al.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
article

Efficiency Enhancement and Transparency Adaption of Bladed PM6:Y6 Solar Cells Doped with Binary Lanthanide (Eu 3+ /Sm 3+ )-Induced Polymeric Nanoaggregates

Wenfei Shen, Matt J. Kipper, Christopher Snow, Yue Wang, Hao Fu, Laurence A. Belfiore, Shuxin Li, Jun Li, Soo Wohn Lee, Zhonglin Du, Jianguo Tang
article en

Abstract

The emergence of convenient blading technology has enabled the development of large-area polymer solar cells (PSCs). However, the smart, efficient enhancement and transparency adaption of bladed PM6:Y6 solar cells requires demonstration of key performance indicators. Herein, we report the enhanced efficiency and adapted transparency of PSCs by binary lanthanide (Eu3+/Sm3+)-induced diblock polymer aggregates (EIPAs/SIPAs) with inclusion of ZnO (ZnO:EIPAs:SIPAs). First, the EIPA- and SIPA-cocapsulated ZnO nanoclusters (ESPAs-Z) were employed as the electron-transport layer (ETL). Owing to their distinct excitation and emission spectra, EIPAs and SIPAs can synergistically boost solar light harvesting and energy conversion. Thus, bladed devices using a PM6:Y6 active layer, with EIPAs and SIPAs in the ETL, have achieved an enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.47% that is notably enhanced by the ratio of 11.4% from 12.03% of the single ZnO ETL. Simultaneously, this ESPAs-Z-in-ETL improves the compatibility between ITO and the active layer and optimizes the energy-level alignment at the interface. In PM6:Y6-based semitransparent polymer solar cells (ST-PSCs), doping EIPAs and SIPAs yielded an optimal PCE of 6.09% while maintaining a high AVT of 39.32%. This work demonstrates that incorporating Eu3+/Sm3+ nanoaggregates into PSCs is a critical advance for the scalable fabrication of ST-PSCs.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Qingdao University (CN), Shanghai University of Engineering Science (CN), Division of Materials Science and Engineering (AU), Sun Moon University (KR), Sun Chemical (United States) (US), Colorado State University (US)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
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