Additive‐Free, Efficient, and Stable All‐Polymer Solar Cells Enabled by Congeneric Molecule Construction for Integrated Solar‐Storage Applications

ABSTRACT Organic solar cells are attractive for wearable electronics, in particular, all‐polymer solar cells (all‐PSCs) offer superior intrinsic stability and higher output voltage, enabling direct matching with the energy storage and conversion systems. However, all‐PSCs typically suffer from disordered morphology and poor donor–acceptor compatibility, requiring processing additives that compromise long‐term stability. Here, we introduce a structural homology strategy, using donor and acceptor polymers that share the same bithiophene imide building block, to eliminate the need for additives. This design strengthens intermolecular interactions, enhances molecular ordering, and suppresses energy loss, yielding an open‐circuit voltage of 0.94 V, a 12% improvement over the benchmark PM6:Y6 system. The chemical homology also reduces the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter and improves donor–acceptor compatibility, allowing the active layer to spontaneously form an ideal nanoscale fibrillar interpenetrating network. The resulting additive‐free all‐PSCs achieve a record power conversion efficiency of 19.12%, together with exceptional thermal stability ( T 80 = 1128 h), photostability ( T 80 = 756 h), and mechanical robustness. By integrating a 70 cm 2 large‐area all‐polymer module with series‐connected zinc–air batteries, we demonstrate a self‐sustaining, solar‐rechargeable system that delivers continuous power under both illumination and darkness, offering a practical pathway for next‐generation flexible and wearable electronics.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-07-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.6171732
Primary Topic
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Additive‐Free, Efficient, and Stable All‐Polymer Solar Cells Enabled by Congeneric Molecule Construction for Integrated Solar‐Storage Applications

Sergio Gámez‐Valenzuela, Guangye Zhang, H. Yu, Huiliang Sun et al.
Angewandte Chemie
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
article

Additive‐Free, Efficient, and Stable All‐Polymer Solar Cells Enabled by Congeneric Molecule Construction for Integrated Solar‐Storage Applications

Sergio Gámez‐Valenzuela, Guangye Zhang, H. Yu, Huiliang Sun, Qingqing Bai, Pei Cheng, Junyi Lu, Suxiang Ma, Hanlin Hu, Yiwang Chen, Mingqing Chen, Ivan S. Zhidkov, Junwu Chen, Longbin Li, Henan Li, Minghui Cao, Yonggui Sun, Jong Bin Park, Qiang Yang, Zhiyu Yang, Han Young Woo, Shuwei Qiu, Zhi Xing, Ernst Z. Kurmaev, Shuangshuang Xie, Qian Liu
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Organic solar cells are attractive for wearable electronics, in particular, all‐polymer solar cells (all‐PSCs) offer superior intrinsic stability and higher output voltage, enabling direct matching with the energy storage and conversion systems. However, all‐PSCs typically suffer from disordered morphology and poor donor–acceptor compatibility, requiring processing additives that compromise long‐term stability. Here, we introduce a structural homology strategy, using donor and acceptor polymers that share the same bithiophene imide building block, to eliminate the need for additives. This design strengthens intermolecular interactions, enhances molecular ordering, and suppresses energy loss, yielding an open‐circuit voltage of 0.94 V, a 12% improvement over the benchmark PM6:Y6 system. The chemical homology also reduces the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter and improves donor–acceptor compatibility, allowing the active layer to spontaneously form an ideal nanoscale fibrillar interpenetrating network. The resulting additive‐free all‐PSCs achieve a record power conversion efficiency of 19.12%, together with exceptional thermal stability ( T 80 = 1128 h), photostability ( T 80 = 756 h), and mechanical robustness. By integrating a 70 cm 2 large‐area all‐polymer module with series‐connected zinc–air batteries, we demonstrate a self‐sustaining, solar‐rechargeable system that delivers continuous power under both illumination and darkness, offering a practical pathway for next‐generation flexible and wearable electronics.

Angewandte Chemie
Ural Federal University (RU), Anhui Agricultural University (CN), Anhui University (CN), Sun Yat-sen University (CN), Shenzhen Polytechnic University (CN), Korea University (KR), Sichuan University (CN), Department of Science,Technology and Innovation (ZA), Guangzhou University (CN), Institute of Physics and Technology (RU), M.N. Mikheev Institute of Metal Physics (RU), Beijing Solar Energy Research Institute (CN), Ingenierie des Materiaux polymeres (FR), Gannan Normal University (CN), Department of Science and Technology and Biotechnology (IN), Shenzhen Technology University (CN), Taizhou University (CN), South China University of Technology (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
DOISourceOpenAlex
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