Electrostatic Potential Site Effect of the Third Component Enables High‐Performance Organic Solar Cells with Low Energy Loss

ABSTRACT Organic solar cells (OSCs) are typically plagued by substantial non‐radiative energy loss (Δ E 3 ) during the photoelectric conversion process, which limits further performance improvement. While incorporating a third component can effectively optimize active layer morphology and suppress non‑radiative recombination, the selection of such components currently lacks precise theoretical guidance. To address this challenge, we propose a new concept of electrostatic potential (ESP) site effect, which enables modulation of local ESP distribution by precisely adjusting terminal substituent positions without altering average molecular ESP, energy levels, or absorption. Guided by this concept, two asymmetric acceptors, ZY‐SCF 3 ‐N2F and ZY‐SCF 3 ‐B2F, were rationally designed and incorporated as the third component into the PM6/BTP‐eC9 system. Combining theoretical and experimental results reveal that both acceptors possess large dipole moments that favor Δ E 3 suppression. Notably, ZY‐SCF 3 ‐B2F, featuring a larger ESP difference at terminal carbon atoms, induces more ordered molecular packing and favorable phase separation morphology in the ternary blend. This leads to synergistic enhancements in open‑circuit voltage, short‑circuit current density, and fill factor, ultimately delivering an outstanding efficiency of 20.53%. This work elucidates the critical role of local ESP distribution in determining material properties and provides a simple yet effective theoretical guideline for developing highly efficient ternary OSCs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Angewandte Chemie
Published
2026-09-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.8983584
Primary Topic
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
Type
article
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Electrostatic Potential Site Effect of the Third Component Enables High‐Performance Organic Solar Cells with Low Energy Loss

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Angewandte Chemie
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
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Electrostatic Potential Site Effect of the Third Component Enables High‐Performance Organic Solar Cells with Low Energy Loss

Xunfan Liao, Xiaopeng Xu, Xinhui Lu, Haiming Zhu, Yiwang Chen, Jinyang Yu, Shuzhen Liao, Dan Liu, Jiayi Cheng, Li Zeng, Zhi Xing, Peipei Zhu, Weilin Zhou, Yuang Fu, Jin Li, Xingyue Luo
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Organic solar cells (OSCs) are typically plagued by substantial non‐radiative energy loss (Δ E 3 ) during the photoelectric conversion process, which limits further performance improvement. While incorporating a third component can effectively optimize active layer morphology and suppress non‑radiative recombination, the selection of such components currently lacks precise theoretical guidance. To address this challenge, we propose a new concept of electrostatic potential (ESP) site effect, which enables modulation of local ESP distribution by precisely adjusting terminal substituent positions without altering average molecular ESP, energy levels, or absorption. Guided by this concept, two asymmetric acceptors, ZY‐SCF 3 ‐N2F and ZY‐SCF 3 ‐B2F, were rationally designed and incorporated as the third component into the PM6/BTP‐eC9 system. Combining theoretical and experimental results reveal that both acceptors possess large dipole moments that favor Δ E 3 suppression. Notably, ZY‐SCF 3 ‐B2F, featuring a larger ESP difference at terminal carbon atoms, induces more ordered molecular packing and favorable phase separation morphology in the ternary blend. This leads to synergistic enhancements in open‑circuit voltage, short‑circuit current density, and fill factor, ultimately delivering an outstanding efficiency of 20.53%. This work elucidates the critical role of local ESP distribution in determining material properties and provides a simple yet effective theoretical guideline for developing highly efficient ternary OSCs.

Angewandte Chemie
City University of Hong Kong (HK), Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK), Ingenierie des Materiaux polymeres (FR), Gannan Normal University (CN), Jiangxi Normal University (CN), Zhejiang University (CN)
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 21%
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
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