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Donor polymer design enables efficient non-fullerene organic solar cells

Author

Listed:
  • Zhengke Li

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay)

  • Kui Jiang

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay
    HKUST-Shenzhen Research Institute)

  • Guofang Yang

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay
    State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Joshua Yuk Lin Lai

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay)

  • Tingxuan Ma

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay)

  • Jingbo Zhao

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay)

  • Wei Ma

    (State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • He Yan

    (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay
    HKUST-Shenzhen Research Institute
    Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology)

Abstract

To achieve efficient organic solar cells, the design of suitable donor–acceptor couples is crucially important. State-of-the-art donor polymers used in fullerene cells may not perform well when they are combined with non-fullerene acceptors, thus new donor polymers need to be developed. Here we report non-fullerene organic solar cells with efficiencies up to 10.9%, enabled by a novel donor polymer that exhibits strong temperature-dependent aggregation but with intentionally reduced polymer crystallinity due to the introduction of a less symmetric monomer unit. Our comparative study shows that an analogue polymer with a C2 symmetric monomer unit yields highly crystalline polymer films but less efficient non-fullerene cells. Based on a monomer with a mirror symmetry, our best donor polymer exhibits reduced crystallinity, yet such a polymer matches better with small molecular acceptors. This study provides important insights to the design of donor polymers for non-fullerene organic solar cells.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhengke Li & Kui Jiang & Guofang Yang & Joshua Yuk Lin Lai & Tingxuan Ma & Jingbo Zhao & Wei Ma & He Yan, 2016. "Donor polymer design enables efficient non-fullerene organic solar cells," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms13094
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13094
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