Issue 16, 2024

Simultaneously improved stretchability, stability, and output power in solar cells via entanglement control

Abstract

Intrinsically stretchable solar cells have gained significant attention as potential power sources for wearable devices due to their light weight and flexible nature. However, designing active layers that are simultaneously highly stretchable, efficient, and stable for wearables remains challenging. Herein, we propose an entangled polymer additive strategy to address this issue and enhance both photovoltaic performance and mechanical stability of active layers under large strains. By optimizing the entangled film morphology, we have successfully developed intrinsically stretchable all-polymer solar cells with exceptional thermal stability (T80 > 10 000 h), stretchability (strain at 80% efficiency surpasses 50%), mechanical robustness (1000 cycles under 50% strain) and improved output power, which has rarely been observed in any type of solar cell. Furthermore, we have established correlations between entanglement, miscibility, morphology, and mechanical models for ternary blends. The strategy can also improve the mechanical properties of the PM6:PY-IT based ternary system. This knowledge is instrumental in advancing the development of intrinsically stretchable and durable photovoltaic devices.

Graphical abstract: Simultaneously improved stretchability, stability, and output power in solar cells via entanglement control

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Apr 2024
Accepted
08 Jul 2024
First published
09 Jul 2024

Energy Environ. Sci., 2024,17, 5950-5961

Simultaneously improved stretchability, stability, and output power in solar cells via entanglement control

K. Zhou, D. Han, K. Xian, S. Li, M. Gao, K. Zhang, B. Zhao, X. Li, Y. Chen, Y. Geng and L. Ye, Energy Environ. Sci., 2024, 17, 5950 DOI: 10.1039/D4EE01708K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements