Highly fluorescent anthracene derivative as a non-fullerene acceptor in OSCs with small non-radiative energy loss of 0.22 eV and high PCEs of over 13%

Abstract

Herein, we designed and synthesized a highly fluorescent non-fullerene acceptor (ANT-4F) based on an anthracene (ANT) core. OSCs based on ANT-4F/PBDB-TF exhibited a significantly decreased V_loss,non-rad of 0.22 V (calculated from high EQE_EL = 1.7 × 10⁻⁴). Simultaneously, high charge-transfer state energy (E_CT = 1.54 eV) was obtained. Compared with OSCs based on IT-4F/PBDB-TF, a reduced V_loss,non-rad and higher E_CT concurrently contributed to an increased V_oc of 0.93 V. Consequently, despite the lower J_sc of 19.0 mA cm⁻², an overall high PCE of 13.1% can be obtained. This work exemplified the great potential for highly fluorescent NFSAs in decreasing V_loss,non-rad and improving PCEs.