Issue 12, 2023

Tuning the solution aggregation and molecular order for efficient and thermally stable polymer solar cells

Abstract

The best-performing active layers for organic photovoltaics generally include semi-paracrystalline polymers. However, the solution aggregation and molecular order correlations of these photovoltaic blends and how they control the photovoltaic performance and operational stability remain elusive. Here, we show that the crystalline-amorphous interaction parameter plays a crucial role in determining the structure and performance of organic photovoltaic blends featuring semi-paracrystalline polymers. Solution small-angle neutron scattering and microstructure results reveal that the molecularly ordered 2D semi-paracrystalline polymer system P5TCN:Y6 achieves stronger aggregate rigidity in the blend solutions and inherits it in the films to form “locked” crystalline domains and intercrystalline links, which lead to the top-tier values and excellent thermal stability for polythiophene solar cells. By establishing correlations between various interaction parameters and solution structure parameters, we provide a comprehensive understanding of changes in aggregate rigidity of semi-paracrystalline polymers upon blending with nonfullerene acceptors and relationships between solution aggregation and performance of organic solar cells.

Graphical abstract: Tuning the solution aggregation and molecular order for efficient and thermally stable polymer solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Jul 2023
Accepted
27 Okt 2023
First published
31 Okt 2023

Energy Environ. Sci., 2023,16, 5822-5831

Tuning the solution aggregation and molecular order for efficient and thermally stable polymer solar cells

M. Gao, J. Wu, X. Yuan, C. He, H. Jiang, W. Zhao, C. Duan, Y. Chen, Y. Ke, H. Yao and L. Ye, Energy Environ. Sci., 2023, 16, 5822 DOI: 10.1039/D3EE02354K

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