Cost-effective polymer donors with simple structure for organic solar cells

Abstract

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have become one of the most rapidly developing research fields in the past few decades due to advantages such as low-cost manufacturing, large-area solution preparation, and compatibility with flexible substrates. Thanks to the rapid development of photovoltaic materials and device processes, the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of single-junction OSCs have reached 20%. Although the PCE threshold for economic up-scaling has been close to being crossed, the manufacturing cost of OSCs needs to be seriously considered. In this perspective, we mainly summarized recent advances in the innovation of cost-effective polymer donors with simple structures and structure–property relationships, as well as the guidelines for future structure designs, morphology control and the direction for the development of OSCs.