π-Extension and chlorination of non-fullerene acceptors enable more readily processable and sustainable high-performance organic solar cells

Organic solar cells(OSCs)processed without halogenated solvents and complex treatments are essential for future commercialization.Herein,we report three novel small molecule acceptors(NFAs)consisting of a Y6-like core but withπ-extended naphthalene with progressively more chlorinated end-capping groups and a longer branched chain on the Nitrogen atom.These NFAs exhibit good solubilities in nonchlorinated organic solvents,broad optical absorptions,closeπ-πstacking distances(3.63–3.84A),and high electron mobilities(~10^(-3)cm^(2)V^(-1)s^(-1)).The o-xylene processed and as-cast binary devices using PM6 as the donor polymer exhibit a PCE increasing upon progressive chlorination of the naphthalene end-capping group from 8.93%for YN to 14.38%for YN-Cl to 15.00%for YN-2Cl.Furthermore similarly processed ternary OSCs were fabricated by employing YN-Cl and YN-2Cl as the third component of PM6:CH1007 blends(PCE=15.75%).Compared to all binary devices,the ternary PM6:CH1007:YN-Cl(1:1:0.2)and PM6:CH1007:YN-2Cl(1:1:0.2)cells exhibit significantly improved PCEs of 16.49%and15.88%,respectively,which are among the highest values reported to date for non-halogenated solvent processed OSCs without using any additives and blend post-deposition treatments.

π-Extended giant dimeric acceptor as a third component enables highly efficient ternary organic solar cells with efficiency over 19.2%

Ternary strategy with a suitable third component is a successful strategy to improve the photovoltaic performance of organic solar cells(OSCs).Very recently,Y-series based giant molecule acceptors or oligomerized acceptors have emerged as promising materials for achieving highly efficient and stable binary OSCs,while application as third component for ternary OSCs is limited.Here a novelπ-extended giant dimeric acceptor,GDF,is developed based on central Y series core fusion and rigid BDT as linker,and then incorporated into the state-of-the-art PM1:PC6 system to construct ternary OSCs.The GDF has a near planar backbone,resulting in increasedπ-conjugation,excellent crystallinity,and good electron transport capacity.When GDF is introduced into the PM1:PC6 system,it ensues in a cascade like the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals(LUMO)energy level alignment,a complementary absorption band with PM1 and PC6,higher and balanced hole and electron mobility,slightly smaller domain size,and a higher exciton dissociation probability for PM1:PC6:GDF(1:1.1:0.1)blend film.As a consequence,the PM1:PC6:GDF(1:1.1:0.1)ternary OSC achieves a champion PCE of 19.22%,with a significantly higher open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density,compared to 18.45%for the PM1:PC6(1:1.2)binary OSC.Our findings show that employing aπ-extended giant dimeric acceptor as a third component significantly improves the photovoltaic performance of ternary OSCs.