High efficiency (15.8%) all-polymer solar cells enabled by a regioregular narrow bandgap polymer acceptor

Huiting Fu, Yuxiang Li, Jianwei Yu, Ziang Wu, Qunping Fan, Francis Lin, Han Young Woo, Feng Gao, Zonglong Zhu, Alex K.Y. Jen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

186 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Despite the significant progresses made in all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) recently, the relatively low short-circuit current density (Jsc) and large energy loss are still quite difficult to overcome for further development. To address these challenges, we developed a new class of narrow-bandgap polymer acceptors incorporating a benzotriazole (BTz)-core fused-ring segment, named the PZT series. Compared to the commonly used benzothiadiazole (BT)-containing polymer PYT, the less electron-deficient BTz renders PZT derivatives with significantly red-shifted optical absorption and up-shifted energy levels, leading to simultaneously improved Jsc and open-circuit voltage in the resultant all-PSCs. More importantly, a regioregular PZT (PZT-γ) has been developed to achieve higher regiospecificity for avoiding the formation of isomers during polymerization. Benefiting from the more extended absorption, better backbone ordering, and more optimal blend morphology with donor component, PZT-γ-based all-PSCs exhibit a record-high power conversion efficiency of 15.8% with a greatly enhanced Jsc of 24.7 mA/cm2 and a low energy loss of 0.51 eV.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2665-2670
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume143
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021 Feb 24

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • Chemistry(all)
  • Biochemistry
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

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