We demonstrate the improved morphological stability and lifetime of ternary organic solar cells incorporating nonfullerene small molecules in polymer:fullerene blends.
Energy‐storing functional photovoltaics, which can simultaneously harvest and store solar energy, are proposed as promising next‐generation multifunction energy systems. For the extension of conventional organic photovoltaics (OPVs), electrochromic supercapacitors (ECSs) are monolithically integrated with semitransparent (ST) quaternary blend‐based OPVs (ST Q‐OPVs) to achieve compact, energy‐efficient storage with great aesthetic appeal. In particular, ST Q‐OPVs with low‐power‐consumption ECSs allow full operation, even under low‐intensity irradiance, including artificial indoor light circumstances, and thereby exhibit potential for all‐day operating energy suppliers. The prepared ST energy‐storing functional photovoltaics also serve as a backup power source for external electronic equipment (e.g., light‐emitting diodes, and sensor nodes for Internet of Things) by consuming charged power. In addition to features that include unrestricted operation under any circumstances, color tunability, feasibility of designs with various shapes, rapid charging/discharging, and real‐time indication of stored energy levels, ST energy‐storing functional photovoltaics could potentially be applied in electronic devices such as advanced smart windows or portable smart electronics.
The unique properties of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) offer great promise in emerging applications such as wearable electronics or the Internet of Things. For their successful utilization, OPV operation should be designed for versatile irradiation circumstances in addition to solar light since they should be capable of providing electric power when there is no sunlight or when they operate indoors. Here, a quaternary OPV (Q-OPV) as a semitransparent, colorful energy platform that operates efficiently under both solar and artificial light irradiation is demonstrated. The experimentally optimized Q-OPV shows a broadened spectral response and improved charge transport process with suppressed recombination, thereby providing high output powers that are sufficient to autonomously operate low-power electronic devices. In addition, the Q-OPV benefits from improved morphological stability with a reduced driving force for grain growth by the increased entropy in the quaternary blend system. The important features of the Q-OPV platform such as semitransparency, high tolerance to film thickness, and color codability, while pursuing the improved performance and thermal durability, further open new opportunities as an all-day (24/7/365) power generator in broad practical applications.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.