Recent progress in solution-processed flexible organic photovoltaics

Abstract

The certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic photovoltaics (OPV) fabricated in laboratories has improved dramatically to over 19% owing to the rapid development of narrow-bandgap small-molecule acceptors and wide bandgap polymer donor materials. The next pivotal question is how to translate small-area laboratory devices into large-scale commercial applications. This requires the OPV to be solution-processed and flexible to satisfy the requirements of high-throughput and large-scale production such as roll-to-roll printing. This review summarizes and analyzes recent progress in solution-processed flexible OPV. After a detailed discussion from the perspective of the behavior of the narrow bandgap small-molecule acceptor and wide bandgap polymer donor active layer in solution-processed flexible devices, the existing challenges and future directions are discussed.

Assessing alkyl side chain effects on electron transport properties of Y6-derived non-fullerene acceptors

“…31 This, in turn, is a central point to improve the processability of the device. For instance, beside enabling solution printing, 32 it affects the miscibility between components, increasing the chance of charge transfer from the donor to the acceptor, without amplifying the recombination processes that could alter charge migration. 33,34 To gain deeper insight onto the mechanisms connecting chemical substitution patterns with device performances, in this work we study the set of L8-R NFAs experimentally investigated in ref.…”

“…31 This, in turn, is a central point to improve the processability of the device. For instance, beside enabling solution printing, 32 it affects the miscibility between components, increasing the chance of charge transfer from the donor to the acceptor, without amplifying the recombination processes that could alter charge migration. 33,34…”

Semi-transparent organic solar cells based on large bandgap star-shaped small molecules as mixed donors with PM6

“…Regarding fossil fuel depletion, organic solar cells (OSCs) are considered a promising and attractive replacement technology for obtaining renewable and affordable energy from sunlight, offering advantages in tuneable light-absorbing windows, lightweight devices, ease of manufacturing and non-toxicity. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Based on the selection of light-absorbing materials in the active layer and deployment of transparent electrodes, semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) have an outstanding performance to generate electricity in certain light-absorbing windows whilst having a limited impact on the transmittance of the visible light. 8,9 These unique characteristics enable ST-OSCs to be suitable candidates in some transparent application scenarios, such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), photovoltaic greenhouses, automobile glass, etc.…”

Boosting electron transport in non-fullerene acceptors using non-chlorinated solvents

“…There is increasing research interest in organic semiconductors (OSCs) owing to their potential for many current and future (opto)electronic applications. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] These materials offer attractive attributes such as light weight, good mechanical flexibility, and excellent optical transparency, highlighting their compatibility with next-generation flexible electronics. [9][10][11][12] OSCs are also solution-processable, which allows functional (opto)electronic device fabrication using cost-effective and low-temperature processing methods.…”