Eliminating the Burn-in Loss of Efficiency in Organic Solar Cells by Applying Dimer Acceptors as Supramolecular Stabilizers

Yanxun Li; Feng Qi; Baobing Fan; Kai-Kai Liu; Jifa Yu; Yuang Fu; Xianzhao Liu; Zhen Wang; Sen Zhang; Guanghao Lu; Xinhui Lu; Qunping Fan; Philip C. Y. Chow; Wei Ma; Francis R. Lin; Alex K.-Y. Jen

doi:10.1002/adma.202313393

Eliminating the Burn-in Loss of Efficiency in Organic Solar Cells by Applying Dimer Acceptors as Supramolecular Stabilizers

Yanxun Li, Feng Qi, Baobing Fan, Kai-Kai Liu, Jifa Yu, Yuang Fu, Xianzhao Liu, Zhen Wang, Sen Zhang, Guanghao Lu, Xinhui Lu, Qunping Fan, Philip C. Y. Chow, Wei Ma, Francis R. Lin, Alex K.-Y. Jen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

27 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The meta-stable active layer morphology of organic solar cells (OSCs) is identified as the main cause of the rapid burn-in loss of power conversion efficiency (PCE) during long-term device operation. However, effective strategies to eliminate the associated loss mechanisms from the initial stage of device operation are still lacking, especially for high-efficiency material systems. Herein, the introduction of molecularly engineered dimer acceptors with adjustable thermal transition properties into the active layer of OSCs to serve as supramolecular stabilizers for regulating the thermal transitions and optimizing the crystallization of the absorber composites is reported. By establishing intimate π-π interactions with small-molecule acceptors, these stabilizers can effectively reduce the trap-state density (N _t) in the devices to achieve excellent PCEs over 19%. More importantly, the low N _t associated with an initially optimized morphology can be maintained under external stresses to significantly reduce the PCE burn-in loss in devices. This research reveals a judicious approach to improving OPV stability by establishing a comprehensive correlation between material properties, active-layer morphology, and device performance, for developing burn-in-free OSCs. © 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Original language	English
Article number	2313393
Journal	Advanced Materials
Volume	36
Issue number	23
Online published	4 Apr 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202313393
Publication status	Published - 6 Jun 2024

Funding

Y.L. and F.Q. contributed equally to this work. A.K.Y.J. thanks the sponsorship of the Lee Shau-Kee Chair Professor (Materials Science), and the support from the APRC Grants (9380086, 9610508, 9610419, and 9610492) of the City University of Hong Kong, the TCFS Grant (GHP/018/20SZ) and MRP Grant (MRP/040/21X) from the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong, the Green Tech Fund (202020164) from the Environment and Ecology Bureau of Hong Kong, the GRF grants (11307621, 11316422) from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (SGDX20201103095412040), Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research (2019B030302007). The authors thank Prof. Hin-Lap Yip for providing the instrumental setup for stability tracking. X-ray data was acquired at beamlines 7.3.3 and 11.0.1.2 at the Advanced Light Source, which is supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. The authors thank Dr. Eric Schaible and Dr. Chenhui Zhu at beamline 7.3.3, and Dr. Cheng Wang at beamline 11.0.1.2 for assistance with data acquisition.

Research Keywords

burn-in loss
dimer acceptor
organic photovoltaics
supramolecular stabilizer
thermal transition
trap state

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This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Li, Y., Qi, F., Fan, B., Liu, K.-K., Yu, J., Fu, Y., Liu, X., Wang, Z., Zhang, S., Lu, G., Lu, X., Fan, Q., Chow, P. C. Y., Ma, W., Lin, F. R., & Jen, A. K.-Y. (2024). Eliminating the Burn-in Loss of Efficiency in Organic Solar Cells by Applying Dimer Acceptors as Supramolecular Stabilizers. Advanced Materials, 36(23), Article 2313393. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202313393

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abstract = "The meta-stable active layer morphology of organic solar cells (OSCs) is identified as the main cause of the rapid burn-in loss of power conversion efficiency (PCE) during long-term device operation. However, effective strategies to eliminate the associated loss mechanisms from the initial stage of device operation are still lacking, especially for high-efficiency material systems. Herein, the introduction of molecularly engineered dimer acceptors with adjustable thermal transition properties into the active layer of OSCs to serve as supramolecular stabilizers for regulating the thermal transitions and optimizing the crystallization of the absorber composites is reported. By establishing intimate π-π interactions with small-molecule acceptors, these stabilizers can effectively reduce the trap-state density (N t) in the devices to achieve excellent PCEs over 19%. More importantly, the low N t associated with an initially optimized morphology can be maintained under external stresses to significantly reduce the PCE burn-in loss in devices. This research reveals a judicious approach to improving OPV stability by establishing a comprehensive correlation between material properties, active-layer morphology, and device performance, for developing burn-in-free OSCs. {\textcopyright} 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.",

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AU - Yu, Jifa

AU - Fu, Yuang

AU - Liu, Xianzhao

AU - Wang, Zhen

AU - Zhang, Sen

AU - Lu, Guanghao

AU - Lu, Xinhui

AU - Fan, Qunping

AU - Chow, Philip C. Y.

AU - Ma, Wei

AU - Lin, Francis R.

AU - Jen, Alex K.-Y.

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N2 - The meta-stable active layer morphology of organic solar cells (OSCs) is identified as the main cause of the rapid burn-in loss of power conversion efficiency (PCE) during long-term device operation. However, effective strategies to eliminate the associated loss mechanisms from the initial stage of device operation are still lacking, especially for high-efficiency material systems. Herein, the introduction of molecularly engineered dimer acceptors with adjustable thermal transition properties into the active layer of OSCs to serve as supramolecular stabilizers for regulating the thermal transitions and optimizing the crystallization of the absorber composites is reported. By establishing intimate π-π interactions with small-molecule acceptors, these stabilizers can effectively reduce the trap-state density (N t) in the devices to achieve excellent PCEs over 19%. More importantly, the low N t associated with an initially optimized morphology can be maintained under external stresses to significantly reduce the PCE burn-in loss in devices. This research reveals a judicious approach to improving OPV stability by establishing a comprehensive correlation between material properties, active-layer morphology, and device performance, for developing burn-in-free OSCs. © 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

AB - The meta-stable active layer morphology of organic solar cells (OSCs) is identified as the main cause of the rapid burn-in loss of power conversion efficiency (PCE) during long-term device operation. However, effective strategies to eliminate the associated loss mechanisms from the initial stage of device operation are still lacking, especially for high-efficiency material systems. Herein, the introduction of molecularly engineered dimer acceptors with adjustable thermal transition properties into the active layer of OSCs to serve as supramolecular stabilizers for regulating the thermal transitions and optimizing the crystallization of the absorber composites is reported. By establishing intimate π-π interactions with small-molecule acceptors, these stabilizers can effectively reduce the trap-state density (N t) in the devices to achieve excellent PCEs over 19%. More importantly, the low N t associated with an initially optimized morphology can be maintained under external stresses to significantly reduce the PCE burn-in loss in devices. This research reveals a judicious approach to improving OPV stability by establishing a comprehensive correlation between material properties, active-layer morphology, and device performance, for developing burn-in-free OSCs. © 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

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Eliminating the Burn-in Loss of Efficiency in Organic Solar Cells by Applying Dimer Acceptors as Supramolecular Stabilizers

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

UN SDGs

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GRF: Molecular Engineering of 1D Hybrid Perovskites for Improving the Performance and Stability of Metal Halide Perovskite Solar Cells

ITF: Development of Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cell with Safe-to-Use

GTF_EPD: Development of Printable Perovskite Solar Cells for Transformative Clean Energy and Sustainable Society

Cite this

Eliminating the Burn-in Loss of Efficiency in Organic Solar Cells by Applying Dimer Acceptors as Supramolecular Stabilizers

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

UN SDGs

Access Output

Other Access Options

Permanent Link

Other Files and Links

Fingerprint

Projects

GRF: Molecular Engineering of 1D Hybrid Perovskites for Improving the Performance and Stability of Metal Halide Perovskite Solar Cells

ITF: Development of Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cell with Safe-to-Use

GTF_EPD: Development of Printable Perovskite Solar Cells for Transformative Clean Energy and Sustainable Society

Cite this