On the role of asymmetric molecular geometry in high-performance organic solar cells

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

16 Scopus Citations
View graph of relations

Author(s)

  • Jinfeng Huang
  • Tianyi Chen
  • Mengting Wang
  • Yuxuan Zhu
  • Jiting Cui
  • Yanni Ouyang
  • Youwen Pan
  • Zhaozhao Bi
  • Wei Ma
  • Zaifei Ma
  • Haiming Zhu
  • Chunfeng Zhang
  • Xian-Kai Chen
  • Hongzheng Chen
  • Lijian Zuo

Related Research Unit(s)

Detail(s)

Original languageEnglish
Article number3287
Journal / PublicationNature Communications
Volume15
Issue number1
Online published16 Apr 2024
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2024

Link(s)

Abstract

Although asymmetric molecular design has been widely demonstrated effective for organic photovoltaics (OPVs), the correlation between asymmetric molecular geometry and their optoelectronic properties is still unclear. To access this issue, we have designed and synthesized several symmetric-asymmetric non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) pairs with identical physical and optoelectronic properties. Interestingly, we found that the asymmetric NFAs universally exhibited increased open-circuit voltage compared to their symmetric counterparts, due to the reduced non-radiative charge recombination. From our molecular-dynamic simulations, the asymmetric NFA naturally exhibits more diverse molecular interaction patterns at the donor (D):acceptor (A) interface as compared to the symmetric ones, as well as higher D:A interfacial charge-transfer state energy. Moreover, it is observed that the asymmetric structure can effectively suppress triplet state formation. These advantages enable a best efficiency of 18.80%, which is one of the champion results among binary OPVs. Therefore, this work unambiguously demonstrates the unique advantage of asymmetric molecular geometry, unveils the underlying mechanism, and highlights the manipulation of D:A interface as an important consideration for future molecular design. © The Author(s) 2024.

Citation Format(s)

On the role of asymmetric molecular geometry in high-performance organic solar cells. / Huang, Jinfeng; Chen, Tianyi; Mei, Le et al.
In: Nature Communications, Vol. 15, No. 1, 3287, 01.12.2024.

Research output: Journal Publications and ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

Download Statistics

No data available