Regulation of Side-Chain Symmetry for Delaying Triplet Formation and Suppressing Non-Radiative Loss in Organic Solar Cells

Huanhuan Gao; Qian Li; Baobing Fan; Zhaozhao Bi; Wenlin Jiang; Sen Zhang; Qunping Fan; Tianqi Chen; Francis R. Lin; Bin Kan; Dangyuan Lei; Wei Ma; Alex K.-Y. Jen

doi:10.1002/aenm.202403121

Regulation of Side-Chain Symmetry for Delaying Triplet Formation and Suppressing Non-Radiative Loss in Organic Solar Cells

Huanhuan Gao, Qian Li, Baobing Fan^*, Zhaozhao Bi, Wenlin Jiang, Sen Zhang, Qunping Fan, Tianqi Chen, Francis R. Lin, Bin Kan, Dangyuan Lei, Wei Ma, Alex K.-Y. Jen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

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

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The structural revolutions of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have driven continuous efficiency breakthroughs in organic solar cells (OSCs). Rational regulation of NFA structures toward efficient exciton dissociation and mitigated non-radiative recombination is pivotal for OSCs. The incorporation of asymmetric side chains on NFAs can often achieve these goals by inducing a desirable aggregate state. However, it lacks the studies to directly correlate the side-chain symmetry of NFAs with the exciton delocalization and triplet dynamics in OSCs. Herein, The influence of structural symmetry on the aggregate properties is systematically investigated and exciton/charge dynamics based on two developed biaxial-conjugated NFAs with varied side-chain symmetry. The symmetric NFA having diverse molecular packing orientations can form multiple charge transfer channels in its blend with polymer donor, which cannot be found in that comprising the asymmetric ones. Moreover, a slower rate and lower ratio of the spin-triplet state are formed in the blend of symmetric NFA, resulting in a much lower non-radiative voltage loss in corresponding OSCs. This study reveals the distinct advantages of symmetric NFAs in both aggregate properties and exciton/charge dynamics over those of asymmetric ones, paving the way for developing high-performance OSCs using easier-to-prepare, low-cost symmetric materials. © 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Original language	English
Article number	2403121
Journal	Advanced Energy Materials
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202403121
Publication status	Online published - 27 Sept 2024

Funding

H.G. and Q.L. 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 Grant of the City University of Hong Kong (9380086, 9610419, 9610492, 9610508); 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 grant (11307621, 11316422) from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong; the CRF grant (C6023-19GF) from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong; Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (SGDX20201103095412040); Guangzhou Huangpu Technology Bureau (2022GH02), and Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research (2019B030302007). H.G. acknowledges the financial support of the Hong Kong Scholar program (XJ2021-038), Young Talent Fund of Xi'an Association for Science and Technology (959202313080). D.Y.L. acknowledges the financial support from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong through a Collaborative Research Equipment Grant (C1015-21EF). X-ray data was acquired at beamlines 7.3.3 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 for assistance with data acquisition.

Research Keywords

non-fullerene acceptor
non-radiative loss
organic solar cell
side-chain symmetry
triplet formation

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

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Gao, H., Li, Q., Fan, B., Bi, Z., Jiang, W., Zhang, S., Fan, Q., Chen, T., Lin, F. R., Kan, B., Lei, D., Ma, W., & Jen, A. K.-Y. (2024). Regulation of Side-Chain Symmetry for Delaying Triplet Formation and Suppressing Non-Radiative Loss in Organic Solar Cells. Advanced Energy Materials, Article 2403121. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202403121

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abstract = "The structural revolutions of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have driven continuous efficiency breakthroughs in organic solar cells (OSCs). Rational regulation of NFA structures toward efficient exciton dissociation and mitigated non-radiative recombination is pivotal for OSCs. The incorporation of asymmetric side chains on NFAs can often achieve these goals by inducing a desirable aggregate state. However, it lacks the studies to directly correlate the side-chain symmetry of NFAs with the exciton delocalization and triplet dynamics in OSCs. Herein, The influence of structural symmetry on the aggregate properties is systematically investigated and exciton/charge dynamics based on two developed biaxial-conjugated NFAs with varied side-chain symmetry. The symmetric NFA having diverse molecular packing orientations can form multiple charge transfer channels in its blend with polymer donor, which cannot be found in that comprising the asymmetric ones. Moreover, a slower rate and lower ratio of the spin-triplet state are formed in the blend of symmetric NFA, resulting in a much lower non-radiative voltage loss in corresponding OSCs. This study reveals the distinct advantages of symmetric NFAs in both aggregate properties and exciton/charge dynamics over those of asymmetric ones, paving the way for developing high-performance OSCs using easier-to-prepare, low-cost symmetric materials. {\textcopyright} 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.",

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author = "Huanhuan Gao and Qian Li and Baobing Fan and Zhaozhao Bi and Wenlin Jiang and Sen Zhang and Qunping Fan and Tianqi Chen and Lin, {Francis R.} and Bin Kan and Dangyuan Lei and Wei Ma and Jen, {Alex K.-Y.}",

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AU - Gao, Huanhuan

AU - Li, Qian

AU - Fan, Baobing

AU - Bi, Zhaozhao

AU - Jiang, Wenlin

AU - Zhang, Sen

AU - Fan, Qunping

AU - Chen, Tianqi

AU - Lin, Francis R.

AU - Kan, Bin

AU - Lei, Dangyuan

AU - Ma, Wei

AU - Jen, Alex K.-Y.

PY - 2024/9/27

Y1 - 2024/9/27

N2 - The structural revolutions of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have driven continuous efficiency breakthroughs in organic solar cells (OSCs). Rational regulation of NFA structures toward efficient exciton dissociation and mitigated non-radiative recombination is pivotal for OSCs. The incorporation of asymmetric side chains on NFAs can often achieve these goals by inducing a desirable aggregate state. However, it lacks the studies to directly correlate the side-chain symmetry of NFAs with the exciton delocalization and triplet dynamics in OSCs. Herein, The influence of structural symmetry on the aggregate properties is systematically investigated and exciton/charge dynamics based on two developed biaxial-conjugated NFAs with varied side-chain symmetry. The symmetric NFA having diverse molecular packing orientations can form multiple charge transfer channels in its blend with polymer donor, which cannot be found in that comprising the asymmetric ones. Moreover, a slower rate and lower ratio of the spin-triplet state are formed in the blend of symmetric NFA, resulting in a much lower non-radiative voltage loss in corresponding OSCs. This study reveals the distinct advantages of symmetric NFAs in both aggregate properties and exciton/charge dynamics over those of asymmetric ones, paving the way for developing high-performance OSCs using easier-to-prepare, low-cost symmetric materials. © 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

AB - The structural revolutions of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have driven continuous efficiency breakthroughs in organic solar cells (OSCs). Rational regulation of NFA structures toward efficient exciton dissociation and mitigated non-radiative recombination is pivotal for OSCs. The incorporation of asymmetric side chains on NFAs can often achieve these goals by inducing a desirable aggregate state. However, it lacks the studies to directly correlate the side-chain symmetry of NFAs with the exciton delocalization and triplet dynamics in OSCs. Herein, The influence of structural symmetry on the aggregate properties is systematically investigated and exciton/charge dynamics based on two developed biaxial-conjugated NFAs with varied side-chain symmetry. The symmetric NFA having diverse molecular packing orientations can form multiple charge transfer channels in its blend with polymer donor, which cannot be found in that comprising the asymmetric ones. Moreover, a slower rate and lower ratio of the spin-triplet state are formed in the blend of symmetric NFA, resulting in a much lower non-radiative voltage loss in corresponding OSCs. This study reveals the distinct advantages of symmetric NFAs in both aggregate properties and exciton/charge dynamics over those of asymmetric ones, paving the way for developing high-performance OSCs using easier-to-prepare, low-cost symmetric materials. © 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

KW - non-fullerene acceptor

KW - non-radiative loss

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KW - side-chain symmetry

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JO - Advanced Energy Materials

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M1 - 2403121

ER -

Regulation of Side-Chain Symmetry for Delaying Triplet Formation and Suppressing Non-Radiative Loss in Organic Solar Cells

Abstract

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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

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

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

Cite this

Regulation of Side-Chain Symmetry for Delaying Triplet Formation and Suppressing Non-Radiative Loss in Organic Solar Cells

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

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

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

Cite this