Supramolecular force-driven non-fullerene acceptors as an electron-transporting layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells

Xiaofeng Huang; Dongdong Xia; Qian Xie; Deng Wang; Qian Li; Chaowei Zhao; Jun Yin; Fang Cao; Zhenhuang Su; Zixin Zeng; Wenlin Jiang; Werner Kaminsky; Kaikai Liu; Francis R. Lin; Qifan Feng; Binghui Wu; Sai-Wing Tsang; Dangyuan Lei; Weiwei Li; Alex K.-Y. Jen

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-56060-0

Supramolecular force-driven non-fullerene acceptors as an electron-transporting layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells

Xiaofeng Huang (Co-first Author), Dongdong Xia (Co-first Author), Qian Xie (Co-first Author), Deng Wang, Qian Li, Chaowei Zhao^*, Jun Yin^*, Fang Cao, Zhenhuang Su, Zixin Zeng, Wenlin Jiang, Werner Kaminsky, Kaikai Liu, Francis R. Lin, Qifan Feng, Binghui Wu, Sai-Wing Tsang, Dangyuan Lei, Weiwei Li^*, Alex K.-Y. Jen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

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

2 Citations (Scopus)

18 Downloads (CityUHK Scholars)

Abstract

Fullerene derivatives are widely employed as efficient electron-transporting layers (ETLs) in p-i-n perovskite photovoltaics but face challenges in mitigating interfacial recombination losses and ensuring stable film morphology. Non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), commonly utilized in organic photovoltaics, present a promising alternative to fullerene-based ETLs. Nevertheless, the suboptimal performance of NFA-based devices underscores the need for molecular engineering to tailor their properties. Herein, we develop two Y-type NFAs, Y-Phen and Y-CE, by substituting the benzothiadiazole core of Y6 with higher-polarity phenanthroline and crown ether. These modifications effectively enhance carrier kinetics by (1) promoting ordered molecular assembly on the perovskite surface through supramolecular interactions, thereby optimizing interfacial energetic alignment, and (2) improving the molecular packing to facilitate efficient charge transport. Using Y-CE as the ETL, the device achieves a certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.59%. Furthermore, the optimized device exhibits less than 10% degradation in PCE after 1440 hours of thermal aging. This work offers valuable insights into designing NFA-based ETLs for high-performance perovskite photovoltaics. © The Author(s) 2025.

Original language	English
Article number	1626
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	16
Online published	14 Feb 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56060-0
Publication status	Published - 2025

Funding

A.K.Y.J. thanks the sponsorship of the Lee Shau-Kee Chair Professor (Materials Science), and the support from the APRC Grants (9380086, 9610419, 9610440, 9610492, 9610508) of the City University of Hong Kong, the MHKJFS Grant (MHP/054/23) 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 (11304424, 11307621, 11316422) and CRS grants (CRS_CityU104/23, CRS_HKUST203/23) from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, and the Guangzhou Huangpu Technology Bureau (2022GH02). C. Z. acknowledges the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52163018) and the Hong Kong scholar program (XJ2022019). J.Y. acknowledges financial support from Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Grant no. P0042930) and a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. PolyU 25300823). W.L. acknowledges financial support from the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (JQ21006). D.L. acknowledges the financial support from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong through a Collaborative Research Equipment Grant (C1015-21EF).

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Huang, X., Xia, D., Xie, Q., Wang, D., Li, Q., Zhao, C., Yin, J., Cao, F., Su, Z., Zeng, Z., Jiang, W., Kaminsky, W., Liu, K., Lin, F. R., Feng, Q., Wu, B., Tsang, S.-W., Lei, D., Li, W., & Jen, A. K.-Y. (2025). Supramolecular force-driven non-fullerene acceptors as an electron-transporting layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells. Nature Communications, 16, Article 1626. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56060-0

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title = "Supramolecular force-driven non-fullerene acceptors as an electron-transporting layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells",

abstract = "Fullerene derivatives are widely employed as efficient electron-transporting layers (ETLs) in p-i-n perovskite photovoltaics but face challenges in mitigating interfacial recombination losses and ensuring stable film morphology. Non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), commonly utilized in organic photovoltaics, present a promising alternative to fullerene-based ETLs. Nevertheless, the suboptimal performance of NFA-based devices underscores the need for molecular engineering to tailor their properties. Herein, we develop two Y-type NFAs, Y-Phen and Y-CE, by substituting the benzothiadiazole core of Y6 with higher-polarity phenanthroline and crown ether. These modifications effectively enhance carrier kinetics by (1) promoting ordered molecular assembly on the perovskite surface through supramolecular interactions, thereby optimizing interfacial energetic alignment, and (2) improving the molecular packing to facilitate efficient charge transport. Using Y-CE as the ETL, the device achieves a certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.59%. Furthermore, the optimized device exhibits less than 10% degradation in PCE after 1440 hours of thermal aging. This work offers valuable insights into designing NFA-based ETLs for high-performance perovskite photovoltaics. {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",

author = "Xiaofeng Huang and Dongdong Xia and Qian Xie and Deng Wang and Qian Li and Chaowei Zhao and Jun Yin and Fang Cao and Zhenhuang Su and Zixin Zeng and Wenlin Jiang and Werner Kaminsky and Kaikai Liu and Lin, {Francis R.} and Qifan Feng and Binghui Wu and Sai-Wing Tsang and Dangyuan Lei and Weiwei Li and Jen, {Alex K.-Y.}",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1038/s41467-025-56060-0",

language = "English",

volume = "16",

journal = "Nature Communications",

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Huang, X, Xia, D, Xie, Q, Wang, D, Li, Q, Zhao, C, Yin, J, Cao, F, Su, Z, Zeng, Z, Jiang, W, Kaminsky, W, Liu, K, Lin, FR, Feng, Q, Wu, B, Tsang, S-W , Lei, D, Li, W & Jen, AK-Y 2025, 'Supramolecular force-driven non-fullerene acceptors as an electron-transporting layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells', Nature Communications, vol. 16, 1626. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56060-0

Supramolecular force-driven non-fullerene acceptors as an electron-transporting layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells. / Huang, Xiaofeng (Co-first Author); Xia, Dongdong (Co-first Author); Xie, Qian (Co-first Author) et al.
In: Nature Communications, Vol. 16, 1626, 2025.

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

TY - JOUR

T1 - Supramolecular force-driven non-fullerene acceptors as an electron-transporting layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells

AU - Huang, Xiaofeng

AU - Xia, Dongdong

AU - Xie, Qian

AU - Wang, Deng

AU - Li, Qian

AU - Zhao, Chaowei

AU - Yin, Jun

AU - Cao, Fang

AU - Su, Zhenhuang

AU - Zeng, Zixin

AU - Jiang, Wenlin

AU - Kaminsky, Werner

AU - Liu, Kaikai

AU - Lin, Francis R.

AU - Feng, Qifan

AU - Wu, Binghui

AU - Tsang, Sai-Wing

AU - Lei, Dangyuan

AU - Li, Weiwei

AU - Jen, Alex K.-Y.

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Fullerene derivatives are widely employed as efficient electron-transporting layers (ETLs) in p-i-n perovskite photovoltaics but face challenges in mitigating interfacial recombination losses and ensuring stable film morphology. Non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), commonly utilized in organic photovoltaics, present a promising alternative to fullerene-based ETLs. Nevertheless, the suboptimal performance of NFA-based devices underscores the need for molecular engineering to tailor their properties. Herein, we develop two Y-type NFAs, Y-Phen and Y-CE, by substituting the benzothiadiazole core of Y6 with higher-polarity phenanthroline and crown ether. These modifications effectively enhance carrier kinetics by (1) promoting ordered molecular assembly on the perovskite surface through supramolecular interactions, thereby optimizing interfacial energetic alignment, and (2) improving the molecular packing to facilitate efficient charge transport. Using Y-CE as the ETL, the device achieves a certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.59%. Furthermore, the optimized device exhibits less than 10% degradation in PCE after 1440 hours of thermal aging. This work offers valuable insights into designing NFA-based ETLs for high-performance perovskite photovoltaics. © The Author(s) 2025.

AB - Fullerene derivatives are widely employed as efficient electron-transporting layers (ETLs) in p-i-n perovskite photovoltaics but face challenges in mitigating interfacial recombination losses and ensuring stable film morphology. Non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), commonly utilized in organic photovoltaics, present a promising alternative to fullerene-based ETLs. Nevertheless, the suboptimal performance of NFA-based devices underscores the need for molecular engineering to tailor their properties. Herein, we develop two Y-type NFAs, Y-Phen and Y-CE, by substituting the benzothiadiazole core of Y6 with higher-polarity phenanthroline and crown ether. These modifications effectively enhance carrier kinetics by (1) promoting ordered molecular assembly on the perovskite surface through supramolecular interactions, thereby optimizing interfacial energetic alignment, and (2) improving the molecular packing to facilitate efficient charge transport. Using Y-CE as the ETL, the device achieves a certified power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.59%. Furthermore, the optimized device exhibits less than 10% degradation in PCE after 1440 hours of thermal aging. This work offers valuable insights into designing NFA-based ETLs for high-performance perovskite photovoltaics. © The Author(s) 2025.

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Supramolecular force-driven non-fullerene acceptors as an electron-transporting layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells

Abstract

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GRF: Development of Multifunctional Redox Mediators to Mitigate Halide Segregation in Wide-Bandgap Perovskites for Perovskite Based Tandem Solar Cells

ITF: Innovative Technology and Critical Materials for Developing Flexible Tandem Solar Cells with Ultra-high Specific Power

NSFC-CRS: Integrated Material Design and Device Engineering to Overcome the Limits of Non-radiative Losses and Stability in Next-generation Organic Photovoltaics

Cite this

Supramolecular force-driven non-fullerene acceptors as an electron-transporting layer for efficient inverted perovskite solar cells

Abstract

Funding

Publisher's Copyright Statement

UN SDGs

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Other Access Options

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Projects

GRF: Development of Multifunctional Redox Mediators to Mitigate Halide Segregation in Wide-Bandgap Perovskites for Perovskite Based Tandem Solar Cells

ITF: Innovative Technology and Critical Materials for Developing Flexible Tandem Solar Cells with Ultra-high Specific Power

NSFC-CRS: Integrated Material Design and Device Engineering to Overcome the Limits of Non-radiative Losses and Stability in Next-generation Organic Photovoltaics

Cite this