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 ReviewsRGC 21 - Publication in refereed journalpeer-review

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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 languageEnglish
Article number1626
JournalNature Communications
Volume16
Online published14 Feb 2025
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 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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