Dynamic hydrogen-bonding enables high-performance and mechanically robust organic solar cells processed with non-halogenated solvent

Haozhe He; Xiaojun Li; Jingyuan Zhang; Zekun Chen; Yufei Gong; Hongmei Zhuo; Xiangxi Wu; Yuechen Li; Shijie Wang; Zhaozhao Bi; Bohao Song; Kangkang Zhou; Tongling Liang; Wei Ma; Guanghao Lu; Long Ye; Lei Meng; Ben Zhang; Yaowen Li; Yongfang Li

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-55375-8

Dynamic hydrogen-bonding enables high-performance and mechanically robust organic solar cells processed with non-halogenated solvent

Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 17;16(1):787. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-55375-8.

Authors

Haozhe He^{1

2}, Xiaojun Li^{3

4}, Jingyuan Zhang¹, Zekun Chen^{1

2}, Yufei Gong^{1

2}, Hongmei Zhuo^{1

2}, Xiangxi Wu^{1

2}, Yuechen Li^{1

5}, Shijie Wang⁶, Zhaozhao Bi⁶, Bohao Song⁷, Kangkang Zhou⁸, Tongling Liang^{2

9}, Wei Ma⁶, Guanghao Lu⁷, Long Ye⁸, Lei Meng^{1

2}, Ben Zhang¹⁰, Yaowen Li¹⁰, Yongfang Li^{11

12

13}

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
² School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. [email protected].
⁴ School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. [email protected].
⁵ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
⁷ Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, and State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
⁸ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
⁹ Center for Physicochemical Analysis and Measurement, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
¹⁰ Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
¹¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. [email protected].
¹² School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. [email protected].
¹³ Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China. [email protected].

PMID: 39824822
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55375-8

Abstract

Developing active-layer systems with both high performance and mechanical robustness is a crucial step towards achieving future commercialization of flexible and stretchable organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, we design and synthesize a series of acceptors BTA-C6, BTA-E3, BTA-E6, and BTA-E9, featuring the side chains of hexyl, and 3, 6, and 9 carbon-chain with ethyl ester end groups respectively. Benefiting from suitable phase separation and vertical phase distribution, the PM6:BTA-E3-based OSCs processed by o-xylene exhibit lower energy loss and improved charge transport characteristic and achieve a power conversion efficiency of 19.92% (certified 19.57%), which stands as the highest recorded value in binary OSCs processed by green solvents. Moreover, due to the additional hydrogen-bonding provided by ethyl ester side chain, the PM6:BTA-E3-based active-layer systems achieve enhanced stretchability and thermal stability. Our work reveals the significance of dynamic hydrogen-bonding in improving the photovoltaic performance, mechanical robustness, and morphological stability of OSCs.

Abstract

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