The critical role of the donor polymer in the stability of high-performance non-fullerene acceptor organic solar cells
File(s)PM6 deg_Joule 2023.pdf (3.47 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The poor operational stability of non-fullerene electron acceptor (NFA) organic solar cells (OSCs) currently limits their commercial application. While previous studies have primarily focused on the degradation of the NFA component, we also consider here the electron donor material. We examine the stability of three representative donor polymers, PM6, D18, and PTQ10, paired with the benchmark NFA, Y6. After light soaking PM6 and D18 in air, we find an enhanced conversion of singlet excitons into trapped interchain polaron pairs on sub-100 femtosecond timescales. This process outcompetes electron transfer to Y6, significantly reducing the charge generation yield. However, this pathway is absent in PTQ10. We identify twisting in the benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (BDT)-thiophene motif shared by PM6 and D18 as the cause. By contrast, PTQ10 does not contain this structural motif and has improved stability. Thus, we show that the donor polymer can be a weak link for OSC stability, which must be addressed collectively with the NFA.
Date Issued
2023-04
Date Acceptance
2023-03-10
Citation
Joule, 2023, 7 (4), pp.810-829
ISSN
2542-4351
Publisher
Elsevier
Start Page
810
End Page
829
Journal / Book Title
Joule
Volume
7
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2542435123001149
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2023-04-19