CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Organic Materials 2021; 03(02): 254-276
DOI: 10.1055/a-1472-3989
Energy Materials in the Age of Globalization
Review

High-Performance Ternary Organic Solar Cells Enabled by Synergizing Fullerene and Non-fullerene Acceptors

a   Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
b   School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
,
a   Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
b   School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
› Author Affiliations
Funding Information The authors thank the National Key R&D Program of China (2019YFA0705900 and 2017YFA0204701) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21572234, 2166 1132006, and 91833304) for their financial support.


Abstract

With the development of the non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), the use of ternary organic photovoltaic devices based on a fullerene acceptor and a NFA is now widespread, and the merits of both acceptor types can be fully utilized. However, the effective approach of enhancing device performance is adjusting the charge dynamics and the thin-film morphology of the active layer via introducing the second acceptor, which would significantly impact the open-circuit voltage, the short-circuit current, and the fill factor, thus strongly affecting device efficiency. The functions of the second acceptor in a ternary organic solar cell with a fullerene acceptor and a NFA are summarized here. These include a broader absorption spectrum; formation of a cascade energy level or energy transfer; modified thin-film morphology including phase separation, effects on crystallinity, size, and purity of domain; and vertical distribution along with improved charge dynamics like exciton dissociation and charge transport, collection, and recombination. Then, we discuss the hierarchical morphology in ternary solar cells, which may benefit device performance, and the outlook of the ternary device.



Publication History

Received: 21 February 2021

Accepted: 31 March 2021

Accepted Manuscript online:
31 March 2021

Article published online:
11 May 2021

© 2021. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany