Achieving an excellent efficiency of 11.57% in a polymer solar cell submodule with a 55 cm² active area using 1D/2A terpolymers and environmentally friendly nonhalogenated solvents

Abstract

The transition of polymer solar cells (PSCs) from laboratory-scale unit cells to industrial-scale modules requires the development of new p-type polymers for high-performance large-area PSC modules based on environmentally friendly processes. Herein, a series of 1D/2A terpolymers (PBTPttBD) composed of benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b’]dithiophene (BDT-F), thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6(5H)-dione (TPD-TT), and benzo-[1,2-c:4,5-c’]dithiophene-4,8-dione (BDD) is synthesized for nonhalogenated solvent processed PSC submodules. The optical, electrochemical, charge-transport, and nano-morphological properties of the PBTPttBD terpolymers are modulated by adjusting the molar ratio of the TPD-TT and BDD components. PBTPttBD-75:BTP-eC11-based PSC submodules, processed with o-xylene, achieve a notable PCE of 11.57% over a 55 cm² active area. This PCE value is among the highest reported using a nonhalogenated solvent over a 55 cm² active area module. The optimized PSC submodule exhibits minimal cell-to-module loss, which can be attributed to the optimized crystallinity of the PBTPttBD-75:BTP-eC11 photoactive layer system and favorable film formation kinetics.

Keywords

cell-to-module loss / nonhalogenated solvents / polymer solar cells / submodules / terpolymers

References

[1] Zhang G, Zhao J, Chow P, et al. Nonfullerene acceptor molecules for bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. Chem Rev. 2018;118(7):3447-3507.

[2] Lee C, Lee S, Kim G-U, Lee W, Kim B. Recent advances, design guidelines, and prospects of all-polymer solar cells. Chem Rev. 2019;119(13):8028-8086.

[3] Fu H, Li Y, Yu J, et al. High efficiency (15.8%) all-polymer solar cells enabled by a regioregular narrow bandgap polymer acceptor. J Am Chem Soc. 2021;143(7):2665-2670.

[4] Meng L, Zhang Y, Wan X, et al. Organic and solution-processed tandem solar cells with 17.3% efficiency. Science. 2018;361(6407):1094-1098.

[5] Jiang K, Zhang J, Zhong C, et al. Suppressed recombination loss in organic photovoltaics adopting a planar–mixed heterojunction architecture. Nat Energy. 2022;7(11):1076-1086.

[6] Zhu L, Zhang M, Xu J, et al. Single-junction organic solar cells with over 19% efficiency enabled by a refined double-fibril network morphology. Nat Mater. 2022;21(6):656-663.

[7] Han C, Wang J, Zhang S, et al. Over 19% efficiency organic solar cells by regulating multidimensional intermolecular interactions. Adv Mater. 2023;35(10):2208986.

[8] Cui Y, Xu Y, Yao H, et al. Single-junction organic photovoltaic cell with 19% efficiency. Adv Mater. 2021;33(41):2102420.

[9] Lv J, Tang H, Huang J, et al. Additive-induced miscibility regulation and hierarchical morphology enable 17.5% binary organic solar cells. Energy. Environ Sci. 2021;14(5):3044-3052.

[10] Sun G, Jiang X, Li X, et al. High performance polymerized small molecule acceptor by synergistic optimization on π-bridge linker and side chain. Nat Commun. 2022;13(1):5267.

[11] Park S, Park S, Kurniawan D, Son J, et al. Highly efficient large-area organic photovoltaic module with a 350 nm thick active layer using a random terpolymer donor. Chem Mater. 2020;32(8):3469-3479.

[12] Sun R, Wu Q, Guo J, et al. A layer-by-layer architecture for printable organic solar cells overcoming the scaling lag of module efficiency. Joule. 2020;4(2):407-419.

[13] Ghasemi M, Balar N, Peng Z, et al. A molecular interaction–diffusion framework for predicting organic solar cell stability. Nat Mater. 2021;20(4):525-532.

[14] Yoon S, Park S, Park S, et al. High-performance scalable organic photovoltaics with high thickness tolerance from 1 cm² to above 50 cm². Joule. 2022;6(10):2406-2422.

[15] Du B, Ma Y, Guo C, et al. Hot-casting boosts efficiency of halogen-free solvent processed non-fullerene organic solar cells. Adv Funct Mater. 2021;31(45):2105794.

[16] Dong S, Jia T, Zhang K, Jing J, Huang F. Single-component non-halogen solvent-processed high-performance organic solar cell module with efficiency over 14%. Joule. 2020;4(9):2004-2016.

[17] Chen J, Cao J, Liu L, et al. Layer-by-layer processed PM6:Y6-based stable ternary polymer solar cells with improved efficiency over 18% by incorporating an asymmetric thieno[3,2-b]indole-based acceptor. Adv Funct Mater. 2022;32(25):2200629.

[18] Jiang K, Zhang J, Peng Z, et al. Pseudo-bilayer architecture enables high-performance organic solar cells with enhanced exciton diffusion length. Nat Commun. 2021;12(1):468.

[19] Yan C, Ma R, Cai G, et al. Reducing V_OC loss via structure compatible and high lowest unoccupied molecular orbital nonfullerene acceptors for over 17%-efficiency ternary organic photovoltaics. EcoMat. 2020;2(4):e12061.

[20] Jung H, Yu G, Jang S, et al. High-performance polymer solar cells based on terpolymer composed of one donor and two acceptors processed with non-halogenated solvent. Org Electron. 2020;86:105929.

[21] Wu Q, Yu Y, Xia X, et al. High-performance organic photovoltaic modules using eco-friendly solvents for various indoor application scenarios. Joule. 2022;6(9):2138-2151.

[22] Heo H, Kim H, Lee D, et al. Regioregular D₁-A-D₂-A terpolymer with controlled thieno[3,4-b]thiophene orientation for high-efficiency polymer solar cells processed with nonhalogenated solvents. Macromolecules. 2016;49(9):3328-3335.

[23] Cui Y, Yao H, Hong L, et al. Achieving over 15% efficiency in organic photovoltaic cells via copolymer design. Adv Mater. 2019;31(14):1808356.

[24] Jung H, Kim H, Kim J, Jang S, Lee Y. Side-chain engineering of regioregular copolymers for high-performance polymer solar cells processed with nonhalogenated solvents. Bull Korean Chem Soc. 2022;43(10):1200-1206.

[25] Xu X, Yu L, Yan H, Li R, Peng Q. Highly efficient non-fullerene organic solar cells enabled by a delayed processing method using a non-halogenated solvent. Energ Environ Sci. 2020;13(11):4381-4388.

[26] Liu B, Sun H, Lee J-W, et al. Achieving highly efficient all-polymer solar cells by green-solvent-processing under ambient atmosphere. Energ Environ Sci. 2021;14(8):4499-4507.

[27] Lee J-W, Lim C, Lee S-W, et al. Intrinsically stretchable and non-halogenated solvent processed polymer solar cells enabled by hydrophilic spacer-incorporated polymers. Adv Energy Mater. 2022;12(46):2202224.

[28] Rehman Z, Haris M, Ryu S, et al. Trifluoromethyl-substituted conjugated random terpolymers enable high-performance small and large-area organic solar cells using halogen-free solvent. Adv Sci. 2023;10(21):2302376.

[29] Li Y, Liu H, Wu J, et al. Additive and high-temperature processing boost the photovoltaic performance of nonfullerene organic solar cells fabricated with blade coating and nonhalogenated solvents. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021;13(8):10239-10248.

[30] Wu J, Li G, Fang J, et al. Random terpolymer based on thiophene-thiazolothiazole unit enabling efficient non-fullerene organic solar cells. Nat Commun. 2020;11(1):4612.

[31] Heo H, Kim H, Nam G, Lee D, Lee Y. Multi-donor random terpolymers based on benzodithiophene and dithienosilole segments with different monomer compositions for high-performance polymer solar cells. Macromol Res. 2018;26(3):238-245.

[32] Liao Z, Hu D, Tang H, et al. 18.42% efficiency polymer solar cells enabled by terpolymer donors with optimal miscibility and energy levels. J Mater Chem A. 2022;10(14):7878-7887.

[33] Jung H, Yu G, Kim J, et al. Unprecedented long-term thermal stability of 1D/2A terpolymer-based polymer solar cells processed with nonhalogenated solvent. Sol RRL. 2021;5(11):2100513.

[34] Ha J-W, Jung J, Ryu D, et al. Thienoquinolinone-based acceptor-π-acceptor-type building block for polymer donors in organic solar cells. Macromol Res. 2023;31(1):25-31.

[35] Park J, Kim G-U, Lee D, et al. Importance of optimal crystallinity and hole mobility of BDT-based polymer donor for simultaneous enhancements of V_oc, J_sc, and FF in efficient nonfullerene organic solar cells. Adv Funct Mater. 2020;30(51):2005787.

[36] Ha J-W, Song C, Kim H, Ryu D, Shin W, Hwang D-H. Highly efficient and photostable ternary organic solar cells enabled by the combination of non-fullerene and fullerene acceptors with thienopyrrolodione-based polymer donors. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2020;12(46):51699-51708.

[37] Chau H, Kataria M, Kwon N, et al. Improved photovoltaic performance of ternary all-polymer solar cells by incorporating a new Y6-based polymer acceptor and PC₆₁BM. Macromol Res. 2022;30(8):587-596.

[38] Kim J, Park J, Song D, et al. BDT-based donor polymer for organic solar cells to achieve high efficiency over 15% for ternary organic solar cells. Macromol Res. 2023;31(5):489-497.

[39] Kim H, Lee H, Seo D, et al. Regioregular low bandgap polymer with controlled thieno[3,4-b]thiophene orientation for high-efficiency polymer solar cells. Chem Mater. 2015;27(8):3102-3107.

[40] Rasool S, Vu D, Song C, et al. Room temperature processed highly efficient large-area polymer solar cells achieved with molecular engineering of copolymers. Adv Energy Mater. 2019;9(21):1900168.

[41] Ma L, Zhang S, Yao H, et al. High-efficiency nonfullerene organic solar cells enabled by 1000 nm thick active layers with a low trap-state density. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2020;12(16):18777-18784.

[42] Wen S, Li Y, Zheng N, Raji I, Yang C, Bao X. High-efficiency organic solar cells enabled by halogenation of polymers based on 2D conjugated benzobis(thiazole). J Mater Chem A. 2020;8(27):13671-13678.

[43] Kim J, Kim G-U, Kim D, et al. Development of rigidity-controlled terpolymer donors for high-performance and mechanically robust organic solar cells. J Mater Chem A. 2023;11(9):4808-4817.

[44] Rasool S, Kim J, Cho H, et al. Morphologically controlled efficient air-processed organic solar cells from halogen-free solvent system. Adv Energy Mater. 2023;13(7):2203452.

[45] Lee J, Bae S, Jo W. Synthesis of 6H-benzo[c]chromene as a new electron-rich building block of conjugated alternating copolymers and its application to polymer solar cells. J Mater Chem A. 2014;2(34):14146-14153.

[46] Kim H, Lim B, Heo H, et al. High-efficiency organic photovoltaics with two-dimensional conjugated benzodithiophene-based regioregular polymers. Chem Mater. 2017;29(10):4301-4310.

[47] Lee Y, Yeop J, Kim J, Woo HY. Fullerene-based photoactive A-D-A triads for single-component organic solar cells: Incorporation of non-fused planar conjugated core. Macromol Res. 2021;29(12):871-881.

[48] Park S, Ahn J-S, Kwon N, et al. Effect of fused thiophene bridges on the efficiency of non-fullerene polymer solar cells made with conjugated donor copolymers containing alkyl thiophene-3-carboxylate. Macromol Res. 2021;29(6):435-442.

[49] Salma S, Kim J. Effect of the side chain functionality of the conjugated polyelectrolytes as a cathode interlayer material on the photovoltaic performances. Macromol Res. 2022;30(2):146-151.

[50] Kranthiraja K, Kim H, Lee J, et al. Side chain functionalization of conjugated polymer on the modulation of photovoltaic properties of fullerene and non-fullerene organic solar cells. Macromol Res. 2023;31(9):897-905.

[51] Du J, Hu K, Zhang J, et al. Polymerized small molecular acceptor based all polymer solar cells with an efficiency of 16.16% via tuning polymer blend morphology by molecular design. Nat commun. 2021;12:5264.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2023 2023 The Authors. EcoMat published by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.