Joule: Record breaking! 6000 hours at 100 degrees! Efficient and stable organic solar cell

• Although the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSC) based on small molecule receptors (SMA) has been significantly improved, its long-term stability is not enough to achieve commercialization. Recently, Yun-Hi Kim, Bumjoon J. Kim and Bumjoon J. Kim of the Korean Academy of Science and Technology of Gyeongsang University realized efficient and stable organic solar cells using dimer small molecule receptors.

  
  

  
  

  The author found that the dimerization of SMA can significantly enhance the stability of OSCs based on SMA, and dimerization of SMA (DYBO) can obtain OSCs with high PCE (>18%), which enables them to surpass OSCs based on their monomer counterpart MYBO (PCE=17.1%). In addition, the OSC based on DYBO has excellent thermal stability and light stability.

  
  

  
  

  DYBO-based OSCs still maintain more than 80% of their initial PCE even after continuous exposure at 100 ° C for 6000 hours, while MYBO-based OSCs degrade to~80% of their initial PCC value within 36 hours. The high stability of DYBO-based OSC is mainly attributed to the high glass transition temperature (Tg) of DYBO at 179 ° C (Tg of MYBO=80 ° C) and the improved miscibility, thus stabilizing the morphology of its blends under thermal stress.

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• Sun Cheng et.al Dimerized small-molecule acceptors enable efficient and stable organic solar cells Joule 2023

  DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2023.01.009
  

  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2023.01.009