Recent Progress of Organic Solar Cells with Insulating Polymers

Abstract

Organic solar cells (OSCs), as a promising photovoltaic technology, have made great progress recently due to the various optimization methods and designs of new materials. However, the general strategies show some restrictions on photovoltaic systems and commercialization of OSCs. Insulating polymers with low costs exhibit rich functionality, enhance device performance, and stabilize film morphology in air or at a high temperature. Herein, the strategies of the ternary, interface layer, and block copolymer in insulator‐modified OSCs (i‐OSCs) reported in recent years are highlighted. In addition, the corresponding underlying mechanisms, such as crystallinity, self‐assembly, dipole interaction, and charge transfer, are also discussed. The applications of insulating polymers in OSCs open a novel avenue for optimizing device performance and bestow a potential pathway to achieve large‐scale industrial production in the future.

Organic Semiconductor–Insulator Blends for Organic Field‐Effect Transistors

“…[40] It is worth noting that the T g of insulators was also crucial for designing high-performance blended OPVs. [4] Recently, insulating biopolymers were utilized in semiconducting blended systems. [78,79] Their potential biodegradability extends the possibility of blended OFETs as green electronics.…”

“…This strategy can result in extraordinary blends for various organic electronic devices, including organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), organic photovoltaics (OPVs), and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). [1][2][3][4] Although blending insulators into OSCs is expected to reduce the charge density in conducting channels, devices with large quantities of insulators often create enhanced electrical performances.Besides electrical enhancements, blending insulating polymers offers a path toward tuning other functionalities of OSCs, including processability, transmission, and mechanical characteristics. For instance, this blend approach enables uniform and reproducible thin films by improving solution processability.…”

“…This strategy can result in extraordinary blends for various organic electronic devices, including organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), organic photovoltaics (OPVs), and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). [1][2][3][4] Although blending insulators into OSCs is expected to reduce the charge density in conducting channels, devices with large quantities of insulators often create enhanced electrical performances.…”

Boosting the Photovoltaic Performance and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells via an Insulating Fluoropolymer Additive

“…[12,13] In recent years, the use of polymer additives is particularly of interest due to the great potential to assist self-assembly, stabilize domain size and increase the energy of charge transfer state, etc. [14] A variety of polymer additives, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), [15] polystyrene (PS) [16,17] and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) [18] have been applied in improving the performance of solar cells. Among these additives, PS is a commercially available and effective additive, which has been widely employed.…”

Vertical Stratification Engineering of Insulating Poly(aryl ether)s Enables 18.6% Organic Solar Cells with Improved Stability

“…Furthermore, material engineering for multicomponent devices is another important route to further enhance charge generation and impede recombination processes. − Therefore, ternary/quaternary BHJ-type OPVs substantially led to record-breaking PCEs in the past few years. ,− In addition to the development of multicomponent materials with matched absorption spectra and energy levels, functional insulators as the third component to balance the efficiency, stability, and stretchability of photoactive layers, − such as heat-resistant poly­(aryl ether)­s, , polystyrenes, , and polyacenaphthylene derivatives, , have become the leading edge of frontier OPVs in recent years. However, understanding the vertical distribution of such insulators as the third or even fourth component in active layers is less studied, and tuning their vertical position and morphology in PPHJ-type OPVs is also lagging far behind those of their BHJ counterparts.…”