Recent progress of PY-IT-based all-polymer solar cells

Abstract

All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs), with their specific merits of superior operation stability and remarkable mechanical flexibility, have made significant progress and become an indispensable part of the field of organic solar cells (OSCs) in recent years. This progress has established them as an indispensable component of the OSC landscape. One of the key driving forces behind this advancement is the development of high-performance polymer acceptor materials. Notably, the emergence of cutting-edge Y series polymerized small-molecule acceptors such as PY-IT, PYT, PY-2Cl, PY-V-γ, and PYF-T-o has significantly narrowed the efficiency gap when compared to the OSCs relying on small-molecule acceptors. Here, we systematically delve into the recent development of PY-IT-based OSCs. First, we offer a detailed discussion about the device physics of PY-IT-based OSCs and then illustrate their achievements from three aspects: binary systems, ternary systems, and layer-by-layer structures. Moreover, current challenges and outlooks are proposed for future research directions. We expect that our work will inspire further breakthroughs and improvements in the fields of all-PSCs.

Conjugated polymers with near-infrared (NIR) optical absorption: structural design considerations and applications in organic electronics

“…Fused ring electron acceptors (FREAs) have reignited the field of organic small-molecule and polymer solar cells, due to their strong NIR optical absorption that is complimentary to many state-of-the-art donor polymers, excellent electron transport, and morphological stability relative to fullerenes. 5,6,8,[256][257][258][259][260] Their characteristic structural features include an expansive p-conjugated network partitioned into different sections of electron donor (D) or acceptor (A) character to yield A-D-A or A-D-A-D-A structures, which have been the topic of many reviews. 5,6,8,256,257 FREAs are typically comprised of an IDT or thieno[2 0 ,3 0 :4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-e:2 0 ,3 0 -g][2,1,3]benzothiadiazole This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2024…”

“…5,6,8,[256][257][258][259][260] Their characteristic structural features include an expansive p-conjugated network partitioned into different sections of electron donor (D) or acceptor (A) character to yield A-D-A or A-D-A-D-A structures, which have been the topic of many reviews. 5,6,8,256,257 FREAs are typically comprised of an IDT or thieno[2 0 ,3 0 :4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-e:2 0 ,3 0 -g][2,1,3]benzothiadiazole This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2024…”

“…5,6,8,256–260 Their characteristic structural features include an expansive π-conjugated network partitioned into different sections of electron donor (D) or acceptor (A) character to yield A–D–A or A–D–A–D–A structures, which have been the topic of many reviews. 5,6,8,256,257 FREAs are typically comprised of an IDT or thieno[2′,3′:4,5]pyrrolo[3,2- e :2′,3′- g ][2,1,3]benzothiadiazole (TPB) core flanked by functionalized indanones, and following polymerization yield a class of polymers referred to as polymerized small-molecule acceptors (PSMAs) with examples provided in Fig. 12 ( P68–P82 ) and the optical absorption ( λ max ), optical bandgap ( E g ), IP/EA, and device performance metrics tabulated in Table 5.…”