Impact of the Molecular Structure of Oligo(ethylene glycol)-Incorporated Y-Series Acceptors on the Formation of Alloy-like Acceptors and Performance of Non-Halogenated Solvent-Processable Organic Solar Cells

Abstract

To realize efficient, green solvent-processable organic solar cells (OSCs), considerable effort has been expended on the development of conjugated materials with both superior optoelectrical properties and processability. However, molecular design strategies that enhance solubility often reduce crystalline/ electrical properties of the materials. In this study, we develop three new guest small-molecule acceptors (SMAs) (Y-4C-4O, Y-6C-4O, and Y-12C-4O) featuring inner side chains consisting of terminal oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) groups and alkyl spacers of different lengths. When a host SMA (Y6) and guest SMA (Y-nC-4O) are mixed, favorable interactions between these materials lead to the formation of "alloy-like" composites. The alloy-like SMA composites enable sufficient processing in o-xylene to afford suitable blend-film morphologies. It is also found that the lengths of the alkyl spacers in guest SMAs have a significant impact on the performance of the o-xylene-processed OSCs. The PM6:Y6:Y-4C4O blend achieves a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 17.03%, outperforming PM6:Y6:Y-6C-4O (PCE = 15.85%) and PM6:Y6:Y-12C-4O (PCE = 12.12%) OSCs. The high PCE of the PM6:Y6:Y-4C-4O device is mainly attributed to the well intermixed morphology and superior crystalline/electrical properties, which result from the high compatibility of the Y6:Y-4C-4O composites with PM6. Thus, we demonstrate that an alloy-like SMA composite based on well-designed OEG-incorporated Y-series SMAs can afford green solvent-processable, high-performance OSCs.