Central π-conjugated extension in quinoxaline-based small-molecule acceptors as guest components enabling high-performance ternary organic solar cells

Chung Hang Kwok; Ho Ming Ng; Chuanlin Gao; Huawei Hu; Top Archie Dela Peña; Joshua Yuk Lin Lai; Li Chen; Lan Xie; Mingjie Li; Jiaying Wu; Guangye Zhang; Wai-Yeung Wong; He Yan; Han Yu

doi:10.1039/D5TA00204D

Central π-conjugated extension in quinoxaline-based small-molecule acceptors as guest components enabling high-performance ternary organic solar cells†

Chung Hang Kwok,

‡^abc Ho Ming Ng,‡^abc Chuanlin Gao,^d Huawei Hu,

*^e Top Archie Dela Peña,

^fg Joshua Yuk Lin Lai,^bc Li Chen,^bc Lan Xie,^bc Mingjie Li,^g Jiaying Wu,^fh Guangye Zhang,^d Wai-Yeung Wong,

*^ai He Yan

*^bcj and Han Yu

*^abc

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, P. R. China
E-mail: wai-yeung.wong@polyu.edu.hk, yuhan.yu@polyu.edu.hk

^b Department of Chemistry, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory of Optoelectronic and Magnetic Functional Materials, Energy Institute and Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration & Reconstruction, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
E-mail: hyan@ust.hk

^c Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Carbon Neutrality, Jiangmen Laboratory of Carbon Science and Technology, Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, China

^d College of New Materials and New Energies, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen, China

^e State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
E-mail: huaweihu@dhu.edu.cn

^f Function Hub, Advanced Materials Thrust, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Nansha, 511400 Guangzhou, P. R. China

^g Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, P. R. China

^h School of Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong, P. R. China

ⁱ Research Institute for Smart Energy, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, P. R. China

^j Hong Kong University of Science and Technology-Shenzhen Research Institute, No. 9, Yuexing 1st RD, Hi-tech Park, Nanshan, Shenzhen, China

Abstract

Ternary strategies have critical roles in pursuing high efficiencies for organic solar cells (OSCs). However, the optimization of ternary systems relies heavily on understanding the compatibility and performance of different guest/host combinations. To establish design principles of quinoxaline (Qx)-based small-molecule acceptors (SMAs) as guest components for ternary OSCs, a new Qx-SMA named Qx-Ac and two reported Qx-SMAs named Qx-B and Qx-Pn were synthesized by extending the central Qx core with benzene (B), acenaphthene (Ac) and phenanthrene (Pn), respectively. After blending with PM6:BTP-eC9 (17.55%), Qx-Ac (18.51%) and Qx-Pn (18.11%) devices exhibited superior phase segregation and lower energy disorder. The improvement in Qx-Pn devices was dampened by inferior absorption, while the use of Qx-B (17.56%) did not improve the device at all. This work delineates the significant influence of Qx core extension on ternary guest compatibility, providing valuable insights and guidance for the design of ternary systems towards higher efficiencies for OSCs.

This article is part of the themed collection: All-Polymer Solar Cells

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Central π-conjugated extension in quinoxaline-based small-molecule acceptors as guest components enabling high-performance ternary organic solar cells†

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Central π-conjugated extension in quinoxaline-based small-molecule acceptors as guest components enabling high-performance ternary organic solar cells

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