Recent advances in high-efficiency organic solar cells fabricated by eco-compatible solvents at relatively large-area scale

Bulk heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs) have received considerable attention as a promising clean energy-generating technology because of their low cost and great potential for large-scale commercial manufacturing. With significant advances in new material design, device optimization, and mechanism research, power conversion efficiencies for OSCs continue to increase. However, most top-performing devices are processed by halogenated solvents, which are not suitable for large-area coating technologies. This has become one of the most important barriers to the practical application of OSCs. In this Perspective, we discuss the recent progress in developing highly efficient OSCs via eco-compatible and large-area processing methods, and provide useful guidelines for designing new materials for production applications.