Reducing Photovoltaic Property Loss of Organic Solar Cells in Blade-Coating by Optimizing Micro-Nanomorphology via Nonhalogenated Solvent

Blade-coating which is compatible with roll-to-roll (R2R) fabrication has been considered a promising technology for the large-scale production of organic solar cells (OSCs). Despite the rapid increase in power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the devices, most processing solvents are still halogenated, which is a key issue that needs to be addressed urgently in commercialized manufacturing. In this work, targeted strategies are explored for the preparation of efficient OSCs via combining the nonhalogenated solvent toluene (TL) with blade-coating. Based on the in situ UV-vis absorption, grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering, and device performance measurements, the subtle relationship between processing solvents, film morphology, and properties is successfully established. The PM6:BTP-eC9 blend film prepared by this strategy demonstrates higher crystallinity and smaller phase separation morphology, resulting in an outstanding PCE of 16.58% with low energy loss and high fill factor, which is higher than the CF-based device (15.08%). Finally, the 1.00 cm(2) device exhibits a high PCE of 14.82%, which is one of the highest values for OSCs prepared by blade-coating based on TL solvent. This specific strategy combines blade-coating with nonhalogenated solvent processing shows outstanding synergy in optimization of morphology, demonstrating excellent potential for the preparation of highly efficient large area OSCs.

Automated summary

This study explores strategies for the preparation of efficient OSCs by combining nonhalogenated solvent toluene with blade-coating. The subtle relationship between processing solvents, film morphology, and properties is successfully established, and by optimizing the morphology and crystallinity, outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) results are achieved.