Unique W-Shape Y6 isomer as effective solid additive for High-Performance PM6:Y6 polymer solar cells

The current top-performing polymer solar cell (PSC) systems are mostly based on PM6:Y6 host blend. To date, numerous materials have been explored as the third component for these systems to form ternary blends or as additives. Vitrification agents are a group of additives proved to be useful in affecting the morphology of organic semiconductors. To design a suitable vitrification agent for non-fullerene electron acceptor Y6, an isomer strategy was explored where the thienothiophene wings of the Y6 molecule were inversed to form a W-shaped Y6 isomer of i-Y6. It was found that i-Y6 crystallized poorly with a different packing style than Y6 and could blend well in amorphous phase of Y6. These properties enabled i-Y6 to finely tune the morphology of PM6:Y6 blend at low additive dosages. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PM6:Y6 based PSC was raised from 16.827% to 17.433% at a dosage of Y6:i-Y6 ratio of 24:1. This work demonstrated isomerization as a viable strategy for developing solid additives for high performance PSC blends and vitrification agents as effective additives for tuning morphology and improving performances of PSCs.

Automated summary

The current top-performing polymer solar cell systems are mainly based on PM6:Y6 host blend. This study explores the use of an isomerization strategy to design a suitable vitrification agent, i-Y6, for the non-fullerene electron acceptor Y6. The addition of i-Y6 at low dosages allows for fine-tuning of the blend morphology and improves the performance of the PSCs.