Volume 64, Issue 24 e202500129
Research Article

Acridine-Substituted-Centronucleus Nonfullerene Acceptors Enables Organic Solar Cells with Over 20% Efficiency with Low Nonradiative Recombination Loss

Jinfeng Liu

Jinfeng Liu

School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191 P.R. China

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Xiaopeng Duan

Corresponding Author

Xiaopeng Duan

School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191 P.R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Junjie Zhang

Junjie Zhang

School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191 P.R. China

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Zhongwei Ge

Zhongwei Ge

School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191 P.R. China

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Liming Liu

Liming Liu

School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518172 P.R. China

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Jiawei Qiao

Jiawei Qiao

School of Physics State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100 P.R. China

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Yuxuan Li

Yuxuan Li

Dongguan Key Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Science for Advanced Materials and Large-Scale Scientific Facilities, School of Physical Sciences, Great Bay University, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523000 P.R. China

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Zhaozhao Bi

Zhaozhao Bi

State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 P.R. China

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Huotian Zhang

Huotian Zhang

Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, 58183 Sweden

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Jiaxin Gao

Jiaxin Gao

State Key Laboratory for Modifcation of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-dimension Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620 P. R. China

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Jun Yan

Jun Yan

School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518172 P.R. China

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Sha Liu

Sha Liu

Dongguan Key Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Science for Advanced Materials and Large-Scale Scientific Facilities, School of Physical Sciences, Great Bay University, Dongguan, Guangdong, 523000 P.R. China

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Jianqi Zhang

Jianqi Zhang

CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190 China

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Zheng Tang

Zheng Tang

State Key Laboratory for Modifcation of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-dimension Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620 P. R. China

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Xiaotao Hao

Xiaotao Hao

School of Physics State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100 P.R. China

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Wei Ma

Wei Ma

State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 P.R. China

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Feng Gao

Feng Gao

Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, Linköping University, Linköping, 58183 Sweden

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Yanming Sun

Corresponding Author

Yanming Sun

School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191 P.R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 03 April 2025
Citations: 1

Graphical Abstract

Three small-molecule acceptors, AQx, AQx-o-Ac, and AQx-m-Ac, were designed and synthesized, differing in their acridine substitutions. AQx-m-Ac demonstrates minimal static disorder, reduced nonradiative energy loss, and enhanced crystallization, culminating in a PCE of 18.64% in PM6:AQx-m-Ac OSCs. Incorporating AQx-m-Ac as a third component into the PM6:eC9 blend elevated the PCE of the optimal ternary system to 20.28%.

Abstract

In this work, we propose a novel strategy of introducing luminescent acridine units for central nuclear substitution in quinoxaline-based acceptor molecules (named AQx-o-Ac and AQx-m-Ac) to enhance their photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQY), which can effectively improve the electroluminescent quantum efficiency (EQEEL) of OSCs and thereby suppress ΔEnr. In addition, the substituted acridine unit accelerates molecular aggregation and optimizes molecular crystallization, effectively alleviating the static disorder of acceptor molecules and facilitating charge extraction and transport in OSCs. As a result, the PM6:AQx-m-Ac binary OSCs achieve an excellent PCE of 18.64% with an exceptionally low ΔEnr of 0.166 eV. To the best of our knowledge, a ΔEnr of 0.166 eV represents the lowest value reported for OSCs achieving PCEs over 18 %. Finally, the acceptor AQx-m-Ac is incorporated into PM6:eC9 blend as the third component, and the optimal ternary device produces a superior PCE of 20.28%. This work highlights the potential of promoting luminescence for suppressing nonradiative energy loss and charts a viable path for upcoming breakthrough in high-efficiency organic photovoltaics.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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