Enhancing the Performance of Polymer Solar Cells via Core Engineering of NIR-Absorbing Electron Acceptors

In order to utilize the near-infrared (NIR) solar photons like silicon-based solar cells, extensive research efforts have been devoted to the development of organic donor and acceptor materials with strong NIR absorption. However, single-junction organic solar cells (OSCs) with photoresponse extending into >1000 nm and power conversion efficiency (PCE) >11% have rarely been reported. Herein, three fused-ring electron acceptors with varying core size are reported. These three molecules exhibit strong absorption from 600 to 1000 nm and high electron mobility (>1 × 10⁻³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹). It is proposed that core engineering is a promising approach to elevate energy levels, enhance absorption and electron mobility, and finally achieve high device performance. This approach can maximize both short-circuit current density (J_SC) and open-circuit voltage (V_OC) at the same time, differing from the commonly used end group engineering that is generally unable to realize simultaneous enhancement in both V_OC and J_SC. Finally, the single-junction OSCs based on these acceptors in combination with the widely polymer donor PTB7-Th yield J_SC as high as 26.00 mA cm⁻² and PCE as high as 12.3%.