A research team led by Professor Min Jie from the Institute for Advanced Studies at Wuhan University (WHU) has developed a highly efficient and stable all-polymer organic solar cell (OPV).

The study, recently published in Energy & Environmental Science, reports an energy conversion efficiency of 19.46 percent and outstanding outdoor stability.  

The device fabrication process, donor-acceptor component phase distribution, J-V parameters, and outdoor operational stability of the study.

The team introduced an innovative dual-layer blade coating strategy, combining two binary all-polymer systems with similar bandgaps but different aggregation properties to form a quaternary all-polymer active layer. This approach enhances short-circuit current, optimizes phase distribution, and reduces energy disorder and charge recombination, significantly improving device performance.  

Outdoor testing on the WHU campus confirmed that the technique is more stable than conventional quaternary blend blade coating methods, demonstrating its potential for practical applications. Further morphology and device physics analyses revealed the correlation between polymer aggregation characteristics, optoelectronic performance, and stability, offering new insights for designing high-performance, multi-component all-polymer solar cells.

Link to paper: https://doi.org/10.1039/D4EE05083E