Additive‐Free, Efficient, and Stable All‐Polymer Solar Cells Enabled by Congeneric Molecule Construction for Integrated Solar‐Storage Applications
Abstract
ABSTRACT Organic solar cells are attractive for wearable electronics, in particular, all‐polymer solar cells (all‐PSCs) offer superior intrinsic stability and higher output voltage, enabling direct matching with the energy storage and conversion systems. However, all‐PSCs typically suffer from disordered morphology and poor donor–acceptor compatibility, requiring processing additives that compromise long‐term stability. Here, we introduce a structural homology strategy, using donor and acceptor polymers that share the same bithiophene imide building block, to eliminate the need for additives. This design strengthens intermolecular interactions, enhances molecular ordering, and suppresses energy loss, yielding an open‐circuit voltage of 0.94 V, a 12% improvement over the benchmark PM6:Y6 system. The chemical homology also reduces the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter and improves donor–acceptor compatibility, allowing the active layer to spontaneously form an ideal nanoscale fibrillar interpenetrating network. The resulting additive‐free all‐PSCs achieve a record power conversion efficiency of 19.12%, together with exceptional thermal stability ( T 80 = 1128 h), photostability ( T 80 = 756 h), and mechanical robustness. By integrating a 70 cm 2 large‐area all‐polymer module with series‐connected zinc–air batteries, we demonstrate a self‐sustaining, solar‐rechargeable system that delivers continuous power under both illumination and darkness, offering a practical pathway for next‐generation flexible and wearable electronics.
Article Details
Authors (26)
Henan Li
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Gannan Normal University Ganzhou Jiangxi P. R. China
Suxiang Ma
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Sergio Gámez‐Valenzuela
Laboratory of Organic Electronics Department of Science and Technology Linköping University Norrköping Sweden
Zhiyu Yang
JunYi Lu
Jong Bin Park
Department of Chemistry Korea University Seoul South Korea
Yonggui Sun
Hoffmann Institute of Advanced Materials Shenzhen Polytechnic University Shenzhen Guangdong P. R. China
Mingqing Chen
State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices South China University of Technology Guangzhou Guangdong P. R. China
Shuwei Qiu
Qingqing Bai
State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices South China University of Technology Guangzhou Guangdong P. R. China
Qian Liu
Minghui Cao
Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
Shuangshuang Xie
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Gannan Normal University Ganzhou Jiangxi P. R. China
Zhi Xing
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Gannan Normal University Ganzhou Jiangxi P. R. China
Hailin Yu
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Gannan Normal University Ganzhou Jiangxi P. R. China
Ivan S. Zhidkov
Institute of Physics and Technology Ural Federal University Yekaterinburg Russia
Ernst Z. Kurmaev
Institute of Physics and Technology Ural Federal University Yekaterinburg Russia
Guangye Zhang
Hanlin Hu
Junwu Chen
Laboratory of Artificial Chemical Intelligence (LIAC), Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering
Qiang Yang
Synthetic Molecule Design and Development, Lilly Research Laboratories
Han Young Woo
Longbin Li
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Gannan Normal University Ganzhou Jiangxi P. R. China
Pei Cheng
Huiliang Sun
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Gannan Normal University Ganzhou Jiangxi P. R. China
Yiwang Chen
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering/Film Energy Chemistry for Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory (FEC), Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.