Manipulating Heavy Halogenated Asymmetric Terminals Affords Regio‐Regular Hetero‐Fluorinated/Brominated Dual Asymmetric Acceptor With a Binary Photovoltaic Efficiency of 20.3%

A Aslam‐Muhammad Shahid (Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China) H Hong‐Chen Rong (Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China) H Heng Zhang Z Ze‐Fan Yao (Beijing National Laboratory For Molecular Sciences (BNLMS) Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education Center For Soft Matter Science and Engineering College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering Peking University Beijing China) E Er‐Long Li (Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China) W Weijian Li (Department of Urology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University) H Hong‐Fu Zhi (Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China) Y Yin Song Z Zhi‐Guo Zhang (Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China) J Jin‐Liang Wang (Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Asymmetric terminal engineering of small molecular acceptors (SMAs) is one promising approach to efficient organic solar cells (OSCs), while synthesizing regio‐regular dual asymmetric terminal‐based SMAs for boosting binary OSCs remains a critical challenge, and heavier halogenated effects are still underexplored. Herein, three global asymmetric SMAs ( AY2F‐ClF , AY2F‐BrF , and AY2F‐IF ) and symmetric SY‐2(FBr) , featuring one or two regio‐regular, locally asymmetric hetero‐dihalogenated terminals with successively heavier halogens, were successfully synthesized by applying the dual asymmetric terminal strategy. Asymmetric AY2F‐BrF presents a compact 3D molecular packing with the strongest and most multidimensional electronic coupling, which promotes exciton delocalization, and enhanced crystallinity and electron mobility in pure film. Remarkably, D18:AY2F‐BrF OSCs deliver a champion binary PCE of 20.26% with energy loss ( E loss ) of 0.512 eV, surpassing the PCEs of AY2F‐ClF (19.74%), AY2F‐IF (19.15%), and SY‐2(FBr) (19.40%)‐based OSCs, setting a new record for asymmetric terminal SMAs‐based binary BHJ‐OSCs, which is attributed to the optimized phase separation morphology and enhanced and compact crystallinity and faster charge transfer and transport. Our innovative work demonstrates that integrating global asymmetric terminal molecular engineering with a regioisomer‐free hetero‐fluorinated/brominated terminal strategy provides an ingenious dual asymmetric terminal strategy for achieving champion PCE and suppressed E loss of binary OSCs incorporating asymmetric terminal‐based SMAs.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 65, Issue 23
Published June 01, 2026
ISSN 1433-7851
Publisher Wiley

Journal Info

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Wiley

ISSN: 1433-7851 Physical Sciences

Authors (10)

A

Aslam‐Muhammad Shahid

Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China

H

Hong‐Chen Rong

Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China

H

Heng Zhang

Z

Ze‐Fan Yao

Beijing National Laboratory For Molecular Sciences (BNLMS) Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education Center For Soft Matter Science and Engineering College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering Peking University Beijing China

E

Er‐Long Li

Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China

W

Weijian Li

Department of Urology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University

H

Hong‐Fu Zhi

Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China

Y

Yin Song

Z

Zhi‐Guo Zhang

Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering Beijing University of Chemical Technology Beijing China

J

Jin‐Liang Wang

Key Laboratory of Cluster Science of the Ministry of Education Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Molecular Materials and High‐throughput Manufacturing School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Beijing Institute of Technology Beijing China