| 1. |
- Chen, Qiaonan, 1992, et al.
(författare)
-
Effects of Flexible Conjugation-Break Spacers of Non-Conjugated Polymer Acceptors on Photovoltaic and Mechanical Properties of All-Polymer Solar Cells
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Nano-Micro Letters. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2311-6706 .- 2150-5551. ; 14:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Highlights: A series of non-conjugated acceptor polymers with flexible conjugation-break spacers (FCBSs) of different lengths were synthesized.The effect of FCBSs length on solubility of the acceptor polymers, and their photovoltaic and mechanical properties in all-polymer solar cells were explored.This work provides useful guidelines for the design of semiconducting polymers by introducing FCBS with proper length, which can giantly improved properties that are not possible to be achieved by the state-of-the-art fully conjugated polymers. Abstract: All-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) possess attractive merits including superior thermal stability and mechanical flexibility for large-area roll-to-roll processing. Introducing flexible conjugation-break spacers (FCBSs) into backbones of polymer donor (PD) or polymer acceptor (PA) has been demonstrated as an efficient approach to enhance both the photovoltaic (PV) and mechanical properties of the all-PSCs. However, length dependency of FCBS on certain all-PSC related properties has not been systematically explored. In this regard, we report a series of new non-conjugated PAs by incorporating FCBS with various lengths (2, 4, and 8 carbon atoms in thioalkyl segments). Unlike common studies on so-called side-chain engineering, where longer side chains would lead to better solubility of those resulting polymers, in this work, we observe that the solubilities and the resulting photovoltaic/mechanical properties are optimized by a proper FCBS length (i.e., C2) in PA named PYTS-C2. Its all-PSC achieves a high efficiency of 11.37%, and excellent mechanical robustness with a crack onset strain of 12.39%, significantly superior to those of the other PAs. These results firstly demonstrate the effects of FCBS lengths on the PV performance and mechanical properties of the all-PSCs, providing an effective strategy to fine-tune the structures of PAs for highly efficient and mechanically robust PSCs.[Figure not available: see fulltext.]
|
|
| 2. |
- Hu, Tianyu, et al.
(författare)
-
Steric hindrance induced low exciton binding energy enables low-driving-force organic solar cells
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Aggregate. - 2692-4560 .- 2766-8541. ; In Press
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Exciton binding energy (Eb) has been regarded as a critical parameter in charge separation during photovoltaic conversion. Minimizing the Eb of the photovoltaic materials can facilitate the exciton dissociation in low-driving force organic solar cells (OSCs) and thus improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE); nevertheless, diminishing the Eb with deliberate design principles remains a significant challenge. Herein, bulky side chain as steric hindrance structure was inserted into Y-series acceptors to minimize the Eb by modulating the intra- and intermolecular interaction. Theoretical and experimental results indicate that steric hindrance-induced optimal intra- and intermolecular interaction can enhance molecular polarizability, promote electronic orbital overlap between molecules, and facilitate delocalized charge transfer pathways, thereby resulting in a low Eb. The conspicuously reduced Eb obtained in Y-ChC5 with pinpoint steric hindrance modulation can minimize the detrimental effects on exciton dissociation in low-driving-force OSCs, achieving a remarkable PCE of 19.1% with over 95% internal quantum efficiency. Our study provides a new molecular design rationale to reduce the Eb.
|
|
| 3. |
- Sun, Fengbo, et al.
(författare)
-
1,5-Diiodocycloctane: a cyclane solvent additive that can extend the exciton diffusion length in thick film organic solar cells
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Energy and Environmental Sciences. - 1754-5692 .- 1754-5706. ; 17:5, s. 1916-1930
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The short exciton diffusion length associated with most state-of-the-art organic semiconductors used in organic solar cells (OSCs) imposes severe limits on the exciton transport in the larger donor/acceptor domains and the exciton dissociation at the interface, which hinder further improvements in the power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of the thick-film devices. In this study, a new cyclane, 1,5-diiodocycloctane (DICO), was employed as a solvent additive to effectively extend the exciton LD within the bulk-heterojunction blend, which can function with the multiple photovoltaic materials system. Due to the great enhancement of molecular stacking and exclusively large domain sizes of photovoltaic materials with the assistance of the DICO additive, the trap density in devices is significantly reduced, thereby nearly doubling the LD in the thick film OSCs. Notably, the DICO-processed PM6/L8-BO-based OSC showed high thickness tolerance for the bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) layer, delivering a high PCE of 19.1% in the case of a 110 nm thick film and still maintaining an excellent PCE of 17.2% in the case of a 300 nm thick film. Crucially, a noticeably increased stability of the multiple materials system was observed in the DICO-processed OSCs. These findings enrich the additive family with new cyclane systems to extend the exciton LD in thick film OSCs with high performance.
|
|
| 4. |
- Wu, Jingnan, et al.
(författare)
-
Carboxylate substituted pyrazine: A simple and low-cost building block for novel wide bandgap polymer donor enables 15.3% efficiency in organic solar cells
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Nano Energy. - : Elsevier BV. - 2211-2855. ; 82
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In addition to high power conversion efficiency (PCE) and good stability, the low-cost of photovoltaic materials is also very important for the practical application of organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, we synthesized a carboxylate substituted pyrazine-based electron-deficient building block (DTCPz) with a simple structure and low synthetic cost, and then developed a novel wide bandgap polymer donor PFBCPZ. Due to the synergistic electron-withdrawing effects of the fluorination in donor unit (BDT-TF) and esterification and C=N double-bond in DTCPz unit, PFBCPZ shows a deeper HOMO level of −5.60 eV, a strong intermolecular π-π interaction, good crystallinity and stacking, and high hole-mobility of 2.11 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 s−1. Matched with a low bandgap acceptor IT-4F, excellent charge transfer, weak recombination, and small non-radiative energy loss in OSCs was achieved, resulting in an impressive fill factor of 0.785 and a high open-circuit voltage of 0.92 V. As a result, a PCE of up to 15.3% is obtained in OSCs, which is the highest value in the IT-4F-based binary OSCs so far and indicates that low-cost DTCPz with a simple structure is a promising building block to construct high-performance polymer donors for application in efficient OSCs.
|
|
| 5. |
- Wu, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
-
Modulating the nanoscale morphology on carboxylate-pyrazine containing terpolymer toward 17.8% efficiency organic solar cells with enhanced thermal stability
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Chemical Engineering Journal. - : Elsevier BV. - 1385-8947. ; 446
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It had been commonly accepted in the organic photovoltaic (OPV) community that subtle variations in the molecular structure of active layer materials would cause profound impacts on their aggregating structure and blend morphology and therefore the performance of such polymer solar cells (PSCs). Herein, we employed an electron-deficient building block 3,6-dithiophenyl-2-carboxylate pyrazine (DTCPz) for constructing one series of promising donor terpolymers of PMZ1, PMZ2, and PMZ3, respectively, gaining their relatively lower-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels, more closed π-π stacking and enhanced crystallinity in thin films, and lower miscibility with acceptor Y6, in comparison with their parent polymer counterpart (namely PM6). Reaching DTCPz moieties up to 20% (mol/mol%) in its terpolymer composition, the resulting polymer (PMZ2) achieved more favorable phase separation with improved exciton dissociation, and charge transport and extraction. As a result, an outstanding fill factor of 77.2% and a promising power conversion efficiency of 17.8 % was achieved. Moreover, the corresponding device shows better thermal stability over the PM6-based one. This work suggests a facile method for significantly improving the thin film morphology of the active-layer materials via fine-tuning the chemical structure of electron-deficient units on the backbone of the wide bandgap donor polymer, therefore achieving enhanced photovoltaic performance and thermal stability for practical applications.
|
|
| 6. |
- Wu, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
-
New Electron Acceptor with End-Extended Conjugation for High-Performance Polymer Solar Cells
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Energy & Fuels. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1520-5029 .- 0887-0624. ; 35:23, s. 19061-19068
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To develop high-efficiency polymer solar cells (PSCs), the acceptors in a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) blend are supposed to possess complementary absorption bands in the near-infrared region and a suitable energy level to be well-matched with the donors. In this work, a new small molecular acceptor (SMA) named IDTT8-N based on an indacenodithienothiophene (IDTT) core was designed and synthesized. In comparison to the counterpart molecule IDTN with an indacenodithiophene (IDT) core, IDTT8-N with the extended π-conjugation length of an IDT core not only exhibits a red shift of ca. 35 nm in optical absorption but also has little change on its lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level. Therefore, PSCs based on PM6:IDTT8-N exhibit a superior short-circuit current density (Jsc) and high open-circuit voltage (Voc). Moreover, apart from the strong face-on molecular stacking, distinct end-group π-πstacking of IDTT8-N can be observed in the blends, facilitating the charge transport. Therefore, the optimized PM6:IDTT8-N-based devices exhibit dramatically high and balanced electron mobility (μe) and hole mobility (μh), whose magnitudes are over 10-3 cm2 V-1 s-1. Consequently, an extraordinary PCE of 14.1% with a relatively high Jsc of 20.98 mA cm-2 and a Voc of 0.94 V was recorded. To our knowledge, it is the new record among PSCs with a SMA based on 2-(3-oxocyclopentylidene)malononitrile (INCN) as end groups. These results indicate that extending the π-conjugation length of the fused ring core of a SMA is an efficient method to both enhance the absorption and the molecular interaction of the acceptor as well as the photovoltaic performance of PSCs.
|
|
| 7. |
- Wu, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
-
On the Conformation of Dimeric Acceptors and Their Polymer Solar Cells with Efficiency over 18 %
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Angewandte Chemie International Edition. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1433-7851 .- 1521-3773.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The determination of molecular conformations of oligomeric acceptors (OAs) and their impact on molecular packing are crucial for understanding the photovoltaic performance of their resulting polymer solar cells (PSCs) but have not been well studied yet. Herein, we synthesized two dimeric acceptor materials, DIBP3F-Se and DIBP3F-S, which bridged two segments of Y6-derivatives by selenophene and thiophene, respectively. Theoretical simulation and experimental 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic studies prove that both dimers exhibit O-shaped conformations other than S- or U-shaped counter-ones. Notably, this O-shaped conformation is likely governed by a distinctive "conformational lock" mechanism, arising from the intensified intramolecular & pi;-& pi; interactions among their two terminal groups within the dimers. PSCs based on DIBP3F-Se deliver a maximum efficiency of 18.09 %, outperforming DIBP3F-S-based cells (16.11 %) and ranking among the highest efficiencies for OA-based PSCs. This work demonstrates a facile method to obtain OA conformations and highlights the potential of dimeric acceptors for high-performance PSCs.
|
|
| 8. |
- Yan, Xin, et al.
(författare)
-
Highly efficient ternary solar cells with reduced non-radiative energy loss and enhanced stability via two compatible non-fullerene acceptors
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Journal of Materials Chemistry A. - : ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY. - 2050-7488 .- 2050-7496. ; 10:29, s. 15605-15613
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A ternary strategy by introducing a third component into a binary host system has been proven to be a simple and promising method to boost the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, a high efficient ternary OSC is fabricated, wherein, a non-fullerene acceptor, namely MOIT-M, is introduced as a third component into the PM6:BTP-eC9 blend. MOIT-M possesses good complementary absorption spectra and aligned cascade energy levels with the host binary blend, which benefits light harvesting, exciton dissociation, and charge transport. Moreover, MOIT-M exhibits good miscibility with BTP-eC9, forming a well-mixed phase, which improves molecular packing for better charge transport and optimizes ternary blend morphology. Notably, the incorporation of MOIT-M suppresses non-radiative recombination, leading to reduced non-radiative energy losses (Delta E-nr). As a result, the ternary OSC exhibits a significantly increased PCE of 18.5% with a lower Delta E-nr of 0.21 eV in comparison with the control binary PM6:BTP-eC9 device with a PCE of 17.4% and a Delta E-nr of 0.24 eV. In addition, the ternary OSC displays better storage stability compared to the PM6:BTP-eC9 system. This work indicates that a ternary strategy via combining two compatible small molecule acceptors is effective to simultaneously improve the efficiency and stability of OSCs.
|
|
| 9. |
- Yang, Jianming, et al.
(författare)
-
Energetics and Energy Loss in 2D Ruddlesden-Popper Perovskite Solar Cells
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Advanced Energy Materials. - : WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH. - 1614-6832 .- 1614-6840. ; 10:23
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- 2D Ruddlesden-Popper perovskites (RPPs) are emerging as potential challengers to their 3D counterpart due to superior stability and competitive efficiency. However, the fundamental questions on energetics of the 2D RPPs are not well understood. Here, the energetics at (PEA)(2)(MA)(n)-1PbnI3n+1/[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) interfaces with varying n values of 1, 3, 5, 40, and infinity are systematically investigated. It is found that n-n junctions form at the 2D RPP interfaces (n = 3, 5, and 40), instead of p-n junctions in the pure 2D and 3D scenarios (n = 1 and infinity). The potential gradient across phenethylammonium iodide ligands that significantly decreases surface work function, promotes separation of the photogenerated charge carriers with electron transferring from perovskite crystal to ligand at the interface, reducing charge recombination, which contributes to the smallest energy loss and the highest open-circuit voltage (V-oc) in the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on the 2D RPP (n = 5)/PCBM. The mechanism is further verified by inserting a thin 2D RPP capping layer between pure 3D perovskite and PCBM in PSCs, causing the V-oc to evidently increase by 94 mV. Capacitance-voltage measurements with Mott-Schottky analysis demonstrate that such V-oc improvement is attributed to the enhanced potential at the interface.
|
|
| 10. |
- Zhang, Jingnan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
-
Recent advances of recycling proteins from seafood by-products: Industrial applications, challenges, and breakthroughs
- 2024
-
Ingår i: Trends in Food Science and Technology. - 0924-2244. ; 149
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The exploration of unconventional sources of animal protein, driven by the increasing global demand, has brought the seafood industry into focus. Despite being high in protein, seafood by-products are often underutilized. Utilizing these by-products is important for meeting global protein demands and aligns with sustainable development goals. Therefore, the industrial application of seafood by-product proteins is important. Scope and approach: This review critically assesses techniques for extracting proteins from seafood by-products, categorizing them based on their working principles according to protein properties. The challenges faced by these techniques in industrial applications is evaluated. Additionally, the review delves into the industrial applications of recovered proteins in the food, animal feed, medical, and cosmetics industries, discussing both challenges and breakthroughs. Key findings and conclusions: The increasing global protein demand has shifted the focus of recycling seafood by-products from non-food to food applications. While conventional methods such as enzymatic hydrolysis continue to be used, there is a growing interest in more eco-friendly technologies. Despite facing challenges in quality assurance, technology transfer, financial constraints, market acceptance, and regulatory concerns, these proteins show promise for broad industrial applications in food, animal feed, medical, and cosmetic products. Technological innovations and integrated biorefineries represent major breakthroughs in this field. To further advance, it is important to bridge the gap between laboratory research and production-scale operations and improve communication between researchers and industry stakeholders. By scaling up to industrial-level production, these proteins could enhance the value of the seafood industry and contribute to resource sustainability.
|
|
