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Origins of the open-circuit voltage in ternary organic solar cells and design rules for minimized voltage losses

Author

Listed:
  • Yuming Wang

    (Linköping University
    Hasselt University
    IMEC)

  • Jianwei Yu

    (Linköping University)

  • Rui Zhang

    (Linköping University)

  • Jun Yuan

    (Linköping University
    Central South University)

  • Sandra Hultmark

    (Chalmers University of Technology)

  • Catherine E. Johnson

    (Imperial College London)

  • Nathaniel P. Gallop

    (Imperial College London)

  • Bernhard Siegmund

    (Hasselt University
    IMEC)

  • Deping Qian

    (Linköping University)

  • Huotian Zhang

    (Linköping University)

  • Yingping Zou

    (Central South University)

  • Martijn Kemerink

    (Linköping University
    Heidelberg University)

  • Artem A. Bakulin

    (Imperial College London)

  • Christian Müller

    (Chalmers University of Technology)

  • Koen Vandewal

    (Hasselt University
    IMEC)

  • Xian-Kai Chen

    (Soochow University
    Soochow University)

  • Feng Gao

    (Linköping University)

Abstract

The power conversion efficiency of ternary organic solar cells (TOSCs), consisting of one host binary blend and one guest component, remains limited by large voltage losses. The fundamental understanding of the open-circuit voltage (VOC) in TOSCs is controversial, limiting rational design of the guest component. In this study, we systematically investigate how the guest component affects the radiative and non-radiative related parts of VOC of a series of TOSCs using the detailed balanced principle. We highlight that the thermal population of charge-transfer and local exciton states provided by the guest binary blend (that is, the guest-component-based binary blend) has a significant influence on the non-radiative voltage losses. Ultimately, we provide two design rules for enhancing the VOC in TOSCs: high emission yield for the guest binary blend and similar charge-transfer-state energies for host/guest binary blends; high miscibility of the guest component with the low gap component in the host binary blend.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuming Wang & Jianwei Yu & Rui Zhang & Jun Yuan & Sandra Hultmark & Catherine E. Johnson & Nathaniel P. Gallop & Bernhard Siegmund & Deping Qian & Huotian Zhang & Yingping Zou & Martijn Kemerink & Art, 2023. "Origins of the open-circuit voltage in ternary organic solar cells and design rules for minimized voltage losses," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 8(9), pages 978-988, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:8:y:2023:i:9:d:10.1038_s41560-023-01309-5
    DOI: 10.1038/s41560-023-01309-5
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