High-performance scalable organic photovoltaics with high thickness tolerance from 1 cm2 to above 50 cm2

Summary

To realize a high-performance large-area organic photovoltaic (OPV) module using printing technology, it is important to produce a uniform and an optimal bulk heterojunction (BHJ) morphology over a large area with a high thickness tolerance. We developed PBDB-T-2F:N3:P(NDI2OD-T2) BHJ film, where P(NDI2OD-T2) forms intricate channels in the donor domain and induces improved exciton dissociation, balanced charge transport, and less charge recombination. Moreover, P(NDI2OD-T2) is effective for forming an optimal morphology with uniform nanocrystallites of the polymer donor over a large area in both cases of optimal and thick active films. Consequently, the patterned-blade-coating OPV module device with a 58.5 cm² active area showed an improved efficiency of 14.04%, compared with 12.59% for the control device, which is among the highest efficiencies reported in OPVs with active areas above 50 cm². Notably, the corresponding module prepared using a scribing method achieved an efficiency of 13.14% with a geometric fill factor of 91.82% from a 22.44 cm² area.