Structural Fusion Yields Guest Acceptors that Enable Ternary Organic Solar Cells with 18.77 % Efficiency

The design and selection of a suitable guest acceptor are particularly important for improving the photovoltaic performance of ternary organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, we designed and successfully synthesized two asymmetric silicon-oxygen bridged guest acceptors, which featured distinct blue-shifted absorption, upshifted lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels, and larger dipole moments than symmetric silicon-oxygen-bridged acceptor. Ternary devices with the incorporation of 14.2 wt % these two asymmetric guest acceptors exhibited excellent performance with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 18.22 % and 18.77 %, respectively. Our success in precise control of material properties via structural fusion of five-membered carbon linkages and six-membered silicon-oxygen connection at the central electron-donating core unit of fused-ring electron acceptors can attract considerable attention and bring new vigor and vitality for developing new materials toward more efficient OSCs.