Citation: Ruixiang Fang, Yilan Zhai, Huijuan Bi, Caixuan Wang, Ailing Tang, Shiming Zhang, Zhixiang Wei, Kun Lu. Enhancing photovoltaic performance via γ-positioned side-chains engineering of Y-series non-fullerene acceptors[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(1): 111787. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111787 shu

Enhancing photovoltaic performance via γ-positioned side-chains engineering of Y-series non-fullerene acceptors

Ruixiang Fang ^{a, b} ,
Yilan Zhai ^{b, c} ,
Huijuan Bi ^{b, d} ,
Caixuan Wang ^{b, e} ,
Ailing Tang ^{b, *,} ,
Shiming Zhang ^{a, f, *,} ,
Zhixiang Wei ^{b, e} ,
Kun Lu ^{b, e, *,}

a.
Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation, Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China
b.
CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
c.
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing Key Laboratory of Resource Treatment of Typical Industrial Pollutants, Beijing 100083, China
d.
College of New Energy and Materials, China University of Petroleum, Beijing 102249, China
e.
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
f.
City University of Hong Kong (Dongguan), Dongguan 523808, China

tangal@nanoctr.cn

iamsmzhang@njtech.edu.cn

lvk@nanoctr.cn

Received Date: 14 March 2025
Revised Date: 30 August 2025
Accepted Date: 4 September 2025
Available Online: 5 September 2025

Figures(4)

In the field of organic solar cells (OSCs), side-chain engineering is a key strategy for developing high-performance non-fullerene small molecule acceptors (SMAs), which could adjust the material solubility and modulate the intermolecular stacking properties, profoundly impacting the film morphology and thus acting on the final power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the materials. In this study, two asymmetric acceptor molecules, Qx-PhBr-BO and Qx-PhBr-X, were synthesized by migrating the branching site of the outer side chain from the β-site to the γ-site. The branching site located at the γ-site could reduce the steric-hindrance effect and enhance the molecular aggregation behavior, giving rise to redshifted absorption and tight π-π stacking. Morphology analysis shows that the Qx-PhBr-X-based devices have smoother surfaces and a phase-separated structure, which is more favorable for charge transport and extraction. The Qx-PhBr-X-based devices exhibit balanced hole-electron mobility, efficient exciton dissociation, and low charge recombination. As a result, Qx-PhBr-X with γ-site branching exhibits superior photovoltaic performance with a PCE of 17.16%, which is significantly higher than that of Qx-PhBr-BO at 16.28%. These results highlight the importance of side-chain modifications for optimizing OSC efficiency and provide an important reference for precise tuning of side-chain structures in future molecular design.
- Organic solar cells,
- Non-fullerene acceptors,
- Side-chain engineering,
- γ-Position side-chain
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