Glass Forming Acceptor Alloys for Highly Efficient and Thermally Stable Ternary Organic Solar Cells

The stability of donor:acceptor (D:A) semiconductor blends plays a key role in the development of solution-processed organic solar cells. One essential condition for both high-yield production and a long lifetime is excellent thermal stability. Recently, A1:A2 acceptor mixtures have received considerable attention and alloys of two miscible acceptors are singled out as a powerful tool for the design of efficient and durable organic solar cells. This progress report introduces a thermodynamic rationale for the superior thermal stability and reproducibility that is observed for some ternary blends. The increase in entropy upon mixing of several acceptors reduces the tendency for phase separation as well as crystallization, which facilitates the controlled formation of a fine blend nanostructure. Further, when combined with a high glass transition temperature many ternary blends can be readily quenched into a glassy state. Recent progress with regard to the thermal stability and efficiency of D:A1:A2 ternary blends is summarized in the light of the thermodynamic and kinetic arguments discussed in this article. Both, fullerene and fullerene-free acceptor alloys now yield solar cell efficiencies in excess of 10%, which indicates that ternary blends are a promising avenue that is poised to considerably enhance the prospect of organic photovoltaics