Star-branched polymer donors enabling high-performance organic solar cells with superior flexibility and intrinsic stretchability

Cen Zhang, Xiaopeng Duan (), Chunhui Liu, Luoxi Pei, Junjie Zhang, Baixue Chang, Min Hun Jee, Han Young Woo, Long Ye, Xiaobo Sun () and Yanming Sun ()
Additional contact information
Cen Zhang: Beihang University, Hangzhou International Innovation Institute
Xiaopeng Duan: Beihang University, Hangzhou International Innovation Institute
Chunhui Liu: Beihang University, School of Chemistry
Luoxi Pei: Tianjin University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, State key Laboratory of Advanced Materials for Intelligent Sensing, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Integrated Circuits, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin)
Junjie Zhang: Beihang University, Hangzhou International Innovation Institute
Baixue Chang: Beihang University, School of Chemistry
Min Hun Jee: Korea University, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology
Han Young Woo: Korea University, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, KU-KIST Graduate School of Converging Science and Technology
Long Ye: Tianjin University, School of Materials Science and Engineering, State key Laboratory of Advanced Materials for Intelligent Sensing, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic Integrated Circuits, Ministry of Education, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin)
Xiaobo Sun: Beihang University, Hangzhou International Innovation Institute
Yanming Sun: Beihang University, Hangzhou International Innovation Institute

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Emerging wearable electronics are anticipated to leverage the flexibility and stretchability of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, achieving a balance between power conversion efficiency (PCE) and mechanical robustness remains challenging, as the molecular structural modifications required for enhanced flexibility of photovoltaic materials typically compromise charge transport and extraction. Herein, we design and synthesize three star-branched polymer donors (SPDs: S1, S2, and S3) by introducing different contents of 1,3,5-tris(bromomethyl)benzene, which boost fracture strain compared to the linear PM6 (12.70%, 15.33% and 19.16% to 10.46%), improving devices’ stress resistance/fatigue endurance. More importantly, these SPDs are able to self-assemble into refined fibrous architectures to retain perfect optoelectronic properties: S2:L8-BO OSCs reach 19.51% (rigid), 18.39% (flexible), 15.40% (stretchable); ternary ones hit 20.48%. This molecular engineering strategy successfully overcomes the unfavorable competition between efficiency and mechanical compliance, paving the way for the commercialization of high-performance OSCs as reliable power sources for wearable electronics.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65044-z Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-65044-z

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65044-z

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().