Research Highlights: Ag-Doped Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals for Tunable Band Structure and Efficient Charge Transport

Heterovalent doping of halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs), offering potential tunability in optical and electrical properties, remains a grand challenge. Here, we report for the first time a controlled doping of monovalent Ag+ into CsPbBr3 NCs via a facile room temperature synthesis method. Our results suggest that Ag+ ions act as substitutional dopants to replace Pb2+ ions in the perovskite NCs, shifting the Fermi level down-towards the valence band and in turn inducing a heavy p-type character.… Read More

Research Highlights: Hidden structure ordering along backbone of fused-ring electron acceptors enhanced by ternary bulk heterojunction

Fused-ring electron acceptors (FREAs), as a family of non-fullerene acceptors, have achieved tremendous success in pushing the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells. Here, we reported the detailed molecular packing motifs of two extensively studied FREAs – ITIC and ITIC-Th, which is revealed for the first time the long-range structure ordering along the backbone direction originated from favored end group π-π stacking.… Read More

Research Highlights: Fused-Ring Electron Acceptor ITIC-Th: A Novel Stabilizer for Halide Perovskite Precursor Solution

The stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has been greatly improved recently while very few studies focus on the long-term stability of the perovskite precursor solution. We report a novel route to greatly enhance the long-term stability of perovskite precursor solutions by incorporating a non-fullerene small molecule ITIC-Th. We found that the incorporation of ITIC-Th in the perovskite precursor solution can effectively suppress the unwanted yellow non-perovskite phase (δ-phase) commonly formed in the FAPbI3-based perovskite film made from a long-time aged precursor solution and consequently promote the formation of photoactive perovskite phase (α-phase).… Read More

Research Highlights: High efficiency ternary organic solar cell with morphology-compatible polymers

jmca2017Following our previously proposed selection rule for the two polymers capable of comparable loadings, we report in this work a ternary system composed of two morphologically compatible polymers with distinct chemical structures that can achieve a high PCE of 9.0% with a mass ratio of 1 : 1. Besides the expected improvement in short circuit current due to the broadening of the absorption spectrum, the fill factor of the ternary device is improved significantly.… Read More

Research Highlights : Understanding Morphology Compatibility for High-Performance Ternary Organic Solar Cells

tenary cell compatibilityTernary organic solar cells are emerging as a promising strategy to enhance device power conversion efficiency by broadening the range of light absorption via the incorporation of additional light-absorbing components. However, how to find compatible materials that allow comparable loadings of each component remains a challenge. In this article, we focus on studying the donor polymer compatibilities in ternary systems from a morphological point of view.… Read More