Optimal bulk-heterojunction morphology enabled by fibril network strategy for high-performance organic solar cells

A bicontinuous network formed spontaneously upon film preparation is highly desirable for bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells (OSCs). Many donor-acceptor (D-A) type conjugated polymers can self-assemble into polymer fibrils in the solid state and such fibril-assembly can construct the morphological framework by forming a network structure, inducing the formation of ideal BHJ morphology. Our recent works have revealed that the fibril network strategy (FNS) can control the blend morphology in fullerene, non-fullerene and ternary OSCs. It has been shown that the formation of fibril network can optimize phase separation scale and ensure efficient exciton dissociation and charge carriers transport, thus leading to impressive power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) and high fill factor (FF) values. We believe that FNS will provide a promising approach for the optimization of active layer morphology and the improvement of photovoltaic performance, and further promote the commercialization of OSCs.