Breakthrough in Nanotechnology: Fullerenes Discovery Offers Potential for High-Efficiency Solar Cells

Strategic Insights -

A team of researchers from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering has made a significant discovery in the field of nanotechnology, which could lead to the development of high-efficiency solar cells. By exploring the use of asymmetric non-fullerene acceptors with different halogen terminal groups, the team was able to achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.63% in an inverted perovskite solar cell. This marks a notable improvement over previous devices, which had PCEs of 24.12% and 24.70% respectively.

Key Takeaways:

  • The research focused on designing effective passivator molecules for perovskite solar cells, finding that a molecule with a single chlorine atom on one side of its terminal groups, SY1, exhibits dominant face-on orientation and superior defect and grain boundary passivation properties.
  • The study demonstrated that SY1-based devices showed a higher PCE of 25.63% compared to SY2-based (24.12%) and Y6-based (24.70%) devices.
  • The team's findings provide new insights into designing effective passivator molecules, helping to establish the correlation between molecular structure and device performance.
  • The research has been peer-reviewed and published in the journal Small, and the authors include Lin Xie, Bingxue Pi, Yue Qiao, Ciyuan Huang, and Xuerong Li from the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
  • The study was supported by the Guangxi Science and Technology Major Program, Special Fund for Science and Technology Development of Guangxi, National Natural Science Foundation of China, China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents, and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.

Statistics:

  • The team achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 25.63% in an SY1-based device, outperforming SY2-based (24.12%) and Y6-based (24.70%) devices.
  • The research was supported by six different funding agencies, including the Guangxi Science and Technology Major Program and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
  • The study has been published in the peer-reviewed journal Small, and the authors are affiliated with the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangxi Key Lab Proc Nonferrous Met & Featured Mat, and other institutions.

Sources:

  • Asymmetric Non-fullerene Acceptors With Different Halogen Terminal Groups for Effective Passivation In Highly Efficient Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells. Small, 2025.
  • School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
  • Guangxi Science and Technology Major Program.
  • Special Fund for Science and Technology Development of Guangxi.
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).
  • China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents.
  • China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.
  • Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province.
  • Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Featured Metal Materials.