Triadic Halobenzene Processing Additive Combined Advantages of Both Solvent and Solid Types for Efficient and Stable Organic Solar Cells

Abstract

Solvent additives with a high boiling point (BP) and low vapor pressure (VP) have formed a key handle for improving the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, it is not always clear whether they remain in the active-layer film after deposition, which can negatively affect the reproducibility and stability of OSCs. In this study, an easily removable solvent additive (4-chloro-2-fluoroiodobenzene (CFIB)) with a low BP and high VP is introduced, behaving like volatile solid additives that can be completely removed during the device fabrication process. In-depth studies of CFIB addition into the D18-Cl donor and N3 acceptor validate its dominant non-covalent intermolecular interactions with N3 through effective electrostatic interactions. Such phenomena improve charge dynamics and kinetics by optimizing the morphology, leading to enhanced performance of D18-Cl:N3-based devices with a power conversion efficiency of 18.54%. The CFIB-treated device exhibits exceptional thermal stability (T80 lifetime = 120 h) at 85 °C compared with the CFIB-free device, because of its morphological robustness by evolving no residual CFIB in the film. The CFIB features a combination of advantages of solvent (easy application) and solid (high volatility) additives, demonstrating its great potential use in the commercial mass production of OSCs.