Natural Product Betulin-Based Insulating Polymer Filler in Organic Solar Cells

Abstract

Introduction of filler materials into organic solar cells (OSCs) are a promising strategy to improve device performance and thermal/mechanical stability. However, the complex interactions between the state-of-the-art OSC materials and filler require careful selection of filler materials and OSC fabrication to achieve lower cost and improved performance. In this work, the introduction of a natural product betulin-based insulating polymer as filler in various OSCs is investigated. Donor–acceptor–insulator ternary OSCs are developed with improved open-circuit voltage (Voc) due to decreased trap-assisted recombination. Furthermore, filler-induced vertical phase separation due to mismatched surface energy can strongly affect charge collection at the bottom interface and limit the filler ratio. A quasi-bilayer strategy is used in all-polymer systems to circumvent this problem. Herein, the variety of filler materials in OSCs to biomass is broadened, and the filler strategy is made a feasible and promising strategy toward highly efficient, eco, and low-cost OSCs.