Over 17% Efficiency of Ternary Organic Photovoltaics Employing Two Acceptors with an Acceptor–Donor–Acceptor Configuration

Ternary organic photovoltaics (OPVs) were constructed with one wide-band-gap donor PM6 and two A–D–A-type acceptors (M-series M36 and MQ5) with similar chemical structures. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the optimal ternary OPVs reaches 17.24% with 20 wt % MQ5 content, arising from a simultaneously increased short circuit current density (JSC) of 25.36 mA cm–2 and a fill factor (FF) of 76.02% as compared to those of two binary OPVs. The photon harvesting of ternary active layers can be maximized by adjusting the MQ5 content by reason of the complementary absorption spectra of M36 and MQ5. The molecular arrangement of PM6 and M36 can be collectively optimized by introducing an appropriate amount of MQ5 as a morphology regulator for facilitating effective charge transportation in ternary active layers. The improved photon harvesting and charge transport in active layers should be two important factors responsible for JSC and FF improvement of optimal ternary OPVs, respectively. More than an 8.8% improvement of PCE is achieved in ternary OPVs with an appropriate amount of MQ5 as the photon-harvesting enhancer and morphology regulator. The huge potential of A–D–A-type materials in constructing highly efficient OPVs can be further exploited based on a ternary strategy.