SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2026•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-026-4246-5
Developing organic solar cells (OSCs) processable from green solvents without additives or post-treatments is essential for sustainable manufacturing, yet high power conversion efficiency (PCE) remains difficult due to limited morphology control. Herein, we develop a new electron-deficient building block, dithiazolo[4',5':3,4;5'',4'':5,6]benzo[1,2-d][1,2,3]triazole (DTzBT), which fuses benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole (BTA) with thiazole to leverage S/N-mediated non-covalent interactions, enhance planarity and lower the HOMO. To isolate side-chain effects, two DTzBT-based donors, namely PTzMe-F (N-methyl) and PTzEH-F (N-2-ethylhexyl), have been designed and synthesized. PTzMe-F exhibits poor solubility and miscibility with L8-BO, yielding 2.64% PCE (chloroform). PTzEH-F exhibits excellent processability and favorable morphology, delivering 17.61% PCE (chloroform) and 19.17% as-cast from toluene without any additive or post-treatments. In addition, the ternary LbL device based on PTzEH-F/L8-BO:PC71BM achieved an impressive efficiency of 20.27%. Comprehensive characterization indicates that 2-ethylhexyl side chains afford optimal solubility while preserving strong intermolecular interactions and favorable phase separation. DTzBT mitigates BTA’s HOMO-raising tendency via electron-withdrawing thiazole fusion, reconciling aggregation tunability with energy-level control. These results show that precise backbone and side-chain co-design enables green-solvent, additive-free processing for high-performance OSCs, advancing sustainable photovoltaic manufacturing.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3534-0
Lithium metal anodes (LMAs) offer a theoretical capacity of 3860 mAh g−1 and a redox potential of −3.04 V vs. SHE, yet uncontrolled dendrite growth and infinite volume expansion during plating/stripping degrade cycling stability, particularly at high current densities. This study introduces a three-dimensional lithiophilic host fabricated by incorporating ZnO/ZnSe heterostructures onto brass fibers (ZnO/ZnSe@Brass). The hierarchical architecture mitigates volume expansion and reduces local current density during lithiation. The uniformly distributed ZnO/ZnSe acts as a lithiophilic skin, promoting smooth and dense Li deposition. In situ formed solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), enriched with Li2Se and Li2O, provides high ionic conductivity and mechanical robustness, accelerating ion transport and charge transfer kinetics. Symmetric cells with the ZnO/ZnSe@Brass host exhibit cycling stability exceeding 10,000 cycles at 20 mA cm−2 and 1 mAh cm−2, and sustain fast charging at an ultra-high current density of 80 mA cm−2. When paired with LiFePO4, full cells deliver >500 cycles at 2 C and superior rate capability. The ZnO/ZnSe@Brass host design offers a viable pathway for advanced LMAs in fast-charging lithium metal batteries.
SCIENCE CHINA Materials•2025•DOI: 10.1007/s40843-025-3549-6
Intramolecular noncovalent conformational locks (NoCLs) have emerged as a potent strategy for engineering high-performance organic/polymeric semiconductors (OPSs) by suppressing non-radiative decay. While the impact of NoCLs on small molecules is well-documented, their influence on the physicochemical properties of conjugated polymers (CPs) remains poorly understood due to the structural complexity, low crystallinity, and poor solubility of CPs. This study addresses that gap by integrating theoretical calculations with advanced experimental techniques—temperature-dependent absorption spectroscopy, cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and freeze-drying transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results demonstrate that incorporating NoCLs into CP backbones increases chain rigidity, enhances intermolecular interactions, promotes the formation of pre-aggregates with optimal length, and improves charge transport. These findings provide a mechanistic framework for designing high-performance CPs, overcoming the limitations of conventional characterization methods that are restricted to small molecules. The work establishes a correlative link between NoCL-induced conformational locking and macroscopic transport properties, offering a rational design pathway for next-generation organic optoelectronic devices.