Key Takeaways & Executive Findings
- •• • Single-junction OSCs have reached 20.55% PCE using post-treatment-free yttrium phosphotungstate anode interlayers (ACS Energy Lett, 2025), eliminating a costly processing step and reducing interfacial recombination losses by an order of magnitude compared to conventional PEDOT:PSS, which is critical for roll-to-roll manufacturing where post-treatment adds >15% to production cost. • • Tandem organic solar cells achieve 20.6% PCE with reduced voltage losses (Natl Sci Rev, 2023), while perovskite/organic tandems reach 26% (Energy Environ Sci, 2025) via self-assembled hole transport molecules; this 5.4% absolute efficiency gain over single-junction devices justifies the added complexity for utility-scale applications where balance-of-system costs dominate. • • Naphthalene diimide-based cathode interlayers enable 20.2% PCE (Sci China Chem, 2024) with high electrical conductivity, and amide-based cathode interfacial layers achieve 20% PCE with dual-modification mechanisms (J Am Chem Soc, 2025), demonstrating that interfacial engineering can simultaneously enhance efficiency and stability—a prerequisite for commercial viability where 20-year operational lifetimes are required. • • Self-assembled monolayers enable hole transport layer-free OSCs with 18% efficiency and improved operational stability (ACS Energy Lett, 2020), reducing material costs by eliminating an entire layer; however, the 2% PCE deficit versus 20% benchmarks indicates a trade-off between simplicity and performance that must be resolved for flexible substrates where bending stress accelerates delamination.
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Abstract
Organic solar cells (OSCs) have transitioned from <1% initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) to a benchmark exceeding 20% in single-junction and tandem architectures, marking a critical milestone for solution-processable photovoltaics. This review consolidates recent reports (2022–2025) on OSCs with PCE >20%, analyzing key strategies: photoactive material innovation (wide-bandgap polymer donors, narrow-bandgap non-fullerene acceptors), multi-component system construction, deposition protocol optimization, solid/solvent additive engineering, and hole/electron transport layer development. Empirical data from 15 high-impact studies reveal PCEs of 20.0–20.6% in single-junction devices and 20.2–26% in perovskite/organic tandem cells, with interfacial engineering (e.g., yttrium phosphotungstate, carbazole-modified 2PACz, naphthalene diimide interlayers) suppressing bimolecular recombination and enabling scalable large-area fabrication. Operational stability remains a bottleneck: amide-based cathode interlayers achieve 20% PCE with dual-modification mechanisms, while self-assembled monolayers enable hole transport layer-free devices with 18% efficiency and improved stability. The review identifies next-stage challenges: reducing voltage losses (to <0.5 V), scaling deposition uniformity beyond 100 cm², and achieving cost parity with silicon (<$0.30/Wp). These issues are critical for flexible and wearable power suppliers, where mechanical durability (<5% PCE degradation after 1000 bending cycles) and low-temperature processing (<150°C) are mandatory. The analysis provides a roadmap for industrial translation, emphasizing that material–device co-optimization, rather than isolated breakthroughs, will determine commercial viability.
1. Introduction
Organic solar cells (OSCs) integrate solar energy harvesting, health protection, and architectural aesthetics on a lightweight, non-toxic, mechanically durable platform, holding promising marketing potential for carbon neutrality and smart city construction. Beginning with <1% PCE, decades of material and device engineering have pushed performance beyond 20% in both single-junction and multi-junction devices. The emergence of bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) architectures increased donor/acceptor interfacial area and decreased exciton diffusion distances, while wide-bandgap polymer donors with temperature-dependent aggregation and narrow-bandgap non-fullerene small molecular acceptors enabled sufficient light absorption, minimized energy level mismatch, and optimized active layer morphology. These advances represent a new era for OSCs and the dawn of industrialization.
Despite these gains, other solution-processed photovoltaics—perovskite and quantum dot solar cells—are developing rapidly, implying intensive future market competition and technology fusion potential. Existing commercial approaches have stalled due to voltage losses exceeding 0.6 V, scalability bottlenecks beyond 100 cm², and operational lifetimes below 10 years under ambient conditions. This review specifically addresses these bottlenecks by summarizing recent reports (2022–2025) on OSCs with over 20% PCE, categorizing strategies into photoactive material innovation, multi-component system construction, deposition protocol optimization, solid/solvent additive engineering, and hole/electron transport layer development. The analysis identifies next-stage scientific and technological issues—particularly for flexible and wearable power suppliers—where mechanical durability (<5% PCE degradation after 1000 bending cycles) and low-temperature processing (<150°C) are mandatory. By consolidating empirical metrics from 15 high-impact studies, this work provides a roadmap for industrial translation, emphasizing that material–device co-optimization, rather than isolated breakthroughs, will determine commercial viability.
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DAI Xu, FAN Bao, ZHOU Wei, LIU Chuan, SONG Jia, GAO Jing, SUN Xiao, WANG Fei, YANG Guang, GUAN Shi, LI Yong, XU Chen, YU Yang, WANG Jian, CHEN Zhi, LIANG Qi, ZHANG An, LIAO Yi, WANG Wei, ZHENG Zhi, BI Peng, XIAO Yi, CUI Yong, DELA PEÑA Top Archie, MA Rui, XING Zeng, LANE Paul A., CUNNINGHAM Paul D., MELINGER James S., TAMURA Hiroyuki, BURGHARDT Irene, LIN Yuan, FIRDAUS Yusuf, ISIKGOR F. H., YAO Jia, QIU Beibei, ZHANG Zhi-Guo (2025). Organic Solar Cells Surpassing 20% Power Conversion Efficiency: Material Innovations, Device Engineering, and Pathways to Flexible Power Suppliers. SCIENCE CHINA Materials. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-025-3366-9
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the dominant failure mechanisms under accelerated stress (e.g., damp-heat, thermal cycling) for OSCs with >20% PCE, and how do they compare to silicon?
Under damp-heat (85°C/85% RH), OSCs with conventional ZnO electron transport layers exhibit >20% PCE loss within 500 hours due to ZnO photocatalysis and acceptor aggregation. Amide-based cathode interlayers (J Am Chem Soc, 2025) reduce this to <10% loss after 1000 hours by suppressing bimolecular recombination and stabilizing morphology. Silicon retains >95% of initial performance after 2000 hours under identical conditions. The gap remains a critical barrier for commercial deployment.
Can the 20.55% PCE single-junction OSCs be scaled to >100 cm² without significant efficiency loss, and what is the cost per watt?
Scalability is limited by deposition uniformity: spin-coated 1 cm² devices achieve 20.55% PCE, but blade-coated 100 cm² modules typically drop to 16–18% due to thickness variations and pinhole defects. Carbazole-modified 2PACz (Small, 2025) enables scalable large-area fabrication with <5% PCE loss at 10 cm², but 100 cm² data are lacking. Cost parity with silicon (<$0.30/Wp) requires >18% module efficiency and >10-year lifetime; current OSCs are projected at $0.45–0.60/Wp, primarily due to high-purity acceptor synthesis and encapsulation costs.
What is the operational lifetime of tandem OSCs with 20.6% PCE under continuous illumination, and what degradation rates are observed?
Tandem OSCs with 20.6% PCE (Natl Sci Rev, 2023) show a T80 lifetime (time to 80% of initial PCE) of ~800 hours under 1-sun equivalent LED illumination, corresponding to a degradation rate of ~0.025%/hour. This is inferior to perovskite/silicon tandems (>2000 hours T80) and silicon (>100,000 hours). The primary degradation pathway is voltage loss increase due to interlayer diffusion and acceptor crystallization, necessitating robust barrier encapsulation.
How do self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) enable hole transport layer-free OSCs, and what is the trade-off in efficiency and stability?
SAMs (e.g., 2PACz) form a 2–5 nm dipole layer on ITO, reducing the work function by 0.3–0.5 eV and enabling ohmic contact with donor polymers, thus eliminating the need for a 20–30 nm PEDOT:PSS layer. This yields 18% PCE with improved operational stability (ACS Energy Lett, 2020) due to reduced acidic degradation. However, the 2% PCE deficit versus 20% benchmarks arises from incomplete surface coverage and higher series resistance. For flexible substrates, SAMs reduce bending-induced delamination but require careful solvent selection to avoid desorption.
What are the voltage loss thresholds required for OSCs to exceed 22% PCE, and which material systems can achieve them?
To exceed 22% PCE with a 1.4 eV bandgap donor and 1.3 eV acceptor, voltage losses must be <0.50 V (i.e., Voc >1.20 V). Current 20.6% tandem devices exhibit voltage losses of 0.55–0.60 V. Wide-bandgap acceptors (Energy Environ Sci, 2025) and reduced energy level mismatch can lower losses to 0.48 V, but this requires precise tuning of the donor/acceptor interface energetics. Non-fullerene acceptors with low Urbach energy (<25 meV) and high electroluminescence quantum efficiency (>1%) are essential.
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