Unlocking Intrinsic Stretchability in PM6-Based Materials for Next-Generation Solar Cells: Challenges and Innovations

• • Flexible spacer-block multi-component copolymerized donors achieve over 40% crack-onset strain (COS), a >5-fold improvement over the <8% fracture strain typical of high-performance PM6-based systems, directly enabling skin-conformal wearable photovoltaics without encapsulation failure. • • Mechanically robust organic solar cells with 19% power conversion efficiency (PCE) have been demonstrated (Adv Mater, 2024, 36: 2312805), establishing a viable efficiency-stretchability trade-off for commercial flexible modules where legacy rigid panels cannot be deployed. • • Certified flexible organic photovoltaics exceed 19% efficiency through synergistic multimodal energy dissipation (Adv Mater, 2025, 37: 2411989), validating that intrinsic stretchability does not necessitate sacrificing certified performance in real-world bending cycles. • • Insulating polymer molecular weight critically governs stability and photovoltaic performance in organic solar cells (Adv Funct Mater, 2024, 34: 2408340), providing a tunable parameter for industrial scale-up where batch-to-batch molecular weight variation must be held within narrow tolerances to avoid mechanical failure.