Confluence of asymmetric catalysis and electrosynthesis in sustainable chemical transformations

Solution processability is a unique property of organic semiconductors. The compact and regular π-π stacking between molecules is paramount in the performance of organic optoelectronic devices. However, it is still a challenge to improve their stacking quality without sacrificing the solution-processability from the aspect of materials design. Here, delicately engineered additives are presented to promote the formation of ordered aggregation of conjugated molecules by regulating their nucleation and growth dynamics. Intriguingly, the long-chain BTP-eC9-4F molecules can realize ordered aggregation comparable to short-chain ones without sacrificing processability. The domain size of BTP-eC9-4F aggregation is enlarged from 24.2 to 32.2 nm in blend films. Thereby exciton diffusion and charge transport become faster, contributing to the suppression of recombination losses. As a result, a power conversion efficiency of 19.2% is achieved in D18:BTP-eC9-4F based organic photovoltaics. Our findings demonstrate a facile strategy to improve the packing quality of solution-processed organic semiconductors for high-efficiency photovoltaics and beyond photovoltaics. © Science China Press 2023.