Naphthalene-Diimide-Based Ionenes as Universal Interlayers for Efficient Organic Solar Cells.

Self-doping ionene polymers were efficiently synthesized by reacting functional naphthalene diimide (NDI) with 1,3-dibromopropane (NDI-NI) or trans-1,4-dibromo-2-butene (NDI-CI) via quaternization polymerization. These NDI-based ionene polymers are universal interlayers with random molecular orientation, boosting the efficiencies of fullerene-based, non-fullerene-based, and ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) over a wide range of interlayer thicknesses, with a maximum efficiency of 16.9 %. NDI-NI showed a higher interfacial dipole (Δ), conductivity, and electron mobility than NDI-CI, affording solar cells with higher efficiencies. These polymers proved to efficiently lower the work function (WF) of air-stable metals and optimize the contact between metal electrode and organic semiconductor, highlighting their power to overcome energy barriers of electron injection and extraction processes for efficient organic electronics.