Lee Jihyung, Sun Cheng, Park Junho, Kim Changjo, Lee Seungbok, Lee Dongchan, Lee Min-Ho, Kim Byeongsu, Kim Yun Hoo, Kim Junho, Lee Seungjae, Jeong Seonju, Ying Wu Bin, Song Xuyao, Cho Shinuk, Rotermund Fabian, Kim Yun-Hi, Lee Jung-Yong
School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101, China.
Adv Mater. 2025 Feb;37(5):e2413081. doi: 10.1002/adma.202413081. Epub 2024 Dec 4.
Silver bismuth disulfide (AgBiS) colloidal nanocrystals (CNCs) have emerged as ecofriendly photoactive materials with excellent photoconductivity and high absorption coefficients, in compliance with the restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) guidelines. To maximize the theoretical potential of AgBiS CNC solar cells, a new diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based polymer, BD2FCT, optimized as a hole transport layer (HTL), is developed. This asymmetric thiophene-rich polymer HTL effectively complements the optical absorption spectrum of CNCs and forms a homogeneous layer atop the CNCs, facilitating favorable vertical charge transfer through intrinsic molecular packing. Furthermore, the BD2FCT HTL aligns energetically with AgBiS, significantly reducing charge recombination at the CNC/HTL interfaces and enhancing charge extraction and photocurrent generation across the entire optical absorption spectrum. These characteristics are further optimized through precise molecular engineering. Additionally, a low-bandgap acceptor, IEICO-4F, is structurally incorporated with the BD2FCT polymer to further improve charge funneling and complementary absorption. Transient absorption spectroscopy reveals enhanced hole transfer from CNC to BD2FCT-29DPP:IEICO-4F, resulting in reduced charge recombination and efficient charge extraction. Consequently, a BD2FCT-based AgBiS CNC solar cell achieves a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.1%, demonstrating significant improvements in short-circuit current density (J) and fill factor (FF).