Publication date: 15th December 2025
Organic solar cells (OSCs) achieve 21% efficiency, yet non-radiative energy loss (qΔVnr) remains a critical barrier to further improve the open-circuit voltage (VOC). This loss is primarily governed by the optoelectronic properties of interfacial CT states, yet the precise role of electron-phonon coupling (EPC) is not fully resolved. Through analysis of three all-polymer OSCs and four small molecule acceptor (SMA)-based OSCs, we identify two donor/acceptor (D/A) interfacial mixed phases that foster two distinct CT states, establishing efficient charge generation. These two phases emerge from amorphous D/A entanglement, termed as Entangled (E-) interface, and the penetration of acceptor quasi-aggregates into donor polymer matrix, termed as Penetrated (P-) interfaces. The P-interface exhibits inherently weaker EPC than that of E-interface since the suppressed intramolecular interaction. As the results, the P-interfaces, governing all-polymer OSCs, achieve a significant reduction of ~60 meV in qΔVnr compared to E-interface dominated SMA-based OSCs. The incorporation of PA into SMA system as guest component modulates the population of P-interface reducing the EPC and then enhancing VOC. Overall, our work suggests that modulating the population of P-interfaces to suppress EPC is a viable strategy for reducing non-radiative voltage loss and overcoming the efficiency bottleneck of organic solar cells.
J. Wu acknowledges the funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52303249). Authors also thank the Green e Materials Laboratory and the support of HKUST Materials Characterization and Preparation Facility (MCPF) Clear Water Bay (CWB) and Guangzhou (GZ) for their facilities and technical support.
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