Chemistry
Designing Non-Fullerene Acceptors for High-Efficiency Organic Photovoltaics
Quick fact
Replacing buckyball-like fullerene acceptors with flat, fused-ring molecules called non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) has boosted organic solar cell efficiency from around 11% to over 18% in just a few years, by enabling better light absorption and higher open-circuit voltages.
Why this is interesting
You've probably heard that organic solar cells are cheap and flexible, but for years they lagged behind silicon. Now, a simple molecular change has pushed their efficiency past 18%—what changed?