Abstract
A small-molecule acceptor, S-Cb, substituted with a cyclobutyl group that introduces high ring strain, was designed and synthesized. Thanks to the rigid and planar structure of cyclobutyl, S-Cb can form interchain supramolecular interactions through hydrogen bonding with L8-BO at the external side chains. This clamping effect not only effectively suppresses the electron-phonon coupling but also promotes the formation of high-quality acceptor alloy phases in the ternary active layer, thereby optimizing carrier behaviors and reducing non-radiative energy loss. The clamping effect reaches its maximum when S-Cb and L8-BO are in equal proportion, where organic solar cells (OSCs) based on D18:S-Cb:L8-BO achieved an impressive efficiency of 20.93%, with a certified efficiency of 20.74%. In summary, the cyclobutyl-mediated interchain supramolecular interactions suppress the electron-phonon coupling and optimize the acceptor alloy phase for efficient ternary OSCs.
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Data availability
All data supporting the findings of this study are available within the main text and the Supplementary Information file. Additional data are available from the corresponding author upon request. The X-ray crystallographic coordinates for the structures reported in this study have been deposited at the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) under deposition number 2423862 (S-Cb). The crystallographic data can also be obtained free of charge from the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre via www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/data_request/cif.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. U23A20371 (W.G.) and U21A2078 (Z.W.). Z.W. acknowledges the support from FuXiaQuan Self-created Zone Collaborative Project (3502ZCQXT2023006). W.G. acknowledges the support from the Scientific Research Funds of Huaqiao University (605-50Y23024) and the Xiamen Outstanding Young Talents Program (605-52424047). G.L. acknowledges the support from Research Grants Council of Hong Kong (Project Nos. 15221320, 15307922, and C4005-22Y), RGC Senior Research Fellowship Scheme (SRFS2223-5S01), the Hong Kong Polytechnic University: SirSze-yuen Chung Endowed Professorship Fund (8-8480), RISE (Q-CDC6), PRI (Q-CD7X, CDAJ), and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Photonic-Thermal-Electrical Energy Materials and Devices (GDSTC No. 2019B121205001). R.M. thanks the PolyU Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship (1-YW4C).
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W.G., H.X., R.M., Z.W., and G.L. conceived the idea. W.G. designed and synthesized S-Cb, and performed TGA, DSC, single-crystal growth and analysis, temperature-dependent NMR, and GIWAXS measurements. Y.H. and J.W. conducted the theoretical simulations. J.Z. carried out the UV-vis absorption, PL, CV, and SCLC measurements. R.M. and H.X. fabricated and characterized the device, including J-V, EQE, Eloss, certified efficiency, PiFM, and prepared samples for morphology testing. T.A.D.P. and J.W. performed the fs-TAS measurements and analyzed the data. W.G., H.X., R.M., Z.W., and G.L. contributed to the preparation of this manuscript, with C.D. and J.-X.T. providing constructive suggestions during the writing and revision of the first draft.
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Gao, W., Hai, Y., Zeng, J. et al. Interchain supramolecular interactions drive nearly 21% efficiency organic solar cells. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71199-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71199-0
