# Organic solar cells: non-fullerene acceptors climb past the fullerene ceiling

> A ledger of record efficiencies for organic solar cells: fullerene acceptors stalled near 11%, while fused-ring non-fullerene acceptors (ITIC, then the crescent-shaped Y6 and its derivatives) climbed past 21%. A bulk-heterojunction film on the left shows how the donor–acceptor blend turns light into current, and the acceptors and the light they harvest line up above the ledger.

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- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Graphical abstracts
- Method: Graphical abstract
- Starting materials: A conjugated polymer donor and a fused-ring non-fullerene acceptor such as Y6
- Product: A bulk-heterojunction organic solar cell above 21% efficiency
- Key result: PCE 6.8% (ITIC; Lin et al. 2015), > 13% (Hou et al. 2018), 17.8% (Cui et al. 2020), 19.3% (Zhu et al. 2022), > 21% (Yao et al. 2026); best fullerene cells 11% and 15–20 nm domains (Forti et al. 2020)
- Figure: 1920 × 1080 px, 82 editable layers (2 generated objects with settings)

## Steps

1. **Absorb**: Donor and acceptor absorb complementary parts of the visible and near-infrared spectrum (Forti et al. 2020); Y-series acceptors absorb strongly in the near-infrared (Khlaifia et al. 2025)
2. **Diffuse**: The exciton must reach a donor–acceptor interface: the ideal blend is a bicontinuous network of 15–20 nm domains in a ~100 nm film (Forti et al. 2020)
3. **Split**: At the D/A interface the exciton dissociates: the electron goes to the acceptor, the hole stays on the donor (Forti et al. 2020)
4. **Collect**: Holes travel through the donor to the anode, electrons through the acceptor to the cathode (Forti et al. 2020)
5. **Climb past the fullerene ceiling**: Fullerene cells peaked near 11% (Forti et al. 2020); ITIC 6.8% (Lin et al. 2015), > 13% by 2018 (Hou et al. 2018), 17.8% with BTP-eC9 (Cui et al. 2020), 19.3% (Zhu et al. 2022), > 21% (Yao et al. 2026)

## Uses

- Graphical abstracts on organic photovoltaics and non-fullerene acceptors
- Talks on Y6 and fused-ring electron acceptors
- Teaching how a bulk heterojunction works

## References

1. Forti et al., “Recent advances in non-fullerene acceptors of the IDIC/ITIC families for bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells”, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21218085 (review)
2. Lin et al., “An electron acceptor challenging fullerenes for efficient polymer solar cells”, Adv. Mater. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201404317 (primary)
3. Hou, Inganäs, Friend & Gao, “Organic solar cells based on non-fullerene acceptors”, Nat. Mater. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat5063 (review)
4. Cui et al., “Single-junction organic photovoltaic cells with approaching 18% efficiency”, Adv. Mater. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201908205 (primary)
5. Zhu et al., “Single-junction organic solar cells with over 19% efficiency enabled by a refined double-fibril network morphology”, Nat. Mater. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-022-01244-y (primary)
6. Yao, Wan & Chen, “High-performance CH-series non-fullerene acceptors for organic photovoltaics”, Acc. Chem. Res. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.6c00340 (further reading)
7. Guo, Han & Yi, “The intrinsic role of the fusion mode and electron-deficient core in fused-ring electron acceptors for organic photovoltaics”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202205975 (primary)
8. Shoaee et al., “What we have learnt from PM6:Y6”, Adv. Mater. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202302005 (review)
9. Khlaifia et al., “Epoch-making design strategies for high-efficiency fused-ring A-DA'D-A type non-fullerene acceptors in organic solar cells”, Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500691 (review)

Credit: Drawn by LabCanvas after Forti et al., Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020 (doi:10.3390/ijms21218085); Lin et al., Adv. Mater. 2015 (doi:10.1002/adma.201404317); Hou et al., Nat. Mater. 2018 (doi:10.1038/nmat5063); Cui et al., Adv. Mater. 2020 (doi:10.1002/adma.201908205); Zhu et al., Nat. Mater. 2022 (doi:10.1038/s41563-022-01244-y); Guo et al., Angew. Chem. 2022 (doi:10.1002/anie.202205975); Yao et al., Acc. Chem. Res. 2026 (doi:10.1021/acs.accounts.6c00340).

## Questions

**What does the “Organic solar cells: non-fullerene acceptors climb past the fullerene ceiling” template show?** A ledger of record efficiencies for organic solar cells: fullerene acceptors stalled near 11%, while fused-ring non-fullerene acceptors (ITIC, then the crescent-shaped Y6 and its derivatives) climbed past 21%. A bulk-heterojunction film on the left shows how the donor–acceptor blend turns light into current, and the acceptors and the light they harvest line up above the ledger.

**What are the steps shown in “Organic solar cells: non-fullerene acceptors climb past the fullerene ceiling”?** 1. Absorb: Donor and acceptor absorb complementary parts of the visible and near-infrared spectrum (Forti et al. 2020); Y-series acceptors absorb strongly in the near-infrared (Khlaifia et al. 2025). 2. Diffuse: The exciton must reach a donor–acceptor interface: the ideal blend is a bicontinuous network of 15–20 nm domains in a ~100 nm film (Forti et al. 2020). 3. Split: At the D/A interface the exciton dissociates: the electron goes to the acceptor, the hole stays on the donor (Forti et al. 2020). 4. Collect: Holes travel through the donor to the anode, electrons through the acceptor to the cathode (Forti et al. 2020). 5. Climb past the fullerene ceiling: Fullerene cells peaked near 11% (Forti et al. 2020); ITIC 6.8% (Lin et al. 2015), > 13% by 2018 (Hou et al. 2018), 17.8% with BTP-eC9 (Cui et al. 2020), 19.3% (Zhu et al. 2022), > 21% (Yao et al. 2026).

**What are the starting materials and the product?** Starting materials: A conjugated polymer donor and a fused-ring non-fullerene acceptor such as Y6. Product: A bulk-heterojunction organic solar cell above 21% efficiency.

**Which papers is “Organic solar cells: non-fullerene acceptors climb past the fullerene ceiling” based on?** Forti et al., “Recent advances in non-fullerene acceptors of the IDIC/ITIC families for bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells”, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020 (doi:10.3390/ijms21218085); Lin et al., “An electron acceptor challenging fullerenes for efficient polymer solar cells”, Adv. Mater. 2015 (doi:10.1002/adma.201404317); Hou, Inganäs, Friend & Gao, “Organic solar cells based on non-fullerene acceptors”, Nat. Mater. 2018 (doi:10.1038/nmat5063); Cui et al., “Single-junction organic photovoltaic cells with approaching 18% efficiency”, Adv. Mater. 2020 (doi:10.1002/adma.201908205); Zhu et al., “Single-junction organic solar cells with over 19% efficiency enabled by a refined double-fibril network morphology”, Nat. Mater. 2022 (doi:10.1038/s41563-022-01244-y); Yao, Wan & Chen, “High-performance CH-series non-fullerene acceptors for organic photovoltaics”, Acc. Chem. Res. 2026 (doi:10.1021/acs.accounts.6c00340); Guo, Han & Yi, “The intrinsic role of the fusion mode and electron-deficient core in fused-ring electron acceptors for organic photovoltaics”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022 (doi:10.1002/anie.202205975); Shoaee et al., “What we have learnt from PM6:Y6”, Adv. Mater. 2023 (doi:10.1002/adma.202302005); Khlaifia et al., “Epoch-making design strategies for high-efficiency fused-ring A-DA'D-A type non-fullerene acceptors in organic solar cells”, Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2025 (doi:10.1002/marc.202500691).

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