Non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) are currently a major focus of research in the development of bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs). In contrast to the widely used fullerene acceptors (FAs), the optical properties and electronic energy levels of NFAs can be readily tuned. NFA-based OSCs can also achieve greater thermal stability and photochemical stability, as well as longer device lifetimes, than their FA-based counterparts. Historically, the performance of NFA OSCs has lagged behind that of fullerene devices. However, recent developments have led to a rapid increase in power conversion efficiencies for NFA OSCs, with values now exceeding 13%, demonstrating the viability of using NFAs to replace FAs in next-generation high-performance OSCs. This Review discusses the important work that has led to this remarkable progress, focusing on the two most promising NFA classes to date: rylene diimide-based materials and materials based on fused aromatic cores with strong electron-accepting end groups. The key structure–property relationships, donor–acceptor matching criteria and aspects of device physics are discussed. Finally, we consider the remaining challenges and promising future directions for the NFA OSCs field.

当前，非富勒烯受体（NFA）是大体积异质结有机太阳能电池（OSC）开发中的主要研究重点。与广泛使用的富勒烯受体（FAs）相比，NFA的光学性质和电子能级易于调节。与基于FA的同类产品相比，基于NFA的OSC还可以实现更高的热稳定性和光化学稳定性以及更长的器件寿命。从历史上看，NFA OSC的性能落后于富勒烯器件。但是，近来的发展导致NFA OSC的功率转换效率迅速提高，其值现已超过13％，这证明了在下一代高性能OSC中使用NFA替代FA的可行性。本评论讨论了导致这一显著进步的重要工作，重点介绍了迄今为止最有前景的两个NFA类：基于二甲苯的二甲酰亚胺材料和基于具有强电子接受端基的稠合芳族核的材料。讨论了关键的结构－属性关系，供体－受体匹配标准以及设备物理方面。最后，我们考虑了NFA OSC领域仍然存在的挑战和有希望的未来方向。