Progress of Monomeric Perylene Diimide Derivatives As Non-Fullerene Acceptors for Organic Solar Cells

Perylene diimides (PDIs) are a competitive class of non-fullerene acceptors in organic solar cells (OSCs), owing to their advantages of low cost and good stability. Monomeric PDIs need fewer synthetic steps thus reducing synthetic complexity, which is vital for mass production. The device performances of OSCs based on monomeric PDI acceptors have achieved great progress in recent years, with the highest power conversion efficiency over 12%. In this work, the various molecular design strategies of monomeric PDI acceptors since 2016 are categorized and introduced to provide perspectives on molecular design guidelines. The insight and limitations are determined, and perspectives on the further development of monomeric PDI acceptors are provided, which could help to overcome the obstacles of moderate short current density ( J sc ) and fill factor values.