Recent advances in high-performance organic solar cells enabled by acceptor–donor–acceptor–donor–acceptor (A–DA′D–A) type acceptors

Over the past two years, the emergence of acceptor–donor–acceptor–donor–acceptor (A–DA′D–A) type non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) has contributed to the rapid development of organic solar cells (OSCs) with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) exceeding 18%. In this Minireview, we firstly introduce key factors, including light absorption, energy levels, and morphology of the active layer that affect the performance of OSCs. Then, we spotlight the A–DA′D–A type acceptors for high-efficiency OSCs reported in recent times and summarize the structure–property relationship from selected examples for future molecular design. We also discuss the recent progress in highly efficient ternary OSCs based on A–DA′D–A type acceptors. Finally, we forecast several research directions for further development of OSCs toward commercialization.