POS6-0276
Distinct Roles of Long-Lived Charge Carriers in Organic Photovoltaics and Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution
Topic
S6. Emerging Polymer and Hybrid Materials for Advanced Energy Storage and Conversion
When and Where
Sep 29, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Hae Jung SON
Boseok KANG
Presenter(s)
Gayoung Ham (Kyungpook National University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Organic semiconductors are promising materials for both organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Although both technologies rely on photoinduced charge generation and separation, their operational requirements differ fundamentally. OPVs require rapid charge separation and extraction to suppress recombination losses, whereas photocatalytic hydrogen evolution benefits from long-lived charge carriers that can participate in interfacial redox reactions. Understanding how charge dynamics govern these contrasting functions remains a key challenge. Here, we investigate PM6- and D18-based donor–acceptor systems incorporating Y5 and Y6 acceptors to understand the relationship between charge dynamics and energy-conversion function. While Y6-based blends exhibit superior photovoltaic performance, Y5-based nanoparticles show enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. Morphological and excited-state analyses reveal that Y5 promotes charge localizatin and restricted hole transfer, leading to the accumulation of long-lived carriers favorable for proton reduction. In contrast, Y6 enables ultrafast charge separation and efficient carrier extraction, resulting in improved photovoltaic performance. These results demonstrate that charge localization enhances photocatalytic hydrogen evolution by promoting charge accumulation, while limiting photovoltaic performance through inefficient charge extraction. Our findings identify charge localization as a key design parameter governing the contrasting requirements of photocatalytic and photovoltaic energy conversion.
