{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T12:36:01Z","timestamp":1787315761218,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787270400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002509","name":"the Bisa Research Grant of Keimyung University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["20250498"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20250498"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002509","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["20250498"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20250498"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00tjv0s33","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Suppressing thermally driven morphological evolution while preserving efficient charge transport pathways remains a critical challenge for improving the long-term stability of organic photovoltaics (OPVs). Herein, a soft polymeric matrix strategy based on gel-related soft material concepts is demonstrated for stabilizing bulk heterojunction (BHJ) morphology and simultaneously improving the efficiency and thermal durability of OPVs. The incorporation of an optimal 5 wt% polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene (SEBS) as a soft polymeric matrix component into a PM6:Y6 blend modulates the nanoscale morphology and local packing characteristics of the acceptor phase. These changes improve charge-transport balance and charge collection, increasing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 14.27% to 15.22%, corresponding to a 6.7% relative enhancement over the control device. More importantly, after 10 days of thermal aging at 85 \u00b0C, the SEBS device retains 87.1% of its initial PCE, compared with 72.5% for the control device. Complementary morphological and spectroscopic analyses reveal suppressed thermally induced structural evolution and aggregation in the SEBS-containing films. These findings demonstrate that a gel-related soft polymeric matrix can regulate BHJ organization and mitigate thermally driven morphological evolution, providing a simple strategy for addressing the efficiency\u2013stability trade-off and realizing thermally robust OPVs.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels12080750","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T11:37:34Z","timestamp":1787312254000},"page":"750","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Soft Polymeric Matrix-Mediated Stabilization of Bulk Heterojunction Morphology for Thermally Robust Organic Photovoltaics"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Unyong","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electronic Engineering, Keimyung University, Daegu 42601, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junpyo","family":"Seo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electronic Engineering, Keimyung University, Daegu 42601, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6155-8337","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Minwoo","family":"Nam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electronic Engineering, Keimyung University, Daegu 42601, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1038\/s41528-022-00222-3","article-title":"Recent progress in solution-processed flexible organic photovoltaics","volume":"6","author":"Sun","year":"2022","journal-title":"npj Flex. Electron."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1900904","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.201900904","article-title":"Solution-processed semitransparent organic photovoltaics: From molecular design to device performance","volume":"31","author":"Brus","year":"2019","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"140907","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tsf.2026.140907","article-title":"Controlling the morphology of organic donor\u2013acceptor films for enhanced optoelectronic properties","volume":"839","author":"Botiz","year":"2026","journal-title":"Thin Solid Films"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"745","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-84313-3","article-title":"Vacuum electrospray deposition for face-on orientation and interface preservation in organic photovoltaics","volume":"15","author":"Lee","year":"2025","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"015002","DOI":"10.1088\/2058-8585\/ae2af2","article-title":"Spin-coating to blade-coating organic solar cell interlayers: Facilitating the transition to scalable deposition","volume":"11","author":"Koh","year":"2026","journal-title":"Flex. Print. Electron."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1007\/s40820-016-0107-3","article-title":"Recent advances to understand morphology stability of organic photovoltaics","volume":"9","author":"Guerrero","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nano-Micro Lett."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1328","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joule.2019.03.020","article-title":"Delineation of thermodynamic and kinetic factors that control stability in non-fullerene organic solar cells","volume":"3","author":"Ghasemi","year":"2019","journal-title":"Joule"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2308076","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.202308076","article-title":"Thermally-induced degradation in PM6:Y6-based bulk heterojunction organic solar cells","volume":"34","author":"Alam","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4334","DOI":"10.1021\/jacsau.4c00631","article-title":"Effect of thermal stress on morphology in high-performance organic photovoltaic blends","volume":"4","author":"Zhao","year":"2024","journal-title":"JACS Au"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"462","DOI":"10.1039\/C5MH00090D","article-title":"Versatile third components for efficient and stable organic solar cells","volume":"2","author":"Cheng","year":"2015","journal-title":"Mater. Horiz."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2406949","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.202406949","article-title":"Solid additive engineering for next-generation organic photovoltaics","volume":"36","author":"Hu","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4645","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-018-07017-z","article-title":"Design and application of volatilizable solid additives in non-fullerene organic solar cells","volume":"9","author":"Yu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"876","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.chemmater.5b04346","article-title":"Removal of residual diiodooctane improves photostability of high-performance organic solar cell polymers","volume":"28","author":"Ostrowski","year":"2016","journal-title":"Chem. Mater."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1218","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-020-14926-5","article-title":"Simultaneous enhanced efficiency and thermal stability in organic solar cells from a polymer acceptor additive","volume":"11","author":"Yang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27026","DOI":"10.1021\/acsami.3c04804","article-title":"Asymmetric polymer additive for morphological regulation and thermally stable organic solar cells","volume":"15","author":"Park","year":"2023","journal-title":"ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"541","DOI":"10.1021\/acsenergylett.4c02897","article-title":"Molecular cross-linking enhances stability of non-fullerene acceptor organic photovoltaics","volume":"10","author":"Yoon","year":"2025","journal-title":"ACS Energy Lett."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2101133","DOI":"10.1002\/smll.202101133","article-title":"Simultaneous improvement of efficiency and stability of organic photovoltaic cells by using a cross-linkable fullerene derivative","volume":"17","author":"Hong","year":"2021","journal-title":"Small"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Singh, A.N., Meena, A., and Nam, K.-W. (2024). Gels in motion: Recent advancements in energy applications. Gels, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/gels10020122"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bhuyan, M.M., and Jeong, J.-H. (2024). Gels\/hydrogels in different devices\/instruments\u2014A review. Gels, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/gels10090548"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2000539","DOI":"10.1002\/solr.202000539","article-title":"Recent progress of organic solar cells with insulating polymers","volume":"4","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sol. RRL"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2003654","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.202003654","article-title":"A universal method to enhance flexibility and stability of organic solar cells by constructing insulating matrices in active layers","volume":"30","author":"Han","year":"2020","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2927","DOI":"10.1021\/acsenergylett.2c01586","article-title":"Vertical stratification engineering of insulating poly(aryl ether)s enables 18.6% organic solar cells with improved stability","volume":"7","author":"Han","year":"2022","journal-title":"ACS Energy Lett."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2106732","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.202106732","article-title":"Thermoplastic elastomer tunes phase structure and promotes stretchability of high-efficiency organic solar cells","volume":"33","author":"Peng","year":"2021","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2201055","DOI":"10.1002\/aelm.202201055","article-title":"Effect of molecular weight on the morphology of a polymer semiconductor\u2013thermoplastic elastomer blend","volume":"9","author":"Nikzad","year":"2023","journal-title":"Adv. Electron. Mater."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3720","DOI":"10.1021\/acsenergylett.3c01124","article-title":"Rubber-toughened organic solar cells: Miscibility\u2013morphology\u2013performance relations","volume":"8","author":"Shafe","year":"2023","journal-title":"ACS Energy Lett."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2401191","DOI":"10.1002\/aenm.202401191","article-title":"Establishing co-continuous network of conjugated polymers and elastomers for high-performance polymer solar cells with extreme stretchability","volume":"14","author":"Lee","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv. Energy Mater."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"56","DOI":"10.1038\/s41528-022-00188-2","article-title":"Thermoplastic elastomer enhanced interface adhesion and bending durability for flexible organic solar cells","volume":"6","author":"Xu","year":"2022","journal-title":"npj Flex. Electron."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2129","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joule.2021.06.006","article-title":"The performance\u2013stability conundrum of BTP-based organic solar cells","volume":"5","author":"Qin","year":"2021","journal-title":"Joule"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2544","DOI":"10.1039\/C5CS00593K","article-title":"Stability of organic solar cells: Challenges and strategies","volume":"45","author":"Cheng","year":"2016","journal-title":"Chem. Soc. Rev."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2515","DOI":"10.1038\/s41467-019-10351-5","article-title":"Over 16% efficiency organic photovoltaic cells enabled by a chlorinated acceptor with increased open-circuit voltages","volume":"10","author":"Cui","year":"2019","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"612","DOI":"10.1021\/jacsau.1c00064","article-title":"High-molecular-weight electroactive polymer additives for simultaneous enhancement of photovoltaic efficiency and mechanical robustness in high-performance polymer solar cells","volume":"1","author":"Lee","year":"2021","journal-title":"JACS Au"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22358","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpcc.6b06635","article-title":"Surface roughness measurements using power spectrum density analysis with enhanced spatial correlation length","volume":"120","author":"Gong","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. C"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"013001","DOI":"10.1088\/2051-672X\/aa51f8","article-title":"Quantitative characterization of surface topography using spectral analysis","volume":"5","author":"Jacobs","year":"2017","journal-title":"Surf. Topogr. Metrol. Prop."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e12421","DOI":"10.1002\/eem2.12421","article-title":"Control of phase separation and crystallization for high-efficiency and mechanically deformable organic solar cells","volume":"6","author":"Ding","year":"2023","journal-title":"Energy Environ. Mater."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3679","DOI":"10.1039\/D0EE01896A","article-title":"The role of bulk and interfacial morphology in charge generation, recombination, and extraction in non-fullerene acceptor organic solar cells","volume":"13","author":"Karki","year":"2020","journal-title":"Energy Environ. Sci."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2867","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms3867","article-title":"Determining the optimum morphology in high-performance polymer-fullerene organic photovoltaic cells","volume":"4","author":"Hedley","year":"2013","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2205711","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.202205711","article-title":"Identifying the signatures of intermolecular interactions in blends of PM6 with Y6 and N4 using absorption spectroscopy","volume":"32","author":"Kroh","year":"2022","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15246","DOI":"10.1021\/jacs.0c07083","article-title":"A non-fullerene acceptor with enhanced intermolecular \u03c0-core interaction for high-performance organic solar cells","volume":"142","author":"Lin","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Am. Chem. Soc."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1017","DOI":"10.1039\/D5EL00117J","article-title":"Organic photovoltaics: Determining the impact of the 1-chloronaphthalene additive in the PM6:Y6 blends from multi-scale simulations","volume":"1","author":"Yu","year":"2025","journal-title":"EES Sol."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"216601","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.93.216601","article-title":"Photocurrent generation in polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunctions","volume":"93","author":"Mihailetchi","year":"2004","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. Lett."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"085203","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevB.81.085203","article-title":"Photocurrent in bulk heterojunction solar cells","volume":"81","author":"Limpinsel","year":"2010","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. B"},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"699","DOI":"10.1002\/adfm.200500420","article-title":"Charge transport and photocurrent generation in poly(3-hexylthiophene):methanofullerene bulk-heterojunction solar cells","volume":"16","author":"Mihailetchi","year":"2006","journal-title":"Adv. Funct. Mater."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7083","DOI":"10.1038\/ncomms8083","article-title":"Competition between recombination and extraction of free charges determines the fill factor of organic solar cells","volume":"6","author":"Bartesaghi","year":"2015","journal-title":"Nat. Commun."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"054090","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevApplied.11.054090","article-title":"Effect of imbalanced charge transport on the interplay of surface and bulk recombination in organic solar cells","volume":"11","author":"Scheunemann","year":"2019","journal-title":"Phys. Rev. Appl."},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2005348","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.202005348","article-title":"The role of demixing and crystallization kinetics on the stability of non-fullerene organic solar cells","volume":"32","author":"Hu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Werner, E., G\u00fcth, U., Brockhagen, B., D\u00f6pke, C., and Ehrmann, A. (2023). Examination of polymer blends by AFM phase images. Technologies, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/technologies11020056"},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"107296","DOI":"10.1016\/j.csite.2025.107296","article-title":"Effect evaluation of frame perforation on reducing photovoltaic panel temperature with passive air cooling","volume":"76","author":"Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Case Stud. Therm. Eng."},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"132283","DOI":"10.1016\/j.applthermaleng.2026.132283","article-title":"Experimental study on improving photoelectric performance of photovoltaic system by using potassium hydroxide-modified hydrogel","volume":"303","author":"Wang","year":"2026","journal-title":"Appl. Therm. Eng."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1679","DOI":"10.1002\/adma.201004301","article-title":"Inverted polymer solar cells integrated with a low-temperature-annealed sol-gel-derived ZnO film as an electron transport layer","volume":"23","author":"Sun","year":"2011","journal-title":"Adv. Mater."}],"container-title":["Gels"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2310-2861\/12\/8\/750\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T12:07:40Z","timestamp":1787314060000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2310-2861\/12\/8\/750"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]]},"references-count":49,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["gels12080750"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/gels12080750","relation":{},"ISSN":["2310-2861"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2310-2861","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]]}}}