The 42nd Distinguished Scientist Lecture took place at the auditorium of the Social Sciences Complex on the afternoon of April 22. Prof. Li Yongfang, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), delivered a keynote lecture titled “Narrow-Bandgap Organic Acceptor Photovoltaic Materials.” HNU Vice President Yue Wen chaired the event.

Lecture venue (Photo by Pang Defei)

With his personal experiences and academic journey as the lead-in and organic photovoltaic materials and solar cells as the focus, Prof. Li reviewed the development and recent advances of the research on photovoltaic materials, including high-efficiency narrow-bandgap polymer donors, cost-effective polymer donors, small-molecule acceptors, and macromolecular acceptors. He emphasized that further R&D in organic photovoltaic (OPV) materials should focus on reducing costs, improving power conversion efficiency and stability, and enhancing the integration of basic and applied research.

Prof. Li also highlighted the unique advantages of narrow-bandgap organic acceptor photovoltaic materials—including wide absorption spectra and solution processability—which make them well-suited for applications such as wearable electronics and building-integrated photovoltaics. He noted that recent progress in molecular engineering, charge carrier mobility, and device stability has pushed the efficiency of OPV devices beyond 20%, showing great promise of commercialization.

Prof. Li Yongfang delivering the lecture (Photo by Zheng Kaiwen)

The audience were deeply engrossed in the lecture. A lively Q&A session followed, with Prof. Li giving insightful and detailed answers on specialization choice, career development and the design of interlayers in organic photovoltaic materials.

Q&A session (Photo by Pang Defei)

Over 600 people attended the event in person or online, including the representatives from Hainan Association for Science and Technology (HAST), heads of HNU’s departments concerned, as well as faculty and student representatives from all HNU campuses and science & education parks.

Translated by Han Yunsheng

Proofread by Kuang Xiaowen, Yang Jie