The role of additive in diketopyrrolopyrrole-based small molecular bulk heterojunction solar cells

Capturing Mobile Lithium Ions in a Molecular Hole Transporter Enhances the Thermal Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

A thermally stable perovskite solar cell (PSC) based on a new molecular hole transporter (MHT) of 1,3-bis(5-(4-(bis(4-methoxyphenyl) amino)phenyl)thieno[3,2-b]thiophen-2-yl)-5-octyl-4H-thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6(5H)-dione (coded HL38) is reported. Hole mobility of 1.36 × 10^-3 cm² V^-1 s^-1 and glass transition temperature of 92.2 °C are determined for the HL38 doped with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide and 4-tert-butylpyridine as additives. Interface engineering with 2-(2-aminoethyl)thiophene hydroiodide (2-TEAI) between the perovskite and the HL38 improves the power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 19.60% (untreated) to 21.98%, and this champion PCE is even higher than that of the additive-containing 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-MeOTAD)-based device (21.15%). Thermal stability testing at 85 °C for over 1000 h shows that the HL38-based PSC retains 85.9% of the initial PCE, while the spiro-MeOTAD-based PSC degrades unrecoverably from 21.1% to 5.8%. Time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry studies combined with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy reveal that HL38 shows lower lithium ion diffusivity than spiro-MeOTAD due to a strong complexation of the Li⁺ with HL38, which is responsible for the higher degree of thermal stability. This work delivers an important message that capturing mobile Li⁺ in a hole-transporting layer is critical in designing novel MHTs for improving the thermal stability of PSCs. In addition, it also highlights the impact of interface design on non-conventional MHTs.

Understanding the Morphology of High-Performance Solar Cells Based on a Low-Cost Polymer Donor

A low-cost and high-performance bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cell comprising an emerging polymer donor, poly[(thiophene)-alt-(6,7-difluoro-2-(2-hexyldecyloxy)quinoxaline)] (PTQ10), shows an efficiency of 12.7%. To improve the performance of the solar cells, a better understanding of the structure-property relationships of the PTQ10-based devices is crucial. Here, we fabricate PTQ10/nonfullerene and fullerene BHJ devices, including PTQ10/IDIC, PTQ10/ITIC, and PTQ10/PC₇₁BM, processed with or without thermal annealing and additive and provide detailed descriptions of the relationships between the morphology and performance. PTQ10 is found to be highly miscible with nonfullerene IDIC and ITIC acceptors and poorly miscible with fullerene PC₇₁BM acceptors. Thermal annealing promotes the crystallization of PTQ10 and phase separation of all PTQ10/IDIC, PTQ10/ITIC, and PTQ10/PC₇₁BM devices, leading to an increased power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the PTQ10/IDIC and PTQ10/ITIC devices but a decreased PCE of PTQ10/PC₇₁BM devices with 1,8-di-iodooctane (DIO) additive. Without thermal annealing, DIO greatly improves the morphology of PTQ10/PC₇₁BM, leading to a higher PCE. The results show that the degree of phase separation and ordering in the PTQ10-based devices significantly influences device performance. The morphology-property correlations demonstrated will assist in the rational design of these low-cost polymer donor-based solar cells to achieve even higher performance.

Fluorinated dithienyl-diketopyrrolopyrrole: a new building block for organic optoelectronic materials

The synthesis of monofluorinated and difluorinated dithienyl-DPP was reported using a stepwise synthesis method starting from the preparation of pyrrolinone followed by condensation with methyl thiophene-2-carbimidate derivatives.

Amidinium–carboxylate salt bridge mediated proton-coupled electron transfer in a donor–acceptor supramolecular system

A supramolecular polymer that allows for intrapolymer proton-coupled photoinduced electron transfer was constructed by means of amidinium-carboxylate salt bridges.

A diketopyrrolopyrrole-based fluorescent probe for investigating mitochondrial zinc ions

We report a diketopyrrolopyrrole-based fluorescent probe DPP-Mito, which is low toxicity and mitochondrial-specific localization and could monitor the changes in the intracellular Zn²⁺ concentrations.

Design of Diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-Based Small Molecules for Organic-Solar-Cell Applications

After the first report in 2008, diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based small-molecule photovoltaic materials have been intensively explored. The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) for the DPP-based small-molecule donors have been improved up to 8%. Furthermore, through judicious structure modification, DPP-based small molecules can also be converted into electron-acceptor materials, and, recently, some exciting progress has been achieved. The development of DPP-based photovoltaic small molecules is summarized here, and the photovoltaic performance is discussed in relation to structural modifications, such as the variations of donor-acceptor building blocks, alkyl substitutions, and the type of conjugated bridges, as well as end-capped groups. It is expected that the discussion will provide a guideline in the exploration of novel and promising DPP-containing photovoltaic small molecules.

Synthesis of fluorinated diphenyl-diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives as new building blocks for conjugated copolymers

A series of conjugated copolymers with an identical backbone (PBDT-DPP) but different fluorination numbers and positions were synthesized, and the impact of fluorine atoms on the structure–property-device performance was comprehensively investigated.

Surface treatment by binary solvents induces the crystallization of a small molecular donor for enhanced photovoltaic performance

The surface treatment of p-DTS(FBTTh₂)₂:PC₇₁BM films with binary solvents of methanol and 1-chloronaphthalene enhanced the PCE from 2.4% to 6.5%.

Enhancement of Performance and Mechanism Studies of All-Solution Processed Small-Molecule based Solar Cells with an Inverted Structure

Both solution-processed polymers and small molecule based solar cells have achieved PCEs over 9% with the conventional device structure. However, for the practical applications of photovoltaic technology, further enhancement of both device performance and stability are urgently required, particularly for the inverted structure devices, since this architecture will probably be most promising for the possible coming commercialization. In this work, we have fabricated both conventional and inverted structure devices using the same small molecular donor/acceptor materials and compared the performance of both device structures, and found that the inverted structure based device gave significantly improved performance, the highest PCE so far for inverted structure based device using small molecules as the donor. Furthermore, the inverted device shows a remarkable stability with almost no obvious degradation after three months. Systematic device physics and charge generation dynamics studies, including optical simulation, light-intensity-dependent current-voltage experiments, photocurrent density-effective voltage analyses, transient absorption measurements, and electrical simulations, indicate that the significantly enhanced performance using inverted device is ascribed to the increasing of Jsc compared to the conventional device, which in turn is mainly attributed to the increased absorption of photons in the active layers, rather than the reduced nongeminate recombination.

A molecular nematic liquid crystalline material for high-performance organic photovoltaics

Solution-processed organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) hold great promise to enable roll-to-roll printing of environmentally friendly, mechanically flexible and cost-effective photovoltaic devices. Nevertheless, many high-performing systems show best power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) with a thin active layer (thickness is ~100 nm) that is difficult to translate to roll-to-roll processing with high reproducibility. Here we report a new molecular donor, benzodithiophene terthiophene rhodanine (BTR), which exhibits good processability, nematic liquid crystalline behaviour and excellent optoelectronic properties. A maximum PCE of 9.3% is achieved under AM 1.5G solar irradiation, with fill factor reaching 77%, rarely achieved in solution-processed OPVs. Particularly promising is the fact that BTR-based devices with active layer thicknesses up to 400 nm can still afford high fill factor of ~70% and high PCE of ~8%. Together, the results suggest, with better device architectures for longer device lifetime, BTR is an ideal candidate for mass production of OPVs.

Utilizing alkoxyphenyl substituents for side-chain engineering of efficient benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-based small molecule organic solar cells

A new alkoxyphenyl substituted benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-based small molecule was designed and synthesized for solution-processed organic solar cells.

The prediction of the morphology and PCE of small molecular organic solar cells

The predicted morphology, domain size, PCE (power conversion efficiency) of Small Molecular Organic Solar Cells.

Bulk heterojunction organic solar cells based on carbazole–BODIPY conjugate small molecules as donors with high open circuit voltage

The power conversion efficiency of an optimized3a:PC71BM active layer based device is 5.05%.

A push–pull organic semiconductor with efficient intramolecular charge transfer for solution-processed small molecule solar cells

DMF-BP-T-MMN exhibits superior intramolecular charge transfer and excellent solar cell performance with a PCE of 3.40%.

Morphological effects on the small-molecule-based solution-processed organic solar cells

We report a proof-of-concept study on solution-processed organic solar cells (OSCs) based on [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) and structurally compact donor molecules which have dithiophene-phenazine-dithiophene (TH-P) and dithiophene-quinoxaline-dithiophene (TH-Q) configurations with decyloxy and methyl side groups, respectively. These molecules formed one-dimensional fibers through self-assembly via weak nonbonding interactions such as π-π and van der Waals interactions even during a fast solvent removal process such as spin-casting. Photophysical and thermal properties of the new donor molecules were characterized with UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The electrochemical data determined experimentally were correlated well with theoretical evaluations. The fibers from the two donor molecules showed distinct morphological differences, allowing for in-depth investigations into their influence on the OSC performance. A continuous three-dimensional network of endless one-dimensional nanofibers, with a width of 300-400 nm, were formed from TH-P regardless of the presence of PC61BM, affording spontaneous nanoscale phase separation that facilitates a large donor/acceptor interfacial area. Bulk (BHJ) and planar heterojunctions (PHJ) from TH-P/PC61BM showed a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.38% and 0.30%, respectively, under optimum device conditions. Post thermal annealing led to the increased domain size and a major decrease in Jsc. Meanwhile, shorter, more rigid needles with a large thickness variation were formed from TH-Q. A continuous network of TH-Q was obtained by spin-coating only in the presence of PC61BM, and the PCE of TH-Q/PC61BM BHJ was found to be 0.36%. However, the PHJ showed poor device performance due to TH-Q's inability to form a continuous film by spin-coating. The present study suggests a basic molecular architecture to drive one-dimensional assembly and demonstrates the significance of fibrillation for small-molecule-based OSCs.

Hydrogen bonding in bulk heterojunction solar cells: a case study

Small molecules with dithieno[3,2-b;2',3'-d]thiophene as central building block and octyl cyanoacetate and octyl cyanoacetamide as different terminal building blocks have been designed and synthesized. The amide containing small molecule can form intermolecular hydrogen bonding between N-H...O = C of the amide group. The photovoltaic properties and active layer morphologies of the two molecules in bulk heterojunction solar cells are compared to study the influence of hydrogen bonding on the active layer morphology. New methanofullerene compound containing amide group has also been synthesized and compared with conventional fullerene electron acceptors.

Evaluation of heterocycle-modified pentathiophene-based molecular donor materials for solar cells

Two novel solution-processable acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A)-structured organic small molecules with diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) as terminal acceptor units and pentathiophene (PTA) or pyrrole-modified pentathiophene (NPTA) as the central donor unit, namely, DPP2(PTA) and DPP2(NPTA), were designed and synthesized. We examined the effects of changing the central bridging heteroatoms of the five-ring-fused thienoacene core identity from sulfur [DPP2(PTA)] to nitrogen [DPP2(NPTA)] in the small-molecule donor material. Replacement of the bridging atom with a different electronic structure has a visible effect on both the optical and electrical properties: DPP2(NPTA), which contains much more electron-rich pyrrole in the central thienoacene unit, possesses red-shifted absorption and a higher HOMO level relative to DPP2(PTA) with the less electron-rich thiophene in the same position. More importantly, substitution of the bridging atoms results in a change of the substituting alkyl chains due to the nature of the heteroatoms, which significantly tailored the crystallization behavior and the ability to form an interpenetrating network in thin-film blends with an electron acceptor. Compared to DPP2(PTA) with no alkyl chain substituting on the central sulfur atom of the PTA unit, DPP2(NPTA) exhibits improved crystallinity and better miscibility with PC71BM probably because of a dodecyl chain on the central nitrogen atom of the NPTA unit. These features endow the DPP2(NPTA)/PC71BM blend film higher hole mobility and better donor/acceptor interpenetrating network morphology. Optimized photovoltaic device fabrication based on DPP2(NPTA)/PC71BM (1.5:1, w/w) has resulted in an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) as high as 3.69% (the maximum PCE was 3.83%). This study demonstrates that subtle changes and tailoring of the molecular structure, such as simply changing the bridging heteroatom in the thienoacene unit in D/A-type small molecules, can strongly affect the physical properties that govern their photovoltaic performances.