1
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Sağlamkaya E, Shadabroo MS, Tokmoldin N, Melody TM, Sun B, Alqahtani O, Patterson A, Collins BA, Neher D, Shoaee S. Key factors behind the superior performance of polymer-based NFA blends. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2024. [PMID: 39120677 DOI: 10.1039/d4mh00747f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2024]
Abstract
All-small molecule (ASMs) solar cells have great potential to actualize the commercialization of organic photovoltaics owing to their higher solubility, lesser batch-to-batch variety and simpler synthesis routes compared to the blend systems that utilize conjugated polymers. However, the efficiencies of the ASMs are slightly lacking behind the polymer: small molecule bulk-heterojunctions. To address this discrepancy, we compare an ASM blend ZR1:Y6 with a polymer:small molecule blend PM7:Y6, sharing the same non-fullerene acceptor (NFA). Our analyses reveal similar energetic offset between the exciton singlet state and charge transfer state (ΔES1-CT) in ZR1:Y6 and PM7:Y6. In comparison to the latter, surprisingly, the ZR1:Y6 has noticeably a stronger field-dependency of charge generation. Low charge carrier mobilities of ZR1:Y6 measured, using space charge limited current measurements, entail a viable explanation for suppressed charge dissociation. Less crystalline and more intermixed domains as observed in the ZR1:Y6 system compared to polymer:Y6 blends, makes it difficult for NFA to form a continuous pathway for electron transport, which reduces the charge carrier mobility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elifnaz Sağlamkaya
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
| | - Mohammad Saeed Shadabroo
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
| | - Nurlan Tokmoldin
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
- Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Tanner M Melody
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, 100 Dairy Road, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
| | - Bowen Sun
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
| | - Obaid Alqahtani
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, 100 Dairy Road, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
- Department of Physics, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj, 11942, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Acacia Patterson
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, 100 Dairy Road, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
| | - Brian A Collins
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Washington State University, 100 Dairy Road, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
| | - Dieter Neher
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
| | - Safa Shoaee
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
- Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, 10117 Berlin, Germany
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2
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Rijal K, Fuller N, Rudayni F, Zhang N, Zuo X, Berrie CL, Yip HL, Chan WL. Endothermic Charge Separation Occurs Spontaneously in Non-Fullerene Acceptor/Polymer Bulk Heterojunction. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2400578. [PMID: 38762779 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202400578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/20/2024]
Abstract
Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) based on non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have achieved a power conversion efficiency close to 20%. These NFA OPVs can generate free carriers efficiently despite a very small energy level offset at the donor/acceptor interface. Why these NFAs can enable efficient charge separation (CS) with low energy losses remains an open question. Here, the CS process in the PM6:Y6 bulk heterojunction is probed by time-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy. It is found that the CS, the conversion from bound charge transfer (CT) excitons to free carriers, is an endothermic process with an enthalpy barrier of 0.15 eV. The CS can occur spontaneously despite being an endothermic process, which implies that it is driven by entropy. It is further argued that the morphology of the PM6:Y6 film and the anisotropic electron delocalization restrict the electron and hole wavefunctions within the CT exciton such that they can primarily contact each other through point-like junctions. This configuration can maximize the entropic driving force.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kushal Rijal
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
| | - Neno Fuller
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
| | - Fatimah Rudayni
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
- Department of Physics, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nan Zhang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong
| | - Xiaobing Zuo
- X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Cindy L Berrie
- Department of Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
| | - Hin-Lap Yip
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong
- Center of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong
| | - Wai-Lun Chan
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
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3
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Nodari D, Hart LJF, Sandberg OJ, Furlan F, Angela E, Panidi J, Qiao Z, McLachlan MA, Barnes PRF, Durrant JR, Ardalan A, Gasparini N. Dark Current in Broadband Perovskite-Organic Heterojunction Photodetectors Controlled by Interfacial Energy Band Offset. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2401206. [PMID: 38888509 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202401206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Revised: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Lead halide perovskite and organic semiconductors are promising classes of materials for photodetector (PD) applications. State-of-the-art perovskite PDs have performance metrics exceeding silicon PDs in the visible. While organic semiconductors offer bandgap tunability due to their chemical design with detection extended into the near-infrared (NIR), perovskites are limited to the visible band and the first fraction of the NIR spectrum. In this work, perovskite-organic heterojunction (POH) PDs with absorption up to 950 nm are designed by the dual contribution of perovskite and the donor:acceptor bulk-heterojunction (BHJ), without any intermediate layer. The effect of the energetics of the donor materials is systematically studied on the dark current (Jd) of the device by using the PBDB-T polymer family. Combining the experimental results with drift-diffusion simulations, it is shown that Jd in POH devices is limited by thermal generation via deep trap states in the BHJ. Thus, the best performance is obtained for the PM7-based POH, which delivers an ultra-low noise current of 2 × 10-14 A Hz-1/2 and high specific detectivity of 4.7 × 1012 Jones in the NIR. Last, the application of the PM7-based POH devices as NIR pulse oximeter with high-accuracy heartbeat monitoring at long-distance of 2 meters is demonstrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Nodari
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Lucy J F Hart
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Oskar J Sandberg
- Sustainable Advanced Materials (Sêr-SAM), Department of Physics, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, SA2 8PP, UK
- Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Henrikinkatu 2, Turku, 20500, Finland
| | - Francesco Furlan
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Edoardo Angela
- Department of Materials, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Julianna Panidi
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Zhuoran Qiao
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Martyn A McLachlan
- Department of Materials, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Piers R F Barnes
- Department of Physics, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - James R Durrant
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering and SPECIFIC IKC, Swansea University, Bay Campus, Fabian Way, Swansea, Wales, SA1 8EN, UK
| | - Armin Ardalan
- Sustainable Advanced Materials (Sêr-SAM), Department of Physics, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, Wales, SA2 8PP, UK
| | - Nicola Gasparini
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
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4
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Xie J, Lin W, Zheng K, Liang Z. N-Doping Donor-Dilute Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells to Weaken Donor: Acceptor Miscibility and Consolidate Donor-Phase Continuity. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2404135. [PMID: 38884284 PMCID: PMC11336925 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202404135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
Lightweight and semi-transparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) offer bright promise for applications such as building integrated photovoltaics. Diluting donor content in bulk-heterojunction active layers to allow greater visible light transmittance (AVT) effectively enhances device transparency, yet the ineluctable compromise of the donor-phase continuity is challenging for efficient charge transport. Herein, a trace amount of n-type N-DMBI dopant is incorporated, which facilitates the donor:acceptor (D:A) de-mixing by strengthening both acceptor polarity and D/A crystallization. With the diminution of component inter-mixing, the limited number of donors increasingly self-aggregate to establish the more continuous phases. For the benchmark PM6:Y6-based ST-OSCs, when the donor content is reduced from regular 45 to optimal 30 wt.%, the device AVT is remarkably raised by more than a quarter, accompanied by a marginal drop in power conversion efficiency from 13.89% to 13.03%. This study reveals that by decreasing the donor content to <30 wt%, acceptor excitons induced by Förster resonance energy transfer are prone to severe radiative recombination. This is nonetheless mitigated by dopant inclusion within the acceptor phase by providing extra energy offset and prolonging charge transfer state lifetime to assist exciton dissociation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaqi Xie
- Department of Materials ScienceFudan UniversityShanghai200433China
| | - Weihua Lin
- Department of Chemical Physics and NanoLundLund UniversityBox 124Lund22100Sweden
| | - Kaibo Zheng
- Department of Chemical Physics and NanoLundLund UniversityBox 124Lund22100Sweden
- Department of ChemistryTechnical University of DenmarkKongens LyngbyDK‐2800Denmark
| | - Ziqi Liang
- Department of Materials ScienceFudan UniversityShanghai200433China
- Institute of OptoelectronicsFudan UniversityShanghai200433China
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5
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Li J, Ji Q, Wang R, Zhang ZG, Wang X, Xiao M, Lu YQ, Zhang C. Charge Generation Dynamics in Organic Photovoltaic Blends under One-Sun-Equivalent Illumination Detected by Highly Sensitive Terahertz Spectroscopy. J Am Chem Soc 2024; 146:20312-20322. [PMID: 38980945 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c05786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
Organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices attain high performance with nonfullerene acceptors by utilizing the synergistic dual channels of charge generation that originate from excitations in both the donor and acceptor materials. However, the specific intermediate states that facilitate both channels are subject to debate. To address this issue, we employ time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy with improved sensitivity (ΔE/E < 10-6), enabling direct probing of charge generation dynamics in a prototypical PM6:Y6 bulk heterojunction system under one-sun-equivalent excitation density. Charge generation arising from donor excitations is characterized with a rise time of ∼9 ps, while that from acceptor excitations shows a rise time of ∼18 ps. Temperature-dependent measurements further reveal notably distinct activation energies for these two charge generation pathways. Additionally, the two channels of charge generation can be substantially manipulated by altering the ratio of bulk to interfaces. These findings strongly suggest the presence of two distinct intermediate states: interfacial and intramoiety excitations. These states are crucial in mediating the transfer of electrons and holes, driving charge generation within OPV devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiacong Li
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Qing Ji
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Rui Wang
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
- College of Physics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Key Laboratory of Aerospace Information Materials and Physics (NUAA), MIIT, Nanjing 211106, China
- Institute of Materials Engineering, Nanjing University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226019, China
| | - Zhi-Guo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Organic/Inorganic Composites, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Xiaoyong Wang
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Min Xiao
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, United States
| | - Yan-Qing Lu
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Chunfeng Zhang
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
- Institute of Materials Engineering, Nanjing University, Nantong, Jiangsu 226019, China
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6
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Jungbluth A, Cho E, Privitera A, Yallum KM, Kaienburg P, Lauritzen AE, Derrien T, Kesava SV, Habib I, Pratik SM, Banerji N, Brédas JL, Coropceanu V, Riede M. Limiting factors for charge generation in low-offset fullerene-based organic solar cells. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5488. [PMID: 38942793 PMCID: PMC11213929 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49432-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Free charge generation after photoexcitation of donor or acceptor molecules in organic solar cells generally proceeds via (1) formation of charge transfer states and (2) their dissociation into charge separated states. Research often either focuses on the first component or the combined effect of both processes. Here, we provide evidence that charge transfer state dissociation rather than formation presents a major bottleneck for free charge generation in fullerene-based blends with low energetic offsets between singlet and charge transfer states. We investigate devices based on dilute donor content blends of (fluorinated) ZnPc:C60 and perform density functional theory calculations, device characterization, transient absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance measurements. We draw a comprehensive picture of how energies and transitions between singlet, charge transfer, and charge separated states change upon ZnPc fluorination. We find that a significant reduction in photocurrent can be attributed to increasingly inefficient charge transfer state dissociation. With this, our work highlights potential reasons why low offset fullerene systems do not show the high performance of non-fullerene acceptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Jungbluth
- Department of Physics, The University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX13PJ, UK
| | - Eunkyung Cho
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0088, USA
- Division of Energy Technology, DGIST, Daegu, 42988, Republic of Korea
| | - Alberto Privitera
- Department of Physics, The University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX13PJ, UK
- Department of Industrial Engineering and INSTM Research Unit, University of Florence, 50139, Firenze, Italy
| | - Kaila M Yallum
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Pascal Kaienburg
- Department of Physics, The University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX13PJ, UK
| | - Andreas E Lauritzen
- Department of Physics, The University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX13PJ, UK
| | - Thomas Derrien
- Diamond Light Source, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0DE, UK
- Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter, EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Sameer V Kesava
- Department of Physics, The University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX13PJ, UK
| | - Irfan Habib
- Department of Physics, The University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX13PJ, UK
| | - Saied Md Pratik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0088, USA
| | - Natalie Banerji
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Luc Brédas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0088, USA
| | - Veaceslav Coropceanu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0088, USA
| | - Moritz Riede
- Department of Physics, The University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX13PJ, UK.
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7
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Li S, Nishikubo R, Saeki A. Combined Charge Extraction by Linearly Increasing Voltage and Time-Resolved Microwave Conductivity to Reveal the Dynamic Charge Carrier Mobilities in Thin-Film Organic Solar Cells. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:26951-26962. [PMID: 38947799 PMCID: PMC11209900 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2024] [Accepted: 06/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
This article reports a purely experiment-based method to evaluate the time-dependent charge carrier mobilities in thin-film organic solar cells (OSCs) using simultaneous charge extraction by linearly increasing the voltage (CELIV) and time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) measurements. This method enables the separate measurement of electron mobility (μe) and hole mobility (μh) in a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) device. A slope-injection-restoration voltage profile for MIS-CELIV is also proposed to accurately determine the charge densities. The dynamic behavior of μe and μh is examined in five bulk heterojunction (BHJ) OSCs of polymer:fullerene (P3HT:PCBM and PffBT4T:PCBM) and polymer:nonfullerene acceptor (PM6:ITIC, PM6:IT4F, and PM6:Y6). While the former exhibits fast decays of μh and μe, the latter, in particular, PM6:IT4F and PM6:Y6, exhibits slow decays. Notably, the high-performing PM6:Y6 demonstrates both a balanced mobility (μe/μh) of 1.0-1.1 within 30 μs and relatively large CELIV-TRMC mobility values among the five BHJs. The results exhibit reasonable consistency with a high fill factor. The proposed new CELIV-TRMC technique offers a path toward a comprehensive understanding of dynamic mobility and its correlation with the OSC performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaoxian Li
- Department
of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Ryosuke Nishikubo
- Department
of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
- Innovative
Catalysis Science Division (ICS), Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary
Research Initiatives (OTRI), Osaka University, 1-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Akinori Saeki
- Department
of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
- Innovative
Catalysis Science Division (ICS), Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary
Research Initiatives (OTRI), Osaka University, 1-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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8
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Kirk BP, Bjuggren JM, Andersson GG, Dastoor P, Andersson MR. Printing and Coating Techniques for Scalable Organic Photovoltaic Fabrication. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 17:2511. [PMID: 38893776 PMCID: PMC11173114 DOI: 10.3390/ma17112511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2024] [Revised: 05/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Within recent years, there has been an increased interest towards organic photovoltaics (OPVs), especially with their significant device performance reaching beyond 19% since 2022. With these advances in the device performance of laboratory-scaled OPVs, there has also been more attention directed towards using printing and coating methods that are compatible with large-scale fabrication. Though large-area (>100 cm2) OPVs have reached an efficiency of 15%, this is still behind that of laboratory-scale OPVs. There also needs to be more focus on determining strategies for improving the lifetime of OPVs that are suitable for scalable manufacturing, as well as methods for reducing material and manufacturing costs. In this paper, we compare several printing and coating methods that are employed to fabricate OPVs, with the main focus towards the deposition of the active layer. This includes a comparison of performances at laboratory (<1 cm2), small (1-10 cm2), medium (10-100 cm2), and large (>100 cm2) active area fabrications, encompassing devices that use scalable printing and coating methods for only the active layer, as well as "fully printed/coated" devices. The article also compares the research focus of each of the printing and coating techniques and predicts the general direction that scalable and large-scale OPVs will head towards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley P. Kirk
- Flinders Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
| | - Jonas M. Bjuggren
- Centre for Organic Electronics, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Gunther G. Andersson
- Flinders Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
| | - Paul Dastoor
- Centre for Organic Electronics, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Mats R. Andersson
- Flinders Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
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9
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Shoaee S, Luong HM, Song J, Zou Y, Nguyen TQ, Neher D. What We have Learnt from PM6:Y6. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2302005. [PMID: 37623325 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202302005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Over the past three years, remarkable advancements in organic solar cells (OSCs) have emerged, propelled by the introduction of Y6-an innovative A-DA'D-A type small molecule non-fullerene acceptor (NFA). This review provides a critical discussion of the current knowledge about the structural and physical properties of the PM6:Y6 material combination in relation to its photovoltaic performance. The design principles of PM6 and Y6 are discussed, covering charge transfer, transport, and recombination mechanisms. Then, the authors delve into blend morphology and degradation mechanisms before considering commercialization. The current state of the art is presented, while also discussing unresolved contentious issues, such as the blend energetics, the pathways of free charge generation, and the role of triplet states in recombination. As such, this review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the PM6:Y6 material combination and its potential for further development in the field of organic solar cells. By addressing both the successes and challenges associated with this system, this review contributes to the ongoing research efforts toward achieving more efficient and stable organic solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Safa Shoaee
- Optoelectronics of Disordered Semiconductors, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, D-14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
- Paul-Drude-Institut für Festkörperelektronik, Leibniz-Institut im Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V., 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hoang M Luong
- Centre for Polymers and Organic Solids, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Jiage Song
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, P. R. China
| | - Yingping Zou
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, P. R. China
| | - Thuc-Quyen Nguyen
- Centre for Polymers and Organic Solids, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Dieter Neher
- Soft Matter Physics and Optoelectronics, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, D-14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
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10
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Hume PA, Price MB, Hodgkiss JM. New Avenues for Organic Solar Cells Using Intrinsically Charge-Generating Materials. JACS AU 2024; 4:1295-1302. [PMID: 38665646 PMCID: PMC11040696 DOI: 10.1021/jacsau.4c00046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Revised: 03/03/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
The molecular electron acceptor material Y6 has been a key part of the most recent surge in organic solar cell sunlight-to-electricity power conversion efficiency, which is now approaching 20%. Numerous studies have sought to understand the fundamental photophysical reasons for the exceptional performance of Y6 and its growing family of structural derivatives. Though significant uncertainty about several details remains, many have concluded that initially photogenerated excited states rapidly convert into electron-hole charge pairs in the neat material. These charge pairs are characterized by location of the electron and hole on different Y6 molecules, in contrast to the Frenkel excitons that dominate the behavior of most organic semiconductor materials. Here, we summarize the current state of knowledge regarding Y6 photophysics and the key observations that have led to it. We then link this understanding to other advances, such as the role of quadrupolar fields in donor-acceptor blends, and the importance of molecular interactions and organization in providing the structural basis for Y6's properties. Finally, we turn our attention to ways of making use of the new photophysics of Y6, and suggest molecular doping, crystal structure tuning, and electric field engineering as promising avenues for future exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul A. Hume
- School
of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria
University of Wellington, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand
- MacDiarmid
Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand
| | - Michael B. Price
- School
of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TS, United Kingdom
| | - Justin M. Hodgkiss
- School
of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria
University of Wellington, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand
- MacDiarmid
Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand
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11
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Cai G, Li Y, Fu Y, Yang H, Mei L, Nie Z, Li T, Liu H, Ke Y, Wang XL, Brédas JL, Tang MC, Chen X, Zhan X, Lu X. Deuteration-enhanced neutron contrasts to probe amorphous domain sizes in organic photovoltaic bulk heterojunction films. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2784. [PMID: 38555349 PMCID: PMC10981694 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47052-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
An organic photovoltaic bulk heterojunction comprises of a mixture of donor and acceptor materials, forming a semi-crystalline thin film with both crystalline and amorphous domains. Domain sizes critically impact the device performance; however, conventional X-ray scattering techniques cannot detect the contrast between donor and acceptor materials within the amorphous intermixing regions. In this study, we employ neutron scattering and targeted deuteration of acceptor materials to enhance the scattering contrast by nearly one order of magnitude. Remarkably, the PM6:deuterated Y6 system reveals a new length scale, indicating short-range aggregation of Y6 molecules in the amorphous intermixing regions. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations confirm that this short-range aggregation is an inherent morphological advantage of Y6 which effectively assists charge extraction and suppresses charge recombination as shown by capacitance spectroscopy. Our findings uncover the amorphous nanomorphology of organic photovoltaic thin films, providing crucial insights into the morphology-driven device performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guilong Cai
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Ionic Liquids Clean Process, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yuhao Li
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803, China.
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10049, China.
| | - Yuang Fu
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hua Yang
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803, China
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10049, China
| | - Le Mei
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zhaoyang Nie
- Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Tengfei Li
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Heng Liu
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yubin Ke
- Spallation Neutron Source Science Center, Dongguan, 523803, China
- Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10049, China
| | - Xun-Li Wang
- Department of Physics and Center for Neutron Scattering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jean-Luc Brédas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721-0041, USA
| | - Man-Chung Tang
- Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Xiankai Chen
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaowei Zhan
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China.
| | - Xinhui Lu
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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12
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Mahadevan S, Liu T, Pratik SM, Li Y, Ho HY, Ouyang S, Lu X, Yip HL, Chow PCY, Brédas JL, Coropceanu V, So SK, Tsang SW. Assessing intra- and inter-molecular charge transfer excitations in non-fullerene acceptors using electroabsorption spectroscopy. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2393. [PMID: 38493131 PMCID: PMC10944474 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46462-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Organic photovoltaic cells using Y6 non-fullerene acceptors have recently achieved high efficiency, and it was suggested to be attributed to the charge-transfer (CT) nature of the excitations in Y6 aggregates. Here, by combining electroabsorption spectroscopy measurements and electronic-structure calculations, we find that the charge-transfer character already exists in isolated Y6 molecules but is strongly increased when there is molecular aggregation. Surprisingly, it is found that the large enhanced charge transfer in clustered Y6 molecules is not due to an increase in excited-state dipole moment, Δμ, as observed in other organic systems, but due to a reduced polarizability change, Δp. It is proposed that such a strong charge-transfer character is promoted by the stabilization of the charge-transfer energy upon aggregation, as deduced from density functional theory and four-state model calculations. This work provides insight into the correlation between molecular electronic properties and charge-transfer characteristics in organic electronic materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sudhi Mahadevan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
- Centre of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
- Hong Kong Institute of Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Taili Liu
- College of Physics and Electronic Information, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan, PR China
| | - Saied Md Pratik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721-0041, USA
| | - Yuhao Li
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Hang Yuen Ho
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
- Centre of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
- Hong Kong Institute of Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Shanchao Ouyang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
- Centre of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
- Hong Kong Institute of Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Xinhui Lu
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Hin-Lap Yip
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
- Centre of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
- Hong Kong Institute of Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
- School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Philip C Y Chow
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Jean-Luc Brédas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721-0041, USA
| | - Veaceslav Coropceanu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721-0041, USA
| | - Shu Kong So
- Department of Physics and Institute of Advanced Materials, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China
| | - Sai-Wing Tsang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China.
- Centre of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China.
- Hong Kong Institute of Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China.
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13
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Lüer L, Wang R, Liu C, Dube H, Heumüller T, Hauch J, Brabec CJ. Maximizing Performance and Stability of Organic Solar Cells at Low Driving Force for Charge Separation. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2305948. [PMID: 38039433 PMCID: PMC10853714 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202305948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
Thanks to the development of novel electron acceptor materials, the power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices are now approaching 20%. Further improvement of PCE is complicated by the need for a driving force to split strongly bound excitons into free charges, causing voltage losses. This review discusses recent approaches to finding efficient OPV systems with minimal driving force, combining near unity quantum efficiency (maximum short circuit currents) with optimal energy efficiency (maximum open circuit voltages). The authors discuss apparently contradicting results on the amount of exciton binding in recent literature, and approaches to harmonize the findings. A comprehensive view is then presented on motifs providing a driving force for charge separation, namely hybridization at the donor:acceptor interface and polarization effects in the bulk, of which quadrupole moments (electrostatics) play a leading role. Apart from controlling the energies of the involved states, these motifs also control the dynamics of recombination processes, which are essential to avoid voltage and fill factor losses. Importantly, all motifs are shown to depend on both molecular structure and process conditions. The resulting high dimensional search space advocates for high throughput (HT) workflows. The final part of the review presents recent HT studies finding consolidated structure-property relationships in OPV films and devices from various deposition methods, from research to industrial upscaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larry Lüer
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i‐MEET)Friedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐NürnbergMartensstrasse 791058ErlangenGermany
| | - Rong Wang
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i‐MEET)Friedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐NürnbergMartensstrasse 791058ErlangenGermany
- Erlangen Graduate School in Advanced Optical Technologies (SAOT)Paul‐Gordan‐Straße 691052ErlangenGermany
| | - Chao Liu
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i‐MEET)Friedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐NürnbergMartensstrasse 791058ErlangenGermany
| | - Henry Dube
- Department Chemistry and PharmacyFriedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐NürnbergNikolaus‐Fiebiger‐Straße 1091058ErlangenGermany
| | - Thomas Heumüller
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i‐MEET)Friedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐NürnbergMartensstrasse 791058ErlangenGermany
| | - Jens Hauch
- Helmholtz‐Institute Erlangen‐Nürnberg (HI‐ERN)Immerwahrstraße 291058ErlangenGermany
| | - Christoph J. Brabec
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i‐MEET)Friedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐NürnbergMartensstrasse 791058ErlangenGermany
- Helmholtz‐Institute Erlangen‐Nürnberg (HI‐ERN)Immerwahrstraße 291058ErlangenGermany
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14
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Zhang KN, Du XY, Yan L, Pu YJ, Tajima K, Wang X, Hao XT. Organic Photovoltaic Stability: Understanding the Role of Engineering Exciton and Charge Carrier Dynamics from Recent Progress. SMALL METHODS 2024; 8:e2300397. [PMID: 37204077 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202300397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Benefiting from the synergistic development of material design, device engineering, and the mechanistic understanding of device physics, the certified power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of single-junction non-fullerene organic solar cells (OSCs) have already reached a very high value of exceeding 19%. However, in addition to PCEs, the poor stability is now a challenging obstacle for commercial applications of organic photovoltaics (OPVs). Herein, recent progress made in exploring operational mechanisms, anomalous photoelectric behaviors, and improving long-term stability in non-fullerene OSCs are highlighted from a novel and previously largely undiscussed perspective of engineering exciton and charge carrier pathways. Considering the intrinsic connection among multiple temporal-scale photocarrier dynamics, multi-length scale morphologies, and photovoltaic performance in OPVs, this review delineates and establishes a comprehensive and in-depth property-function relationship for evaluating the actual device stability. Moreover, this review has also provided some valuable photophysical insights into employing the advanced characterization techniques such as transient absorption spectroscopy and time-resolved fluorescence imagings. Finally, some of the remaining major challenges related to this topic are proposed toward the further advances of enhancing long-term operational stability in non-fullerene OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang-Ning Zhang
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, P. R. China
| | - Xiao-Yan Du
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, P. R. China
| | - Lei Yan
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, P. R. China
| | - Yong-Jin Pu
- RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Keisuke Tajima
- RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Xingzhu Wang
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, P. R. China
- School of Electrical Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, P. R. China
| | - Xiao-Tao Hao
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, P. R. China
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
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15
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Rasool S, Yeop J, An NG, Kim JW, Kim JY. Role of Charge-Carrier Dynamics Toward the Fabrication of Efficient Air-Processed Organic Solar Cells. SMALL METHODS 2024; 8:e2300578. [PMID: 37649231 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202300578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Over the past couple of decades, immense research has been carried out to understand the photo-physics of an organic solar cell (OSC) that is important to enhance its efficiency and stability. Since OSCs undergoes complex photophysical phenomenon, studying these factors has led to designing new materials and implementing new strategies to improve efficiency in OSCs. In this regard, the invention of the non-fullerene acceptorshas greatly revolutionized the understanding of the fundamental processes occurring in OSCs. However, such vital fundamental research from device physics perspectives is carried out on glovebox (GB) processed OSCs and there is a scarcity of research on air-processed (AP) OSCs. This review will focus on charge carrier dynamics such as exciton diffusion, exciton dissociation, charge-transfer states, significance of highest occupied molecular orbital-offsets, and hole-transfer efficiencies of GB-OSCs and compare them with the available data from the AP-OSCs. Finally, key requirements for the fabrication of efficient AP-OSCs will be presented from a charge-carrier dynamics perspective. The key aspects from the charge-carrier dynamics view to fabricate efficient OSCs either from GB or air are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shafket Rasool
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 44919, South Korea
| | - Jiwoo Yeop
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 44919, South Korea
| | - Na Gyeong An
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 44919, South Korea
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Monash University, Victoria, 3800, Australia
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Manufacturing, Clayton, Victoria, 3168, Australia
| | - Jae Won Kim
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 44919, South Korea
| | - Jin Young Kim
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 44919, South Korea
- Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, 44919, South Korea
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16
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Sugie A, Nakano K, Tajima K, Osaka I, Yoshida H. Dependence of Exciton Binding Energy on Bandgap of Organic Semiconductors. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:11412-11420. [PMID: 38081594 PMCID: PMC10749482 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c02863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Strongly bound excitons crucially affect the operation of organic optoelectronic devices. Nevertheless, precise experimental data on the exciton binding energy of organic semiconductors are lacking. In this study, we determine the exciton binding energy as the difference between the optical and transport bandgaps with a precision of 0.1 eV. In particular, electron affinities with a precision higher than 0.05 eV determined by low-energy inverse photoelectron spectroscopy allow us to determine the transport gap and the exciton binding energies with such high precision. Through a systematic comparison of a wide range of organic semiconductors, including 42 organic solar cell materials (15 nonfullerene acceptors, 4 fullerene acceptors, 13 low-bandgap polymers, 7 organic light-emitting diode materials, and 3 crystalline materials), we found that the exciton binding energy is one-quarter of the transport gap regardless of the materials. We interpret this unexpected relation from a hydrogen atom-like model, i.e., the quantized energy levels in a Coulomb potential between the positive and the negative charges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai Sugie
- Graduate
School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
| | - Kyohei Nakano
- RIKEN
Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Keisuke Tajima
- RIKEN
Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Itaru Osaka
- Applied
Chemistry Program, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Yoshida
- Graduate
School of Engineering, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
- Molecular
Chirality Research Center, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522, Japan
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17
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Zou B, Wu W, Dela Peña TA, Ma R, Luo Y, Hai Y, Xie X, Li M, Luo Z, Wu J, Yang C, Li G, Yan H. Step-by-Step Modulation of Crystalline Features and Exciton Kinetics for 19.2% Efficiency Ortho-Xylene Processed Organic Solar Cells. NANO-MICRO LETTERS 2023; 16:30. [PMID: 37995001 PMCID: PMC10667184 DOI: 10.1007/s40820-023-01241-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
With plenty of popular and effective ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) construction strategies proposed and applied, its power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) have come to a new level of over 19% in single-junction devices. However, previous studies are heavily based in chloroform (CF) leaving behind substantial knowledge deficiencies in understanding the influence of solvent choice when introducing a third component. Herein, we present a case where a newly designed asymmetric small molecular acceptor using fluoro-methoxylated end-group modification strategy, named BTP-BO-3FO with enlarged bandgap, brings different morphological evolution and performance improvement effect on host system PM6:BTP-eC9, processed by CF and ortho-xylene (o-XY). With detailed analyses supported by a series of experiments, the best PCE of 19.24% for green solvent-processed OSCs is found to be a fruit of finely tuned crystalline ordering and general aggregation motif, which furthermore nourishes a favorable charge generation and recombination behavior. Likewise, over 19% PCE can be achieved by replacing spin-coating with blade coating for active layer deposition. This work focuses on understanding the commonly met yet frequently ignored issues when building ternary blends to demonstrate cutting-edge device performance, hence, will be instructive to other ternary OSC works in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bosen Zou
- Department of Chemistry Department of Chemistry and Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Weiwei Wu
- Department of Chemistry Department of Chemistry and Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Top Archie Dela Peña
- Department of Chemistry Department of Chemistry and Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Function Hub, Advanced Materials Thrust, NanshaGuangzhou, 511400, People's Republic of China
- Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Ruijie Ma
- Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao (GHM) Joint Laboratory for Photonic-Thermal-Electrical Energy Materials and Devices, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077, People's Republic of China.
| | - Yongmin Luo
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Function Hub, Advanced Materials Thrust, NanshaGuangzhou, 511400, People's Republic of China
| | - Yulong Hai
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Function Hub, Advanced Materials Thrust, NanshaGuangzhou, 511400, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiyun Xie
- Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao (GHM) Joint Laboratory for Photonic-Thermal-Electrical Energy Materials and Devices, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingjie Li
- Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhenghui Luo
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of New Information Display and Storage Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, People's Republic of China.
| | - Jiaying Wu
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Function Hub, Advanced Materials Thrust, NanshaGuangzhou, 511400, People's Republic of China.
| | - Chuluo Yang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of New Information Display and Storage Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, People's Republic of China
| | - Gang Li
- Department of Chemistry Department of Chemistry and Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China
| | - He Yan
- Department of Chemistry Department of Chemistry and Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China.
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18
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Moiz SA, Alshaikh MS, Alahmadi ANM. Simulation Design of Novel Non-Fluorine Polymers as Electron Transport Layer for Lead-Free Perovskite Solar Cells. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:4387. [PMID: 38006111 PMCID: PMC10675704 DOI: 10.3390/polym15224387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Significant progress has been made in the advancement of perovskite solar cells, but their commercialization remains hindered by their lead-based toxicity. Many non-toxic perovskite-based solar cells have demonstrated potential, such as Cs2AgBi0.75Sb0.25Br6, but their power conversion efficiency is inadequate. To address this issue, some researchers are focusing on emerging acceptor-donor-acceptor'-donor-acceptor (A-DA'D-A)-type non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) for Cs2AgBi0.75Sb0.25Br6 to find effective electron transport layers for high-performance photovoltaic responses with low voltage drops. In this comparative study, four novel A-DA'D-A-type NFAs, BT-LIC, BT-BIC, BT-L4F, and BT-BO-L4F, were used as electron transport layers (ETLs) for the proposed devices, FTO/PEDOT:PSS/Cs2AgBi0.75Sb0.25Br6/ETL/Au. Comprehensive simulations were conducted to optimize the devices. The simulations showed that all optimized devices exhibit photovoltaic responses, with the BT-BIC device having the highest power conversion efficiency (13.2%) and the BT-LIC device having the lowest (6.8%). The BT-BIC as an ETL provides fewer interfacial traps and better band alignment, enabling greater open-circuit voltage for efficient photovoltaic responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syed Abdul Moiz
- Device Simulation Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia; (M.S.A.); (A.N.M.A.)
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19
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Duan T, Feng W, Li Y, Li Z, Zhang Z, Liang H, Chen H, Zhong C, Jeong S, Yang C, Chen S, Lu S, Rakitin OA, Li C, Wan X, Kan B, Chen Y. Electronic Configuration Tuning of Centrally Extended Non-Fullerene Acceptors Enabling Organic Solar Cells with Efficiency Approaching 19 . Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202308832. [PMID: 37626468 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202308832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
In the molecular optimizations of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), extending the central core can tune the energy levels, reduce nonradiative energy loss, enhance the intramolecular (donor-acceptor and acceptor-acceptor) packing, facilitate the charge transport, and improve device performance. In this study, a new strategy was employed to synthesize acceptors featuring conjugation-extended electron-deficient cores. Among these, the acceptor CH-BBQ, embedded with benzobisthiadiazole, exhibited an optimal fibrillar network morphology, enhanced crystallinity, and improved charge generation/transport in blend films, leading to a power conversion efficiency of 18.94 % for CH-BBQ-based ternary organic solar cells (OSCs; 18.19 % for binary OSCs) owing to its delicate structure design and electronic configuration tuning. Both experimental and theoretical approaches were used to systematically investigate the influence of the central electron-deficient core on the properties of the acceptor and device performance. The electron-deficient core modulation paves a new pathway in the molecular engineering of NFAs, propelling relevant research forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tainan Duan
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
- Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chongqing School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS Chongqing), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing, 400714, China
| | - Wanying Feng
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Yulu Li
- Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chongqing School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS Chongqing), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing, 400714, China
| | - Zhixiang Li
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Zhe Zhang
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Huazhe Liang
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Hongbin Chen
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Cheng Zhong
- Hubei Key Laboratory on Organic and Polymeric Opto-electronic Materials, College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Seonghun Jeong
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Perovtronics Research Center, Low Dimensional Carbon Materials Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Changduk Yang
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Perovtronics Research Center, Low Dimensional Carbon Materials Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Shanshan Chen
- Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, CQU-NUS Renewable Energy Materials & Devices Joint Laboratory, School of Energy & Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
| | - Shirong Lu
- Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chongqing School, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS Chongqing), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing, 400714, China
| | - Oleg A Rakitin
- N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry Russian Academy of Sciences, 47 Leninsky Prospekt, 119991, Moscow, Russia
| | - Chenxi Li
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Xiangjian Wan
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Bin Kan
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, National Institute for Advanced Materials, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Yongsheng Chen
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
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20
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Lee D, Kim DH, Oh CM, Park S, Krishna NV, Wibowo FTA, Hwang IW, Jang SY, Cho S. Investigation of Hole-Transfer Dynamics through Simple EL De-Convolution in Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cells. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:4042. [PMID: 37896285 PMCID: PMC10610510 DOI: 10.3390/polym15204042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In conventional fullerene-based organic photovoltaics (OPVs), in which the excited electrons from the donor are transferred to the acceptor, the electron charge transfer state (eECT) that electrons pass through has a great influence on the device's performance. In a bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) system based on a low bandgap non-fullerene acceptor (NFA), however, a hole charge transfer state (hECT) from the acceptor to the donor has a greater influence on the device's performance. The accurate determination of hECT is essential for achieving further enhancement in the performance of non-fullerene organic solar cells. However, the discovery of a method to determine the exact hECT remains an open challenge. Here, we suggest a simple method to determine the exact hECT level via deconvolution of the EL spectrum of the BHJ blend (ELB). To generalize, we have applied our ELB deconvolution method to nine different BHJ systems consisting of the combination of three donor polymers (PM6, PBDTTPD-HT, PTB7-Th) and three NFAs (Y6, IDIC, IEICO-4F). Under the conditions that (i) absorption of the donor and acceptor are separated sufficiently, and (ii) the onset part of the external quantum efficiency (EQE) is formed solely by the contribution of the acceptor only, ELB can be deconvoluted into the contribution of the singlet recombination of the acceptor and the radiative recombination via hECT. Through the deconvolution of ELB, we have clearly decided which part of the broad ELB spectrum should be used to apply the Marcus theory. Accurate determination of hECT is expected to be of great help in fine-tuning the energy level of donor polymers and NFAs by understanding the charge transfer mechanism clearly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongchan Lee
- Department of Semiconductor Physics and EHSRC, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 44610, Republic of Korea
| | - Do Hui Kim
- Department of Semiconductor Physics and EHSRC, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 44610, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang-Mok Oh
- Advanced Photonics Research Institute, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea (I.-W.H.)
| | - Sujung Park
- Department of Semiconductor Physics and EHSRC, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 44610, Republic of Korea
| | - Narra Vamsi Krishna
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea (S.-Y.J.)
| | - Febrian Tri Adhi Wibowo
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea (S.-Y.J.)
| | - In-Wook Hwang
- Advanced Photonics Research Institute, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea (I.-W.H.)
| | - Sung-Yeon Jang
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea (S.-Y.J.)
| | - Shinuk Cho
- Department of Semiconductor Physics and EHSRC, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 44610, Republic of Korea
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21
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Huang YC, Cha HC, Huang SH, Li CF, Santiago SRM, Tsao CS. Highly Efficient Flexible Roll-to-Roll Organic Photovoltaics Based on Non-Fullerene Acceptors. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:4005. [PMID: 37836054 PMCID: PMC10575468 DOI: 10.3390/polym15194005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) to be deposited on flexible substrates by roll-to-roll (R2R) processes is highly attractive for rapid mass production. Many research teams have demonstrated the great potential of flexible OPVs. However, the fabrication of R2R-coated OPVs is quite limited. There is still a performance gap between the R2R flexible OPVs and the rigid OPVs. In this study, we demonstrate the promising photovoltaic characteristics of flexible OPVs fabricated from blends of low bandgap polymer poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene))-alt-(5,5-(1',3'-di-2-thienyl-5',7'-bis(2-ethylhexyl)benzo[1',2'-c:4',5'-c']dithiophene-4,8-dione)] (PBDB-T) and non-fullerene 3,9-bis(2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-indanone))-5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3-d:2',3'-d']-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b']dithiophene (ITIC). We successfully R2R slot-die coated the flexible OPVs with high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 8.9% under irradiation of simulated sunlight. Our results indicate that the processing parameters significantly affect the PCE of R2R flexible OPVs. By adjusting the amount of solvent additive and processing temperature, as well as optimizing thermal annealing conditions, the high PCE of R2R slot-die coated OPVs can be obtained. These results provide significant insights into the fundamentals of highly efficient OPVs for the R2R slot-die coating process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Ching Huang
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan
- Organic Electronics Research Center, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan
- Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan
| | - Hou-Chin Cha
- Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Taoyuan 32546, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Han Huang
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Feng Li
- Department of Materials Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan
| | | | - Cheng-Si Tsao
- Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Taoyuan 32546, Taiwan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
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22
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Sun Z, Li S, Xie S, Meng Y, An Z. Surface hopping simulations on charge separation in an organic donor-acceptor system. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:26203-26210. [PMID: 37740356 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp02164e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Charge separation in organic solar cells is a long-lasting and heavily debated issue. Here, we use the surface hopping method based on the Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) Hamiltonian and configuration interaction singles (CIS) approximation to simulate the charge separation process in an organic donor-acceptor system. The system is composed of one donor polymer chain and four acceptor polymer chains, and they are all stacked face-to-face. We let the system to relax from a photoexcited state, and then we observed that the electron is transferred from the donor chain to different acceptor chains and the hole is left on the donor chain, forming polaron pairs with different electron-hole distances. By performing statistical analysis on a number of trajectories, we found that the electron and the hole are fully separated before the system relaxes to its lowest excited state. The yield of free charges shows a significant dependence on the donor-acceptor band offset which provides the driving force for charge separation, while showing negligible dependence on the photoexcitation energy. The external electric field has a remarkable effect on the yield of free charges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Sun
- Department of Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
- Zhejiang Institute of Photoelectronics & Zhejiang Institute for Advanced Light Source, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
| | - Sheng Li
- Department of Physics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China.
- Zhejiang Institute of Photoelectronics & Zhejiang Institute for Advanced Light Source, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua 321004, China
| | - Shijie Xie
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China
| | - Yan Meng
- Department of Physics, Xingtai University, Xingtai 054001, China
| | - Zhong An
- College of Physics, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang 050024, China.
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23
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Wang Y, Zheng Z, Wang J, Bi P, Chen Z, Ren J, An C, Zhang S, Hou J. Organic laser power converter for efficient wireless micro power transfer. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5511. [PMID: 37679350 PMCID: PMC10484967 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41270-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Wireless power transfer with collimated power transmission and efficient conversion provides an alternative charging mode for off-grid and portable micro-power electronics. However, charging micro-power electronics with low photon flux can be challenging for current laser power converters. Here we show laser power converters with organic photovoltaic cells with good performance for application in laser wireless power transfer. The laser selection strategy is established and the upper limit of efficiency is proposed. The organic laser power converters exhibit a 36.2% efficiency at a 660 nm laser with a photon flux of 9.5 mW cm-2 and achieve wireless micro power transfer with an output of 0.5 W on a 2 meter scale. This work shows the good performance of organic photovoltaic cells in constructing organic laser power converters and provides a potential solution for the wireless power transfer of micro-power electronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yafei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Zhong Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
- School of Chemistry and Biology Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
| | - Jianqiu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Pengqing Bi
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Zhihao Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Junzhen Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Cunbin An
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Shaoqing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemistry and Biology Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Jianhui Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- School of Chemistry and Biology Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
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24
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Park SY, Labanti C, Pacalaj RA, Lee TH, Dong Y, Chin YC, Luke J, Ryu G, Minami D, Yun S, Park JI, Fang F, Park KB, Durrant JR, Kim JS. The State-of-the-Art Solution-Processed Single Component Organic Photodetectors Achieved by Strong Quenching of Intermolecular Emissive State and High Quadrupole Moment in Non-Fullerene Acceptors. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023:e2306655. [PMID: 37670609 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202306655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023]
Abstract
A bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) blend is commonly used as the photoactive layer in organic photodetectors (OPDs) to utilize the donor (D)/acceptor (A) interfacial energetic offset for exciton dissociation. However, this strategy often complicates optimization procedures, raising serious concerns over device processability, reproducibility, and stability. Herein, highly efficient OPDs fabricated with single-component organic semiconductors are demonstrated via solution-processing. The non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) with strong intrinsic D/A character are used as the photoactive layer, where the emissive intermolecular charge transfer excitonic (CTE) states are formed within <1 ps, and efficient photocurrent generation is achieved via strong quenching of these CTE states by reverse bias. Y6 and IT-4F-based OPDs show excellent OPD performances, low dark current density (≈10-9 A cm-2 ), high responsivity (≥0.15 A W-1 ), high specific detectivity (>1012 Jones), and fast photo-response time (<10 µs), comparable to the state-of-the-art BHJ OPDs. Together with strong CTE state quenching by electric field, these excellent OPD performances are also attributed to the high quadrupole moments of NFA molecules, which can lead to large interfacial energetic offset for efficient CTE dissociation. This work opens a new way to realize efficient OPDs using single-component systems via solution-processing and provides important molecular design rules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Yi Park
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Chiara Labanti
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Richard A Pacalaj
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Tack Ho Lee
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London, W12 0BZ, UK
- Department of Chemistry Education, Graduate Department of Chemical Materials, Institute for Plastic Information and Energy Materials, Sustainable Utilization of Photovoltaic Energy Research Center, Pusan National University, 46241, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Yifan Dong
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Yi-Chun Chin
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Joel Luke
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Gihan Ryu
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Daiki Minami
- CSE team, Innovation Center, Samsung Electronics, Co. Ltd., 1 Samsungjeonja-ro, Hwasung-si, Gyeonggi-do, 18448, Republic of Korea
| | - Sungyoung Yun
- Organic Materials Lab, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 16678, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Il Park
- Organic Materials Lab, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 16678, Republic of Korea
| | - Feifei Fang
- Organic Materials Lab, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 16678, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung-Bae Park
- Organic Materials Lab, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung-ro, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, 16678, Republic of Korea
| | - James R Durrant
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, White City Campus, London, W12 0BZ, UK
- SPECIFIC IKC, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, SA2 7AX, UK
| | - Ji-Seon Kim
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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25
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Song G, Feng W, Li Y, Liang H, Li Z, Kan B, Wan X, Yao Z, Li C, Chen Y. Extending Se substitution to the limit: from 5S to 5Se in high-efficiency non-fullerene acceptors. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:10307-10310. [PMID: 37548238 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc02560h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Based on the newly synthesized seleno[3,2-b]selenophene unit, two near-infrared non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) of 4Se and 5Se are constructed by replacing four or all sulfurs with selenium in high-efficiency Y-series NFAs. Consequently, binary devices based on 4Se and 5Se afford PCEs of 15.17% and 15.23%, respectively, with a photoelectric response approaching 1000 nm. More excitingly, the energy loss of the 5Se-based device was as low as 0.477 eV along with almost the smallest non-radiative loss of ∼0.15 eV thus far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangkun Song
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Wanying Feng
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Yu Li
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Huazhe Liang
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Zhixiang Li
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Bin Kan
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, National Institute for Advanced Materials, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Xiangjian Wan
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Zhaoyang Yao
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Chenxi Li
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
| | - Yongsheng Chen
- State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage Center (RECAST), College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
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26
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Ham G, Lee D, Park C, Cha H. Charge Carrier Dynamics in Non-Fullerene Acceptor-Based Organic Solar Cells: Investigating the Influence of Processing Additives Using Transient Absorption Spectroscopy. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 16:5712. [PMID: 37630003 PMCID: PMC10456882 DOI: 10.3390/ma16165712] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we present a comprehensive investigation into the charge generation mechanism in bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells employing non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) both with and without the presence of processing additives. While photovoltaic devices based on Y6 or BTP-eC9 have shown remarkable power conversion efficiencies, the underlying charge generation mechanism in polymer:NFA blends remains poorly understood. To shed light on this, we employ transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy to elucidate the charge transfer pathway within a blend of the donor polymer PM6 and NFAs. Interestingly, the charge carrier lifetimes of neat Y6 and BTP-eC9 are comparable, both reaching up to 20 ns. However, the PM6:BTP-eC9 blend exhibits substantially higher charge carrier generation and a longer carrier lifetime compared to PM6:Y6 blend films, leading to superior performance. By comparing TA data obtained from PM6:Y6 or PM6:BTP-eC9 blend films with and without processing additives, we observe significantly enhanced charge carrier generation and prolonged charge carrier lifetimes in the presence of these additives. These findings underscore the potential of manipulating excited species as a promising avenue for further enhancing the performance of organic solar cells. Moreover, this understanding contributes to the advancement of NFA-based systems and the optimization of charge transfer processes in polymer:NFA blends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gayoung Ham
- Department of Energy Convergence and Climate Change, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
| | - Damin Lee
- Department of Hydrogen and Renewable Energy, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
| | - Changwoo Park
- Department of Hydrogen and Renewable Energy, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyojung Cha
- Department of Energy Convergence and Climate Change, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
- Department of Hydrogen and Renewable Energy, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
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27
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Sağlamkaya E, Musiienko A, Shadabroo MS, Sun B, Chandrabose S, Shargaieva O, Lo Gerfo M G, van Hulst NF, Shoaee S. What is special about Y6; the working mechanism of neat Y6 organic solar cells. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2023; 10:1825-1834. [PMID: 36857707 DOI: 10.1039/d2mh01411d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have delivered advancement in bulk heterojunction organic solar cell efficiencies, with a significant milestone of 20% now in sight. However, these materials challenge the accepted wisdom of how organic solar cells work. In this work we present a neat Y6 device with an efficiency above 4.5%. We thoroughly investigate mechanisms of charge generation and recombination as well as transport in order to understand what is special about Y6. Our data suggest that Y6 generates bulk free charges, with ambipolar mobility, which can be extracted in the presence of transport layers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elifnaz Sağlamkaya
- Disordered Semiconductor Optoelectronics, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
| | - Artem Musiienko
- Department Novel Materials and Interfaces for Photovoltaic Solar Cells, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Kekuléstraße 5, 12489 Berlin, Germany
| | - Mohammad Saeed Shadabroo
- Disordered Semiconductor Optoelectronics, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
| | - Bowen Sun
- Disordered Semiconductor Optoelectronics, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
| | - Sreelakshmi Chandrabose
- Soft Matter Physics, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Oleksandra Shargaieva
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH, HySPRINT Innovation Lab, Department "Solution Processing of Hybrid Materials & Devices" (SE-ALM), Kekuléstr. 5, Berlin 12489, Germany
| | - Giulia Lo Gerfo M
- ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Niek F van Hulst
- ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA - Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Safa Shoaee
- Disordered Semiconductor Optoelectronics, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany.
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28
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Zarrabi N, Sandberg OJ, Meredith P, Armin A. Subgap Absorption in Organic Semiconductors. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:3174-3185. [PMID: 36961944 PMCID: PMC10084470 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Organic semiconductors have found a broad range of application in areas such as light emission, photovoltaics, and optoelectronics. The active components in such devices are based on molecular and polymeric organic semiconductors, where the density of states is generally determined by the disordered nature of the molecular solid rather than energy bands. Inevitably, there exist states within the energy gap which may include tail states, deep traps caused by unavoidable impurities and defects, as well as intermolecular states due to (radiative) charge transfer states. In this Perspective, we first summarize methods to determine the absorption features due to the subgap states. We then explain how subgap states can be parametrized based upon the subgap spectral line shapes. We finally describe the role of subgap states in the performance metrics of organic semiconductor devices from a thermodynamic viewpoint.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasim Zarrabi
- Sustainable
Advanced Materials (Ser-SAM), Department of Physics, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Oskar J. Sandberg
- Sustainable
Advanced Materials (Ser-SAM), Department of Physics, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Meredith
- Sustainable
Advanced Materials (Ser-SAM), Department of Physics, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
| | - Ardalan Armin
- Sustainable
Advanced Materials (Ser-SAM), Department of Physics, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, United Kingdom
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29
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Fu Y, Lee TH, Chin YC, Pacalaj RA, Labanti C, Park SY, Dong Y, Cho HW, Kim JY, Minami D, Durrant JR, Kim JS. Molecular orientation-dependent energetic shifts in solution-processed non-fullerene acceptors and their impact on organic photovoltaic performance. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1870. [PMID: 37015916 PMCID: PMC10073232 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37234-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) employed in state-of-art organic photovoltaics (OPVs) often exhibit strong quadrupole moments which can strongly impact on material energetics. Herein, we show that changing the orientation of Y6, a prototypical NFA, from face-on to more edge-on by using different processing solvents causes a significant energetic shift of up to 210 meV. The impact of this energetic shift on OPV performance is investigated in both bilayer and bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) devices with PM6 polymer donor. The device electronic bandgap and the rate of non-geminate recombination are found to depend on the Y6 orientation in both bilayer and BHJ devices, attributed to the quadrupole moment-induced band bending. Analogous energetic shifts are also observed in other common polymer/NFA blends, which correlates well with NFA quadrupole moments. This work demonstrates the key impact of NFA quadruple moments and molecular orientation on material energetics and thereby on the efficiency of high-performance OPVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuang Fu
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong, 999077, China
| | - Tack Ho Lee
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, W12 0BZ, UK
- Department of Chemistry Education, Graduate Department of Chemical Materials, Institute for Plastic Information and Energy Materials, Sustainable Utilization of Photovoltaic Energy Research Center/Engineering Research Center, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea
| | - Yi-Chun Chin
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Richard A Pacalaj
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Chiara Labanti
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Song Yi Park
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Yifan Dong
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Hye Won Cho
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin Young Kim
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
- Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Daiki Minami
- CSE team, Innovation Center, Samsung Electronics, Co. Ltd., 1 Samsungjeonja-ro, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, 18448, Republic of Korea.
| | - James R Durrant
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- SPECIFIC IKC, Department of Materials, University of Swansea, Bay Campus, Swansea, SA1 8EN, UK.
| | - Ji-Seon Kim
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK.
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30
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Li Q, Wang R, Zhang C. The Dynamics of Delocalized Excitations in Organic Solar Cells with Nonfullerene Acceptors. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:3031-3038. [PMID: 36946622 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Recently, the performance of organic solar cells has been markedly improved benefiting from the development of nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) with acceptor-donor-acceptor structures. Arising from the intermolecular electronic interactions between the electron donating and accepting units, intramoiety and interfacial delocalized excitations make a substantial contribution to the photocurrent generation. In this Perspective, we discuss recent studies on the excited-state dynamics responsible for the working mechanism in NFA-based organic solar cells and emphasize the dynamics of delocalized excitations in charge generation and recombination processes. The intramoiety delocalized excitations in NFAs enable charge separation without forming interfacial charge-transfer excitons first, allowing efficient photocharge generation in planar heterojunctions with reduced interfacial energy loss. We suggest a few research directions in elucidating the performance-limited processes toward the further optimization of NFA-based devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Li
- National Laboratory of Solid-State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Rui Wang
- National Laboratory of Solid-State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
| | - Chunfeng Zhang
- National Laboratory of Solid-State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
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31
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Wu Y, Li Y, van der Zee B, Liu W, Markina A, Fan H, Yang H, Cui C, Li Y, Blom PWM, Andrienko D, Wetzelaer GJAH. Reduced bimolecular charge recombination in efficient organic solar cells comprising non-fullerene acceptors. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4717. [PMID: 36949087 PMCID: PMC10033508 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31929-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Bimolecular charge recombination is one of the most important loss processes in organic solar cells. However, the bimolecular recombination rate in solar cells based on novel non-fullerene acceptors is mostly unclear. Moreover, the origin of the reduced-Langevin recombination rate in bulk heterojunction solar cells in general is still poorly understood. Here, we investigate the bimolecular recombination rate and charge transport in a series of high-performance organic solar cells based on non-fullerene acceptors. From steady-state dark injection measurements and drift-diffusion simulations of the current-voltage characteristics under illumination, Langevin reduction factors of up to over two orders of magnitude are observed. The reduced recombination is essential for the high fill factors of these solar cells. The Langevin reduction factors are observed to correlate with the quadrupole moment of the acceptors, which is responsible for band bending at the donor-acceptor interface, forming a barrier for charge recombination. Overall these results therefore show that suppressed bimolecular recombination is essential for the performance of organic solar cells and provide design rules for novel materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Wu
- Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Yungui Li
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Bas van der Zee
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Wenlan Liu
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Anastasia Markina
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Hongyu Fan
- Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Hang Yang
- Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Chaohua Cui
- Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
| | - Yongfang Li
- Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Paul W M Blom
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
| | - Denis Andrienko
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany
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32
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Lowrie W, Westbrook RJE, Guo J, Gonev HI, Marin-Beloqui J, Clarke TM. Organic photovoltaics: The current challenges. J Chem Phys 2023; 158:110901. [PMID: 36948814 DOI: 10.1063/5.0139457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Organic photovoltaics are remarkably close to reaching a landmark power conversion efficiency of 20%. Given the current urgent concerns regarding climate change, research into renewable energy solutions is crucially important. In this perspective article, we highlight several key aspects of organic photovoltaics, ranging from fundamental understanding to implementation, that need to be addressed to ensure the success of this promising technology. We cover the intriguing ability of some acceptors to undergo efficient charge photogeneration in the absence of an energetic driving force and the effects of the resulting state hybridization. We explore one of the primary loss mechanisms of organic photovoltaics-non-radiative voltage losses-and the influence of the energy gap law. Triplet states are becoming increasingly relevant owing to their presence in even the most efficient non-fullerene blends, and we assess their role as both a loss mechanism and a potential strategy to enhance efficiency. Finally, two ways in which the implementation of organic photovoltaics can be simplified are addressed. The standard bulk heterojunction architecture could be superseded by either single material photovoltaics or sequentially deposited heterojunctions, and the attributes of both are considered. While several important challenges still lie ahead for organic photovoltaics, their future is, indeed, bright.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Lowrie
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Christopher Ingold Building, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Robert J E Westbrook
- Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Junjun Guo
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Christopher Ingold Building, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Hristo Ivov Gonev
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Christopher Ingold Building, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Jose Marin-Beloqui
- Departamento de Química Física, Universidad de Malaga, Campus Teatinos s/n, 29071 Málaga, Spain
| | - Tracey M Clarke
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, Christopher Ingold Building, London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
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33
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Liu W, Andrienko D. An ab initio method on large sized molecular aggregate system: Predicting absorption spectra of crystalline organic semiconducting films. J Chem Phys 2023; 158:094108. [PMID: 36889948 DOI: 10.1063/5.0138748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Theoretical description of electronically excited states of molecular aggregates at an ab initio level is computationally demanding. To reduce the computational cost, we propose a model Hamiltonian approach that approximates the electronically excited state wavefunction of the molecular aggregate. We benchmark our approach on a thiophene hexamer, as well as calculate the absorption spectra of several crystalline non-fullerene acceptors, including Y6 and ITIC, which are known for their high power conversion efficiency in organic solar cells. The method qualitatively predicts the experimentally measured spectral shape, which can be further linked to the molecular arrangement in the unit cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenlan Liu
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Denis Andrienko
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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34
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Lo Gerfo
M. G, Bolzonello L, Bernal-Texca F, Martorell J, van Hulst NF. Spatiotemporal Mapping Uncouples Exciton Diffusion from Singlet-Singlet Annihilation in the Electron Acceptor Y6. J Phys Chem Lett 2023; 14:1999-2005. [PMID: 36794828 PMCID: PMC9940293 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the spatial dynamics of nanoscale exciton transport beyond the temporal decay is essential for further improvements of nanostructured optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells. The diffusion coefficient (D) of the nonfullerene electron acceptor Y6 has so far only been determined indirectly, from singlet-singlet annihilation (SSA) experiments. Here, we present the full picture of the exciton dynamics, adding the spatial domain to the temporal one, by spatiotemporally resolved photoluminescence microscopy. In this way, we directly track diffusion and we are able to decouple the real spatial broadening from its overestimation given by SSA. We measured the diffusion coefficient, D = 0.017 ± 0.003 cm2/s, which gives a Y6 film diffusion length of L=Dτ≈35 nm. Thus, we provide an essential tool that enables a direct and free-of-artifacts determination of diffusion coefficients, which we expect to be pivotal for further studies on exciton dynamics in energy materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Lo Gerfo
M.
- ICFO
- Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luca Bolzonello
- ICFO
- Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Francisco Bernal-Texca
- ICFO
- Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Martorell
- ICFO
- Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament
de Física, Universitat Politècnica
de Catalunya, Terrassa08222, Spain
| | - Niek F. van Hulst
- ICFO
- Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona08010, Spain
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35
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Ma X, Bin H, van Gorkom BT, van der Pol TPA, Dyson MJ, Weijtens CHL, Fattori M, Meskers SCJ, van Breemen AJJM, Tordera D, Janssen RAJ, Gelinck GH. Identification of the Origin of Ultralow Dark Currents in Organic Photodiodes. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2209598. [PMID: 36482790 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202209598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Organic bulk heterojunction photodiodes (OPDs) attract attention for sensing and imaging. Their detectivity is typically limited by a substantial reverse bias dark current density (Jd ). Recently, using thermal admittance or spectral photocurrent measurements, Jd has been attributed to thermal charge generation mediated by mid-gap states. Here, the temperature dependence of Jd in state-of-the-art OPDs is reported with Jd down to 10-9 mA cm-2 at -0.5 V bias. For a variety of donor-acceptor bulk-heterojunction blends it is found that the thermal activation energy of Jd is lower than the effective bandgap of the blends, by ca. 0.3 to 0.5 eV, but higher than expected for mid-gap states. Ultra-sensitive sub-bandgap photocurrent spectroscopy reveals that the minimum photon energy for optical charge generation in OPDs correlates with the dark current thermal activation energy. The dark current in OPDs is attributed to thermal charge generation at the donor-acceptor interface mediated by intra-gap states near the band edges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Ma
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
| | - Haijun Bin
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
| | - Bas T van Gorkom
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
| | - Tom P A van der Pol
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
| | - Matthew J Dyson
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
| | - Christ H L Weijtens
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
| | - Marco Fattori
- Integrated Circuits, Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
| | - Stefan C J Meskers
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
| | | | - Daniel Tordera
- TNO/Holst Centre, High Tech Campus 31, Eindhoven, 5656 AE, The Netherlands
- Instituto de Ciencia Molecular (ICMol), Universidad de Valencia, C/ Catedrático J. Beltrán 2, Paterna, 46980, Spain
| | - René A J Janssen
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
- Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research, De Zaale 20, Eindhoven, 5612 AJ, The Netherlands
| | - Gerwin H Gelinck
- Molecular Materials and Nanosystems and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
- TNO/Holst Centre, High Tech Campus 31, Eindhoven, 5656 AE, The Netherlands
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36
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Guo Y, Zhu L, Duan R, Han G, Yi Y. Molecular Design of A-D-A Electron Acceptors Towards Low Energy Loss for Organic Solar Cells. Chemistry 2022; 29:e202203356. [PMID: 36504417 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202203356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Low energy loss is a prerequisite for organic solar cells to achieve high photovoltaic efficiency. Electron-vibration coupling (i. e., intramolecular reorganization energy) plays a crucial role in the photoelectrical conversion and energy loss processes. In this Concept article, we summarize our recent theoretical advances on revealing the energy loss mechanisms at the molecular level of A-D-A electron acceptors. We underline the importance of electron-vibration couplings on reducing the energy loss and describe the effective molecular design strategies towards low energy loss through decreasing the electron-vibration couplings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Guo
- Faculty of Light Industry, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, 250353, P. R. China.,Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Lingyun Zhu
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Ruihong Duan
- School of Science, Xuchang University Xuchang, Henan, 461000, P. R. China
| | - Guangchao Han
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Yuanping Yi
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China.,University of Chinese Academy Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China
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37
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Andermann AM, Rego LGC. Quantum Mechanical Assessment of Optimal Photovoltaic Conditions in Organic Solar Cells. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:11001-11007. [PMID: 36404620 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c02622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Recombination losses contribute to reducing JSC, VOC, and the fill factor of organic solar cells. Recent advances in non-fullerene organic photovoltaics have shown, nonetheless, that efficient charge generation can occur under small energetic driving forces (ΔEDA) and low recombination losses. To shed light on this issue, we set up a coarse-grained open quantum mechanical model for investigating the charge generation dynamics subject to various energy loss mechanisms. The influences of energetic driving force, Coulomb interaction, vibrational disorder, geminate recombination, temperature, and external bias are included in the analysis of the optimal photovoltaic conditions for charge carrier generation. The assessment reveals that the overall energy losses are not only minimized when ΔEDA approaches the effective reorganization energy at the interface but also become insensitive to temperature and electric field variations. It is also observed that a moderate reverse bias reduces geminate recombination losses significantly at vanishing driving forces, where the charge generation is strongly affected by temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Artur M Andermann
- Department of Physics, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, 88040-900, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
| | - Luis G C Rego
- Department of Physics, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, 88040-900, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil
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38
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Liu Z, Liu Z, Wang R, Zhang ZG, Wang J, Zhang C. Intersystem Crossing in Acceptor-Donor-Acceptor Type Organic Photovoltaic Molecules Promoted by Symmetry Breaking in Polar Environments. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:10305-10311. [PMID: 36305820 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c03020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The intramolecular electron push-pulling effect has been widely applied to manipulate the excited states in organic photovoltaic (OPV) molecules toward efficient photocurrent generation in working devices with bias fields. However, the effect of field induced polar environments on the excited-state dynamics remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigate the polar environment effect on excited dynamics in acceptor-donor-acceptor type OPV molecules dissolved in solvents with different polarities. By combining ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy and quantum chemical computation, we observe the stabilization of excited states induced by symmetry breaking in the polar solvent in the molecules exhibiting strong electron push-pulling effects. The stabilized excited states undergo faster intersystem crossing processes with reduced singlet-triplet energy gaps. The findings suggest that the dynamics of charge generation and recombination may be controlled by manipulating the polar environment and electron push-pulling effect to improve the device performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziran Liu
- Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Fine Chemicals, Ministry of Education & Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi830046, China
| | - Zhixing Liu
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing210093, China
| | - Rui Wang
- College of Physics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Key Laboratory of Aerospace Information Materials and Physics (NUAA), MIIT, Nanjing211106, China
| | - Zhi-Guo Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing100029, China
| | - Jide Wang
- Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Fine Chemicals, Ministry of Education & Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi830046, China
| | - Chunfeng Zhang
- National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, and Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing210093, China
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39
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Zhang J, Guan J, Zhang Y, Qin S, Zhu Q, Kong X, Ma Q, Li X, Meng L, Yi Y, Zheng J, Li Y. Direct Observation of Increased Free Carrier Generation Owing to Reduced Exciton Binding Energies in Polymerized Small-Molecule Acceptors. J Phys Chem Lett 2022; 13:8816-8824. [PMID: 36107413 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c02337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Energy loss caused by exciton binding energy (Eb) has become a key factor that restricts further advancement of organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, we used transient mid-IR spectroscopy to study direct photogeneration of free charge carriers in small-molecule acceptors (SMAs) Y6 and IDIC as well as polymerized SMAs (PSMAs) PYFT and PZ1. We found that free carrier concentration is higher in PSMAs than in their corresponding SMAs, indicating reduced exciton Eb, which is then confirmed by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, low-energy inverse photoemission spectroscopy, and film absorption spectra measurements. The measured Eb values of PYFT and PZ1 are 0.24 and 0.37 eV, respectively, smaller than those of Y6 (0.32 eV) and IDIC (0.47 eV). This work not only provides a method to directly monitor the photogenerated free carriers in OSC materials but also demonstrates that polymerization is an effective strategy to reduce the Eb, which is crucial to decrease the energy losses in high-performance OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinyuan Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Jianxin Guan
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yaogang Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shucheng Qin
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qingye Zhu
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiaolei Kong
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qing Ma
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiaojun Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Lei Meng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yuanping Yi
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Junrong Zheng
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yongfang Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Novel Semiconductor Materials and Devices, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu, China
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40
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Liu Z, Wen J, Zhou G, Xu J, Zhu L, Zhang M, Liu F, Zhang Y. Surface Charge and Nanoparticle Chromophore Coupling to Achieve Fast Exciton Quenching and Efficient Charge Separation in Photoacoustic Imaging (PAI) and Photothermal therapy (PTT). ADVANCED THERAPEUTICS 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/adtp.202200168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zehan Liu
- Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
| | - Jiangping Wen
- Laboratory Medicine Department The First Hospital of Tsinghua University Beijing 100730 China
| | - Guanqing Zhou
- Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
| | - Jinqiu Xu
- Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
| | - Lei Zhu
- Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
| | - Ming Zhang
- Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
| | - Feng Liu
- Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
| | - Yongming Zhang
- Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
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41
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Li S, Zhan L, Li Y, He C, Zuo L, Shi M, Chen H. Achieving and Understanding of Highly Efficient Ternary Organic Photovoltaics: From Morphology and Energy Loss to Working Mechanism. SMALL METHODS 2022; 6:e2200828. [PMID: 35931458 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202200828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Ternary strategy, adding an additional donor (D) or acceptor (A) into conventional binary D:A blend, has shown great potential in improving photovoltaic performances of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) for practical applications. Herein, this review is presented on how efficient ternary OPVs are realized from the aspects of morphology, energy loss, and working mechanism. As to morphology, the role of third component on the formation of preferred alloy-like-phase and vertical-phase, which are driven by the miscibility tuning, is discussed. For energy loss, the effect of the third component on the luminescence enhancement and energetic disordering suppression, which lead to favorable increase of voltage, is presented. Regarding working mechanism, dilution effect and relationships between two acceptors or donor/acceptor, which explain the observed device parameters variations, are analyzed. Finally, some future directions concerning ternary OPVs are pointed out. Therefore, this review can provide a comprehensive understanding of working principles and effective routes for high-efficiency ternary systems, advancing the commercialization of OPVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuixing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Lingling Zhan
- State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Organosilicon Chemistry and Materials Technology of Ministry of Education, College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, P. R. China
| | - Yaokai Li
- State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Chengliang He
- State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Lijian Zuo
- State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
- Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Minmin Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
- Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
| | - Hongzheng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, International Research Center for X Polymers, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
- Shanxi-Zheda Institute of Advanced Materials and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou, 310027, P. R. China
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42
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Bertrandie J, Han J, De Castro CSP, Yengel E, Gorenflot J, Anthopoulos T, Laquai F, Sharma A, Baran D. The Energy Level Conundrum of Organic Semiconductors in Solar Cells. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2022; 34:e2202575. [PMID: 35789000 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202202575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Revised: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The frontier molecular energy levels of organic semiconductors are decisive for their fundamental function and efficiency in optoelectronics. However, the precise determination of these energy levels and their variation when using different techniques makes it hard to compare and establish design rules. In this work, the energy levels of 33 organic semiconductors via cyclic voltammetry (CV), density functional theory, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and low-energy inverse photoelectron spectroscopy are determined. Solar cells are fabricated to obtain key device parameters and relate them to the significant differences in the energy levels and offsets obtained from different methods. In contrast to CV, the photovoltaic gap measured using photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) correlates well with the experimental device VOC . It is demonstrated that high-performing systems such as PM6:Y6 and WF3F:Y6, which are previously reported to have negligible ionization energy (IE) offsets (ΔIE), possess sizable ΔIE of ≈0.5 eV, determined by PES. Using various D-A blends, it is demonstrated that ΔIE plays a key role in charge generation. In contrast to earlier reports, it is shown that a vanishing ΔIE is detrimental to device performance. Overall, these findings establish a solid base for reliably evaluating material energetics and interpreting property-performance relationships in organic solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jules Bertrandie
- Material Science and Engineering Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- KAUST Solar Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Jianhua Han
- Material Science and Engineering Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- KAUST Solar Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Catherine S P De Castro
- Material Science and Engineering Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- KAUST Solar Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Emre Yengel
- Material Science and Engineering Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Julien Gorenflot
- Material Science and Engineering Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- KAUST Solar Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Thomas Anthopoulos
- Material Science and Engineering Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- KAUST Solar Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Frederic Laquai
- Material Science and Engineering Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- KAUST Solar Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Anirudh Sharma
- Material Science and Engineering Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- KAUST Solar Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Derya Baran
- Material Science and Engineering Program, Physical Science and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- KAUST Solar Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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43
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Hsieh CM, Hsiao HC, Yamada Y, Wu WR, Jeng US, Su CJ, Lin YS, Murata M, Chang YJ, Chuang SC. Promoting the Efficiency and Stability of Nonfullerene Organic Photovoltaics by Incorporating Open-Cage [60]Fullerenes in the Nonfullerene Nanocrystallites. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:39109-39119. [PMID: 35976775 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c06354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The device efficiency of PM6:Y6-based nonfullerene organic solar cells is fast advanced recently. To maintain organic solar cells (OSCs) with high power conversion efficiency over 16% in long-term operation, however, remains a challenge. Here, a novel non-volatile additive, an open-cage [60]fullerene (8OC60Me), is incorporated into PM6:Y6-based OSCs for high-performance with high durability. With optimized addition of 1.0 wt % 8OC60Me, the PCE value of PM6:Y6/8OC60Me OSCs can be promoted to 16.5% from 15.0%. Most strikingly, such a high PCE performance can maintain nearly 100% for over 500 h at room temperature; at an elevated operation temperature of 80 °C, the PCE can be stabilized above 15.0% after 45 h of operation. Grazing incidence small- and wide- angle X-ray scattering studies reveal improved orientation and crystallinity of Y6 in a fractal-like network structure of PM6 in PM6:Y6/8OC60Me films under in situ annealing, parallel to the enhanced electron mobility. Analysis of charge distributions lines up possible van der Waals interaction between the thienyl/carbonyl moiety of 8OC60Me and difluorophenyl-based FIC-end groups of Y6. This result is of great contrast to those devices with the best-selling PC61BM as the additives─8OC60Me might be of interest to be incorporated into future Y6-based OSCs for concomitantly improved PCE and excellent stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Ming Hsieh
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 30010 Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Huan-Chang Hsiao
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 30010 Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Yuto Yamada
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Institute of Technology, Osaka 535-8585, Japan
| | - Wei-Ru Wu
- National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan
| | - U-Ser Jeng
- National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Jen Su
- Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
| | - Ying-Sheng Lin
- Department of Chemistry, Tunghai University, Taichung City 40704, Taiwan
| | - Michihisa Murata
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Osaka Institute of Technology, Osaka 535-8585, Japan
| | - Yuan Jay Chang
- Department of Chemistry, Tunghai University, Taichung City 40704, Taiwan
| | - Shih-Ching Chuang
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 30010 Hsinchu, Taiwan
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44
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Zhang G, Lin FR, Qi F, Heumüller T, Distler A, Egelhaaf HJ, Li N, Chow PCY, Brabec CJ, Jen AKY, Yip HL. Renewed Prospects for Organic Photovoltaics. Chem Rev 2022; 122:14180-14274. [PMID: 35929847 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 149] [Impact Index Per Article: 74.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have progressed steadily through three stages of photoactive materials development: (i) use of poly(3-hexylthiophene) and fullerene-based acceptors (FAs) for optimizing bulk heterojunctions; (ii) development of new donors to better match with FAs; (iii) development of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). The development and application of NFAs with an A-D-A configuration (where A = acceptor and D = donor) has enabled devices to have efficient charge generation and small energy losses (Eloss < 0.6 eV), resulting in substantially higher power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) than FA-based devices. The discovery of Y6-type acceptors (Y6 = 2,2'-((2Z,2'Z)-((12,13-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,9-diundecyl-12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]-thiadiazolo[3,4-e]-thieno[2″,3″:4',5']thieno-[2',3':4,5]pyrrolo-[3,2-g]thieno-[2',3':4,5]thieno-[3,2-b]indole-2,10-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile) with an A-DA' D-A configuration has further propelled the PCEs to go beyond 15% due to smaller Eloss values (∼0.5 eV) and higher external quantum efficiencies. Subsequently, the PCEs of Y6-series single-junction devices have increased to >19% and may soon approach 20%. This review provides an update of recent progress of OPV in the following aspects: developments of novel NFAs and donors, understanding of the structure-property relationships and underlying mechanisms of state-of-the-art OPVs, and tasks underpinning the commercialization of OPVs, such as device stability, module development, potential applications, and high-throughput manufacturing. Finally, an outlook and prospects section summarizes the remaining challenges for the further development of OPV technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guichuan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.,School of Semiconductor Science and Technology, South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China
| | - Francis R Lin
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China.,Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China
| | - Feng Qi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China.,Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China
| | - Thomas Heumüller
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Andreas Distler
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Hans-Joachim Egelhaaf
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Ning Li
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Philip C Y Chow
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam 999077, Hong Kong, China
| | - Christoph J Brabec
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Martensstrasse 7, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Alex K-Y Jen
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China.,Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China.,School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China.,Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China
| | - Hin-Lap Yip
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China.,School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China.,Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 999077, Hong Kong, China
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45
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Theoretical designing of selenium heterocyclic non-fullerene acceptors with enhanced power conversion efficiency for organic solar cells: a DFT/TD-DFT-based prediction and understanding. J Mol Model 2022; 28:228. [DOI: 10.1007/s00894-022-05225-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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46
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Guo Y, Han G, Yi Y. The Intrinsic Role of the Fusion Mode and Electron-Deficient Core in Fused-Ring Electron Acceptors for Organic Photovoltaics. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022; 61:e202205975. [PMID: 35604363 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202205975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The A-DA'D-A fused-ring electron acceptors with an angular fusion mode and electron-deficient core has significantly boosted organic photovoltaic efficiency. Here, the intrinsic role of the peculiar structure is revealed by comparing representative A-DA'D-A acceptor Y6 with its A-D-A counterparts having different fusion modes. Owing to the more delocalized HOMO and deeper LUMO level, Y6 exhibits stronger and red-shifted absorption relative to the linear and angular fused A-D-A acceptors, respectively. Moreover, the change from linear to angular fusion substantially reduces the electron-vibration couplings, which is responsible for the faster exciton diffusion, exciton dissociation, and electron transport for Y6 than the linear fused A-D-A acceptor. Notably, the electron-vibration coupling for exciton dissociation is further decreased by introducing the electron-deficient core, thus contributing to the efficient charge generation under low driving forces in the Y6-based devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Guo
- Faculty of Light Industry, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, 250353, China.,Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Guangchao Han
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Yuanping Yi
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.,University of Chinese Academy Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
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47
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Wöpke C, Göhler C, Saladina M, Du X, Nian L, Greve C, Zhu C, Yallum KM, Hofstetter YJ, Becker-Koch D, Li N, Heumüller T, Milekhin I, Zahn DRT, Brabec CJ, Banerji N, Vaynzof Y, Herzig EM, MacKenzie RCI, Deibel C. Traps and transport resistance are the next frontiers for stable non-fullerene acceptor solar cells. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3786. [PMID: 35778394 PMCID: PMC9249898 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31326-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Stability is one of the most important challenges facing material research for organic solar cells (OSC) on their path to further commercialization. In the high-performance material system PM6:Y6 studied here, we investigate degradation mechanisms of inverted photovoltaic devices. We have identified two distinct degradation pathways: one requires the presence of both illumination and oxygen and features a short-circuit current reduction, the other one is induced thermally and marked by severe losses of open-circuit voltage and fill factor. We focus our investigation on the thermally accelerated degradation. Our findings show that bulk material properties and interfaces remain remarkably stable, however, aging-induced defect state formation in the active layer remains the primary cause of thermal degradation. The increased trap density leads to higher non-radiative recombination, which limits the open-circuit voltage and lowers the charge carrier mobility in the photoactive layer. Furthermore, we find the trap-induced transport resistance to be the major reason for the drop in fill factor. Our results suggest that device lifetimes could be significantly increased by marginally suppressing trap formation, leading to a bright future for OSC. Long operational stability is essential to commercialisation of organic solar cells. Here, the authors investigate the thermal degradation of inverted photovoltaic devices based on PM6:Y6 non-fullerene system to reveal that trap-induced transport resistance is primarily responsible for the drop in fill factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Wöpke
- Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Clemens Göhler
- Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Maria Saladina
- Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Xiaoyan Du
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Li Nian
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology, Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, P. R. China
| | - Christopher Greve
- Physikalisches Institut, Dynamik und Strukturbildung - Herzig Group, Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Chenhui Zhu
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Kaila M Yallum
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Yvonne J Hofstetter
- Integrated Center for Applied Photophysics and Photonic Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - David Becker-Koch
- Integrated Center for Applied Photophysics and Photonic Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Ning Li
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058, Erlangen, Germany.,State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, 381 Wushan Road, 510640, Guangzhou, China
| | - Thomas Heumüller
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Ilya Milekhin
- Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Dietrich R T Zahn
- Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Christoph J Brabec
- Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HI ERN), Immerwahrstrasse 2, 91058, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Natalie Banerji
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, 3012, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Yana Vaynzof
- Integrated Center for Applied Photophysics and Photonic Materials, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Eva M Herzig
- Physikalisches Institut, Dynamik und Strukturbildung - Herzig Group, Universität Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Roderick C I MacKenzie
- Department of Engineering, Durham University, Lower Mount Joy, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Carsten Deibel
- Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany.
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48
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Forero‐Martinez NC, Lin K, Kremer K, Andrienko D. Virtual Screening for Organic Solar Cells and Light Emitting Diodes. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2200825. [PMID: 35460204 PMCID: PMC9259727 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202200825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The field of organic semiconductors is multifaceted and the potentially suitable molecular compounds are very diverse. Representative examples include discotic liquid crystals, dye-sensitized solar cells, conjugated polymers, and graphene-based low-dimensional materials. This huge variety not only represents enormous challenges for synthesis but also for theory, which aims at a comprehensive understanding and structuring of the plethora of possible compounds. Eventually computational methods should point to new, better materials, which have not yet been synthesized. In this perspective, it is shown that the answer to this question rests upon the delicate balance between computational efficiency and accuracy of the methods used in the virtual screening. To illustrate the fundamentals of virtual screening, chemical design of non-fullerene acceptors, thermally activated delayed fluorescence emitters, and nanographenes are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kun‐Han Lin
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer ResearchAckermannweg 10Mainz55128Germany
| | - Kurt Kremer
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer ResearchAckermannweg 10Mainz55128Germany
| | - Denis Andrienko
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer ResearchAckermannweg 10Mainz55128Germany
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49
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Sasitharan K, Kilbride RC, Spooner EL, Clark J, Iraqi A, Lidzey DG, Foster JA. Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets as Templates to Enhance Performance in Semi-Crystalline Organic Photovoltaic Cells. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2200366. [PMID: 35599384 PMCID: PMC9313490 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202200366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Optimizing the orientation, crystallinity, and domain size of components within organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices is key to maximizing their performance. Here a broadly applicable approach for enhancing the morphology of bulk heterojunction OPV devices using metal-organic nanosheets (MONs) as additives is demonstrated. It is shown that addition of porphyrin-based MONs to devices with fully amorphous donor polymers lead to small improvements in performance attributed to increased light absorption due to nanosheets. However, devices based on semi-crystalline polymers show remarkable improvements in power conversion efficiency (PCE), more than doubling in some cases compared to reference devices without nanosheets. In particular, this approach led to the development of PffBT4T2OD-MON-PCBM device with a PCE of 12.3%, which to the authors' knowledge is the highest performing fullerene based OPV device reported in literature to date. Detailed analysis of these devices shows that the presence of the nanosheets results in a higher fraction of face-on oriented polymer crystals in the films. These results therefore demonstrate the potential of this highly tunable class of two-dimensional nanomaterials as additives for enhancing the morphology, and therefore performance, of semi-crystalline organic electronic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kezia Sasitharan
- Department of ChemistryThe University of SheffieldDainton Building, Brook HillSheffieldS3 7HFUK
| | - Rachel C. Kilbride
- Department of Physics and AstronomyThe University of SheffieldHicks Building, Hounsfield RoadSheffieldS3 7RHUK
| | - Emma L.K. Spooner
- Department of Physics and AstronomyThe University of SheffieldHicks Building, Hounsfield RoadSheffieldS3 7RHUK
| | - Jenny Clark
- Department of Physics and AstronomyThe University of SheffieldHicks Building, Hounsfield RoadSheffieldS3 7RHUK
| | - Ahmed Iraqi
- Department of ChemistryThe University of SheffieldDainton Building, Brook HillSheffieldS3 7HFUK
| | - David G. Lidzey
- Department of Physics and AstronomyThe University of SheffieldHicks Building, Hounsfield RoadSheffieldS3 7RHUK
| | - Jonathan A. Foster
- Department of ChemistryThe University of SheffieldDainton Building, Brook HillSheffieldS3 7HFUK
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50
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Guo Y, Han G, Yi Y. The Intrinsic Role of the Fusion Mode and Electron‐Deficient Core in Fused‐Ring Electron Acceptors for Organic Photovoltaics. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.202205975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Guo
- Faculty of Light Industry Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences) Jinan 250353 China
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190 China
| | - Guangchao Han
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190 China
| | - Yuanping Yi
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids Institute of Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100190 China
- University of Chinese Academy Sciences Beijing 100049 China
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