Increasing the Open-Circuit Voltage in High-Performance Organic Photovoltaic Devices through Conformational Twisting of an Indacenodithiophene-Based Conjugated Polymer

Effects of including electron-withdrawing atoms on the physical and photovoltaic properties of indacenodithieno[3,2-b]thiophene-based donor–acceptor polymers: towards an acceptor design for efficient polymer solar cells

Three new D–A polymers using indacenodithieno[3,2-b]thiophene (IDTT) as an electron-rich unit and benzoxadiazole (BO), benzodiathiazole (BT) or difluorobenzothiadiazole (FBT) as an electron-deficient unit were synthesized and applied in solar cells.

Intra- and Intermolecular Steric Hindrance Effects Induced Higher Open-Circuit Voltage and Power Conversion Efficiency

A pair of donor-acceptor polymers PBDThDTBT and PBDTchDTBT are synthesized, which share the same conjugated backbone, but are designed with hexyl and cyclohexyl side chains, respectively. The stronger steric hindrance of cyclohexyl endows PBDTchDTBT a deeper lying HOMO energy level of -5.39 eV compared to -5.22 eV for PBDThDTBT. However, PBDThDTBT and PBDTchDTBT exhibit a similar optical bandgap around 1.72 eV and a hole mobility around 10^-5 cm² V^-1 s^-1. Interestingly, the PBDTchDTBT/PC₇₁BM blends exhibited higher hole mobility than PBDThDTBT/PC₇₁BM after DIO was added. The higher hole mobility and fibrillar network in the active layer endows PBDTchDTBT higher power conversion efficiency of 7.9%, together with simultaneously improved open-circuit voltage of 0.80 V, short-circuit current density of 13.50 mA cm^-2, and fill factor of 72.74% after a systemic study of their solar cell devices.

Linked-Acceptor Type Conjugated Polymer for High Performance Organic Photovoltaics with an Open-Circuit Voltage Exceeding 1 V

A linked-acceptor type conjugated polymer is designed and sythesized based on 4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (BDTT) and linked-thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione (LTPD). This polymer uses alkyl-substituted thiophene as a bridge. The PBDTT-LTPD includes two TPD units in one repeating unit, which can enhance acceptor density in the polymer backbone and lower the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level. By contrast, variable alkyl substitutions in the thiophene-bridges ensure the subtle regulation of polymer properties. The solar cells based on PBDTT-LTPD display an open-circuit voltage (Voc) that exceeds 1 V, and a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.59% is obtained. This PCE value is the highest for conventional single-junction bulk heterojunction solar cells with Voc values of up to 1 V. Given that PBDTT-LTPD exhibits a low HOMO energy level and a band gap equivalent to that of poly(3-hexylthiophene), PBDTT-LTPD/phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester may be a promising candidate for the front cell in tandem polymer solar cells.

4,7-Di-2-thienyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole with hexylthiophene side chains and a benzodithiophene based copolymer for efficient organic solar cells

A hexylthiophene side chain can induce conformational torsion a polymer with a BDT-DTBT backbone. HighV_ocand PCE polymer solar cells can be achieved.

Thermally evaporable 5,10-dihydroindeno[2,1-a]indenes form efficient interfacial layers in organic solar cells

Several bis(diarylamino)dihydroindenoindene derivatives were synthesized for use as hole transporting materials (HTMs) in OPVs. An optimized device having the structure ITO/HTM/P3HT:PCBM/Ca/Al operated with a fill factor of 67.8%.

Dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole-based low band gap polymers: the effect of fluorine and side chain substituents on photovoltaic performance

The effect of the F atom and the side-chain of dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole-based polymers on the optical, carrier mobility and photovoltaic properties was investigated.

Perovskite photovoltaics featuring solution-processable TiO2 as an interfacial electron-transporting layer display to improve performance and stability

In this study we used solution-processable crystalline TiO2 nanoparticles as an interfacial modified layer between the active layer and aluminum cathode to fabricate CH3NH3PbI3/PCBM-based planar heterojunction perovskite photovoltaic (PPV) devices. We optimized the performance of the PPV device prepared without TiO2 by varying the preheating temperature of the indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) substrate, obtaining a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.3% under simulated AM 1.5 G irradiation (100 mW cm(-2)). After incorporating the TiO2 layer, we obtained a much higher PCE of 7.0%. The TiO2-containing PPV device exhibited extremely high stability (retaining ∼96% of its PCE after 1000 h) under long-term storage in a dark N2-filled glove box; the unencapsulated device retained approximately 80% of its original efficiency (T80) after 1 week under ambient conditions (ISOS-D-1; defined as 23 °C/50% RH). In contrast, the normal device was sensitive to ambient conditions with a value of T80 at only 3 h. We attributed the improved device performance (PCE, stability) to the enhanced electron transporting, hole blocking, and barrier properties arising from the presence of the TiO2 layer.

Two-step thermal annealing improves the morphology of spin-coated films for highly efficient perovskite hybrid photovoltaics

In this paper, we describe relationships between the morphologies and the power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of perovskite photovoltaics having a conventional p-i-n heterojunction structure, indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS)/CH(3)NH(3)PbI(3-x)Cl(x)/PC(61)BM/Al. The PCE of such a device is highly dependent on the morphology of the perovskite film, which is governed by the concentrations of its precursors and the annealing conditions. A two-step annealing process allowed sufficient crystallization of the perovskite material, with a high coverage at a high precursor concentration. Relative to the device prepared using a one-step process (90 °C for 30 min), we observed a 60% increase in PCE for this optimized device. The corresponding devices exhibited extremely high stability after long-term storage (>1368 h) in the dark in a N2-filled glove box, with consistently high PCEs (AM 1.5 G, 100 mW cm(-2)) of up to 9.1%.

Polythiophenes Comprising Conjugated Pendants for Polymer Solar Cells: A Review

Polythiophene (PT) is one of the widely used donor materials for solution-processable polymer solar cells (PSCs). Much progress in PT-based PSCs can be attributed to the design of novel PTs exhibiting intense and broad visible absorption with high charge carrier mobility to increase short-circuit current density (J_sc), along with low-lying highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels to achieve large open circuit voltage (V_oc) values. A promising strategy to tailor the photophysical properties and energy levels via covalently attaching electron donor and acceptor pendants on PTs backbone has attracted much attention recently. The geometry, electron-donating capacity, and composition of conjugated pendants are supposed to be the crucial factors in adjusting the conformation, energy levels, and photovoltaic performance of PTs. This review will go over the most recent approaches that enable researchers to obtain in-depth information in the development of PTs comprising conjugated pendants for PSCs.