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Zeiske S, Zarrabi N, Sandberg OJ, Gielen S, Maes W, Meredith P, Armin A. Enhanced SWIR Light Detection in Organic Semiconductor Photodetectors through Up-Conversion of Mid-Gap Trap States. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2024; 36:e2405061. [PMID: 39044625 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202405061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024]
Abstract
Shortwave-infrared (SWIR) photodetectors are vital for many scientific and industrial applications including surveillance, quality control and inspection. In recent decades, photodetectors based on organic semiconductors have emerged, demonstrating potential to add real value to broadband and narrowband imaging and sensing scenarios, where factors such as thermal budget sensitivity, large area aperture necessity, cost considerations, and lightweight and conformal flexibility demands are prioritized. It is now recognized that the performance of organic photodetectors (OPDs), notably their specific detectivity, is ultimately limited by trap states, universally present in disordered semiconductors. This work adopts an approach of utilizing these mid-gap states to specifically create a SWIR photo-response. To this end, this work introduces a somewhat counter-intuitive approach of "trap-doping" in bulk heterojunction (BHJs) photodiodes, where small quantities of a guest organic molecule are intentionally incorporated into a semiconducting donor:acceptor host system. Following this approach, this work demonstrates a proof-of-concept for a visible-to-SWIR broadband OPD, approaching (and, to some extent, even exceeding) state-of-the-art performance across critical photodetector metrics. The trap-doping approach is, even though only a proof-of-concept currently, broadly applicable to various spectral windows. It represents a new modality for engineering photodetection using the unconventional strategy of turning a limitation into a feature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Zeiske
- Sustainable Advanced Materials (Sêr-SAM), Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials and Department of Physics, Swansea University Bay Campus, Fabian Way, Swansea, SA1 8EN, UK
- Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA
| | - Nasim Zarrabi
- Sustainable Advanced Materials (Sêr-SAM), Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials and Department of Physics, Swansea University Bay Campus, Fabian Way, Swansea, SA1 8EN, UK
| | - Oskar J Sandberg
- Sustainable Advanced Materials (Sêr-SAM), Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials and Department of Physics, Swansea University Bay Campus, Fabian Way, Swansea, SA1 8EN, UK
- Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, 20500, Finland
| | - Sam Gielen
- Institute for Materials Research (IMO), Hasselt University, Agoralaan 1, Diepenbeek, B-3590, Belgium
- IMEC, Associated Lab IMOMEC, Wetenschapspark 1, Diepenbeek, B-3590, Belgium
| | - Wouter Maes
- Institute for Materials Research (IMO), Hasselt University, Agoralaan 1, Diepenbeek, B-3590, Belgium
- IMEC, Associated Lab IMOMEC, Wetenschapspark 1, Diepenbeek, B-3590, Belgium
| | - Paul Meredith
- Sustainable Advanced Materials (Sêr-SAM), Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials and Department of Physics, Swansea University Bay Campus, Fabian Way, Swansea, SA1 8EN, UK
| | - Ardalan Armin
- Sustainable Advanced Materials (Sêr-SAM), Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials and Department of Physics, Swansea University Bay Campus, Fabian Way, Swansea, SA1 8EN, UK
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Wang T, Zhang J, Shen Y, Zhang H, Tian C, Xie M, Zhang W, Hao X, Lu K, Wei Z. Morphological Homogeneity and Interface Modification as Determinant Factors of the Efficiency and Stability for Upscaling Organic Solar Cell. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2311596. [PMID: 38381025 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202311596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Morphological homogeneity and interfacial traps are essential issues to achieve high-efficiency and stable large-area organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, by the investigation of three quinoxaline-based acceptors, i.e., PM6:Qx-1, PM6:Qx-2, and PM6:Qx-p-4Cl, the performance degradation in up-scaling OSCs is explored. The inhomogeneous morphology in PM6:Qx-2 induces a nonuniform spatial distribution of charge generation, showing a rapid decline in efficiency and stability in large-area OSCs. In comparison, the homogeneous morphology in PM6:Qx-1 and PM6:Qx-p-4Cl alleviates the stability drop. When utilizing 2-phenylethylmercaptan to fill the interfacial traps, the stability drop disappears for PM6:Qx-1 and PM6:Qx-p-4Cl, while it persists for PM6:Qx-2. The PM6:Qx-1 large-are device yields a high efficiency of 13.47% and superior thermal stability (T80 = 2888 h). Consequently, the interface modification dominates the performance degradation of large-area devices with homogeneous morphology, while it cannot eliminate the traps in inhomogeneous film. These results provide a clear understanding of degradation mechanisms in upscaling devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Jianqi Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Yifan Shen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Hao Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Chenyang Tian
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Meiling Xie
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Wenqing Zhang
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, P. R. China
| | - Xiaotao Hao
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, P. R. China
| | - Kun Lu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Zhixiang Wei
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
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Zhang L, He Y, Deng W, Guo X, Bi Z, Zeng J, Huang H, Zhang G, Xie C, Zhang Y, Hu X, Ma W, Yuan Y, Yuan X. High-efficiency flexible organic solar cells with a polymer-incorporated pseudo-planar heterojunction. DISCOVER NANO 2024; 19:39. [PMID: 38436896 PMCID: PMC10912397 DOI: 10.1186/s11671-024-03982-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Organic solar cells (OSCs) are considered as a crucial energy source for flexible and wearable electronics. Pseudo-planar heterojunction (PPHJ) OSCs simplify the solution preparation and morphology control. However, non-halogenated solvent-printed PPHJ often have an undesirable vertical component distribution and insufficient donor/acceptor interfaces. Additionally, the inherent brittleness of non-fullerene small molecule acceptors (NFSMAs) in PPHJ leads to poor flexibility, and the NFSMAs solution shows inadequate viscosity during the printing of acceptor layer. Herein, we propose a novel approach termed polymer-incorporated pseudo-planar heterojunction (PiPPHJ), wherein a small amount of polymer donor is introduced into the NFSMAs layer. Our findings demonstrate that the incorporation of polymer increases the viscosity of acceptor solution, thereby improving the blade-coating processability and overall film quality. Simultaneously, this strategy effectively modulates the vertical component distribution, resulting in more donor/acceptor interfaces and an improved power conversion efficiency of 17.26%. Furthermore, PiPPHJ-based films exhibit superior tensile properties, with a crack onset strain of 12.0%, surpassing PPHJ-based films (9.6%). Consequently, large-area (1 cm2) flexible devices achieve a considerable efficiency of 13.30% and maintain excellent mechanical flexibility with 82% of the initial efficiency after 1000 bending cycles. These findings underscore the significant potential of PiPPHJ-based OSCs in flexible and wearable electronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Zhang
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Super Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China.
| | - Yuxin He
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Super Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
| | - Wen Deng
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Super Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
| | - Xueliang Guo
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Super Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
| | - Zhaozhao Bi
- State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
| | - Jie Zeng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Shenzhen Engineering Research and Development Center for Flexible Solar Cells, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Hui Huang
- College of New Materials and New Energies, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen, 518118, China
| | - Guangye Zhang
- College of New Materials and New Energies, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen, 518118, China
| | - Chen Xie
- College of New Materials and New Energies, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen, 518118, China
| | - Yong Zhang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Shenzhen Engineering Research and Development Center for Flexible Solar Cells, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Xiaotian Hu
- Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China
| | - Wei Ma
- State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
| | - Yongbo Yuan
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Super Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
| | - Xiaoming Yuan
- Hunan Key Laboratory for Super Microstructure and Ultrafast Process, School of Physics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China.
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Liu Z, Hu H, Sun X. Multistate Reaction Coordinate Model for Charge and Energy Transfer Dynamics in the Condensed Phase. J Chem Theory Comput 2023; 19:7151-7170. [PMID: 37815937 PMCID: PMC10601487 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c00770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023]
Abstract
Constructing multistate model Hamiltonians from all-atom electronic structure calculations and molecular dynamics simulations is crucial for understanding charge and energy transfer dynamics in complex condensed phases. The most popular two-level system model is the spin-boson Hamiltonian, where the nuclear degrees of freedom are represented as shifted normal modes. Recently, we proposed the general multistate nontrivial extension of the spin-boson model, i.e., the multistate harmonic (MSH) model, which is constructed by extending the spatial dimensions of each nuclear mode so as to satisfy the all-atom reorganization energy restrictions for all pairs of electronic states. In this work, we propose the multistate reaction coordinate (MRC) model with a primary reaction coordinate and secondary bath modes as in the Caldeira-Leggett form but in extended spatial dimensions. The MRC model is proven to be equivalent to the MSH model and offers an intuitive physical picture of the nuclear-electronic feedback in nonadiabatic processes such as the inherent trajectory of the reaction coordinate. The reaction coordinate is represented in extended dimensions, carrying the entire reorganization energies and bilinearly coupled to the secondary bath modes. We demonstrate the MRC model construction for photoinduced charge transfer in an organic photovoltaic caroteniod-porphyrin-C60 molecular triad dissolved in tetrahydrofuran as well as excitation energy transfer in a photosynthetic light-harvesting Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex. The MRC model provides an effective and robust platform for investigating quantum dissipative dynamics in complex condensed-phase systems since it allows a consistent description of realistic spectral density, state-dependent system-bath couplings, and heterogeneous environments due to static disorder in reorganization energies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zengkui Liu
- Division
of Arts and Sciences, NYU Shanghai, 567 West Yangsi Road, Shanghai, 200124, China
- NYU-ECNU
Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, 3663 Zhongshan Road North, Shanghai, 200062, China
- Department
of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York, 10003, United States
| | - Haorui Hu
- Division
of Arts and Sciences, NYU Shanghai, 567 West Yangsi Road, Shanghai, 200124, China
| | - Xiang Sun
- Division
of Arts and Sciences, NYU Shanghai, 567 West Yangsi Road, Shanghai, 200124, China
- NYU-ECNU
Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, 3663 Zhongshan Road North, Shanghai, 200062, China
- Department
of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York, 10003, United States
- Shanghai
Frontiers Science Center of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning, NYU Shanghai, 567 West Yangsi Road, Shanghai, 200124, China
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