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Zhou H, Liu C, Liu S, Zhang Z, Sun S, Xu W, Ma X, Wang J, Xu Y, Du X, Jeong SY, Woo HY, Zhang F, Sun Q. PC 71BM as Morphology Regulator for Highly Efficient Ternary Organic Solar Cells with Bulk Heterojunction or Layer-by-Layer Configuration. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2308216. [PMID: 37946696 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202308216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Revised: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
The ternary strategy is one of the effective methods to regulate the morphology of the active layer in organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, the ternary OSCs with bulk heterojunction (BHJ) or layer-by-layer (LbL) active layers are prepared by using the polymer donor PM6 and the non-fullerene acceptor L8-BO as the main system and the fullerene acceptor PC71BM as the third component. The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of BHJ OSCs and LbL OSCs are increased from 17.10% to 18.02% and from 17.20% to 18.20% by introducing PC71BM into the binary active layer, respectively. The in situ UV-vis absorption spectra indicate that the molecular aggregation and crystallization process can be prolonged by introducing PC71BM into the PM6:L8-BO or PM6/L8-BO active layer. The molecular orientation and molecular crystallinity in the active layer are optimized by introducing the PC71BM into the binary BHJ or LbL active layers, which can be confirmed by the experimental results of grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering. This study demonstrates that the third component PC71BM can be used as a morphology regulator to regulate the morphology of BHJ or LbL active layers, thus effectively improving the performance of BHJ and LbL OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Zhou
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Light Manipulations and Applications in Universities of Shandong, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information, Ministry of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, P. R. China
| | - Chunxiang Liu
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Light Manipulations and Applications in Universities of Shandong, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, P. R. China
| | - Shaofei Liu
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Light Manipulations and Applications in Universities of Shandong, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, P. R. China
| | - Zijian Zhang
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Light Manipulations and Applications in Universities of Shandong, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, P. R. China
| | - Shixiu Sun
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Light Manipulations and Applications in Universities of Shandong, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, P. R. China
| | - Wenjing Xu
- Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information, Ministry of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoling Ma
- Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information, Ministry of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, P. R. China
| | - Jian Wang
- College of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Taishan University, Taian, Shandong, 271021, P. R. China
| | - Yujie Xu
- School of Physics State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoyan Du
- School of Physics State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, 250100, P. R. China
| | - Sang Young Jeong
- Organic Optoelectronic Materials Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Han Young Woo
- Organic Optoelectronic Materials Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Fujun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information, Ministry of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, 100044, P. R. China
| | - Qianqian Sun
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Light Manipulations and Applications in Universities of Shandong, School of Physics and Electronics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, P. R. China
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Wang X, Feng C, Liu P, He Z, Cao Y. Origin of the Additive-Induced V OC Change in Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cells. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2107106. [PMID: 35088934 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202107106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Additives are often used to adjust the morphology of the active layer to improve the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs). Here, taking typical high-efficiency non-fullerene systems as examples, the effect of the additive on the device performance in non-fullerene OSCs is systematically investigated. Surprisingly, an unpresented VOC change is observed in the opposite direction of the two typical systems (PM6:Y6 and PTB7-Th: ITIC) appearing after the incorporation of the additive DIO, which can be affected by the morphological differences as indicated by the several morphological studies. The bewildering VOC change caused by the additive in different material systems is supposed to originate from the different energy level variations as verified by the energy level studies. Molecular dynamic (MD) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations are also included to get an insight into the dynamic of the additive-induced morphological differences that are supposed to contribute to the energy level changes. Combining a series of morphological and energic studies as well as the theoretical calculations, the origin of unforeseeable VOC changes caused by additives in non-fullerene OSCs is clarified, and provides in-depth insights into the effects of additives on device performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojing Wang
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
| | - Chuang Feng
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
| | - Peng Liu
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
| | - Zhicai He
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
| | - Yong Cao
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, School of Material Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, P. R. China
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Schmitt A, Samal S, Thompson BC. Tuning the surface energies in a family of poly-3-alkylthiophenes bearing hydrophilic side-chains synthesized via direct arylation polymerization (DArP). Polym Chem 2021. [DOI: 10.1039/d1py00195g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
A family of Poly(3-alkylthiophene) copolymers bearing different functional groups was synthesized via direct arylation polymerization and the functional group impact on surface energy, crystallinity, and electronic properties was investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Schmitt
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
- University of Southern California
- Los Angeles
- USA
| | - Sanket Samal
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
- University of Southern California
- Los Angeles
- USA
| | - Barry C. Thompson
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
- University of Southern California
- Los Angeles
- USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Gila E. Stein
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Travis S. Laws
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
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An Q, Zhang J, Gao W, Qi F, Zhang M, Ma X, Yang C, Huo L, Zhang F. Efficient Ternary Organic Solar Cells with Two Compatible Non-Fullerene Materials as One Alloyed Acceptor. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2018; 14:e1802983. [PMID: 30303607 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201802983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2018] [Revised: 09/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Efficient ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) are fabricated by employing a polymer PBT1-C as the donor and two non-fullerene materials, MeIC and MeIC2, as one alloyed acceptor. The optimized ternary OSCs with 30 wt% MeIC2 in acceptors achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 12.55%, which is much higher than that of 11.47% for MeIC-based binary OSCs and 11.41% for MeIC2-based binary OSCs. The >9.4% improvement in PCE is mainly attributed to the optimized photon harvesting and morphology of ternary active layers, resulting in the simultaneously improved short-circuit current and fill factor. Furthermore, good compatibility and similar lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels of MeIC and MeIC2 are beneficial to form one alloyed acceptor for efficient electron transport in the ternary active layers. This work may provide new insight when selecting the third component for preparing efficient ternary OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoshi An
- School of Electrical Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, 100044, Beijing, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Department of Material Science and Technology, Guangxi Key Laboratory of Information Materials, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, 1 Jinji Road, 541004, Guilin, Guangxi, China
| | - Wei Gao
- Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Hubei Key Lab on Organic and Polymeric Optoelectronic Materials, Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, 40072, Wuhan, China
| | - Feng Qi
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, 100191, Beijing, China
| | - Miao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information, Ministry of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, 100044, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaoling Ma
- Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information, Ministry of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, 100044, Beijing, China
| | - Chuluo Yang
- Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, Hubei Key Lab on Organic and Polymeric Optoelectronic Materials, Department of Chemistry, Wuhan University, 40072, Wuhan, China
| | - Lijun Huo
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, 100191, Beijing, China
| | - Fujun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Luminescence and Optical Information, Ministry of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, 100044, Beijing, China
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Galli D, Gasparini N, Forster M, Eckert A, Widling C, Killian MS, Avgeropoulos A, Gregoriou VG, Scherf U, Chochos CL, Brabec CJ, Ameri T. Suppressing the Surface Recombination and Tuning the Open-Circuit Voltage of Polymer/Fullerene Solar Cells by Implementing an Aggregative Ternary Compound. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2018; 10:28803-28811. [PMID: 30074766 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b09174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we present a novel small molecule based on dithienylthienothiadiazole units (named SM1) acting as an efficient component in ternary blend organic solar cells to modify the hole extraction at the interface. Our findings show that the SM1 suppresses the surface recombination and enhances the open-circuit voltage ( Voc). By introducing SM1 in a host system composed of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl- C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), we obtained Voc values of up to 0.75 V and fill factors larger than 70% for the ternary blends. As a consequence, the power conversion efficiency is improved by about 30% compared to P3HT:PCBM binary devices. Interestingly, external quantum efficiency and absorption spectra in the near-infrared region do not show any contribution of SM1 in dried films. Instead, the addition of the small molecule improves the Voc by reducing the surface recombination losses. To shed light on the recombination processes, we carried out Fourier-transform photocurrent spectroscopy and impedance spectroscopy measurements. This work shows that the ternary concept can also have functionalities other than photosensitization and can even act as a morphology-directing agent or an interface modifier.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Michael Forster
- Macromolecular Chemistry Group , Bergische Universität Wuppertal , Gaußstraße 20 , 42119 Wuppertal , Germany
| | - Anika Eckert
- Macromolecular Chemistry Group , Bergische Universität Wuppertal , Gaußstraße 20 , 42119 Wuppertal , Germany
| | - Christian Widling
- Macromolecular Chemistry Group , Bergische Universität Wuppertal , Gaußstraße 20 , 42119 Wuppertal , Germany
| | | | - Apostolos Avgeropoulos
- Department of Materials Science Engineering , University of Ioannina , Ioannina 45110 , Greece
| | - Vasilis G Gregoriou
- Advent Technologies SA , Patras Science Park, Stadiou Street, Platani-Rio , 26504 Patra , Greece
| | - Ullrich Scherf
- Macromolecular Chemistry Group , Bergische Universität Wuppertal , Gaußstraße 20 , 42119 Wuppertal , Germany
| | - Christos L Chochos
- Department of Materials Science Engineering , University of Ioannina , Ioannina 45110 , Greece
- Advent Technologies SA , Patras Science Park, Stadiou Street, Platani-Rio , 26504 Patra , Greece
| | - Christoph J Brabec
- Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE Bayern) , Haberstraße 2a , 91058 Erlangen , Germany
| | - Tayebeh Ameri
- Chair of Functional Nanosystems, Research area of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry , University of Munich (LMU) , Butenandtstr. 11 (Haus E) , 81377 Munich , Germany
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7
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Li L, Lin H, Kong X, Du X, Chen X, Zhou L, Tao S, Zheng C, Zhang X. π-π stacking induced high current density and improved efficiency in ternary organic solar cells. NANOSCALE 2018; 10:9971-9980. [PMID: 29770827 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr01421c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Ternary blend systems have been used to enhance the short-circuit current density (JSC) and fill factor (FF) of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, it is still a challenge to find suitable third components that concurrently possess complementary light absorption and well-matched energy levels. Here, a small organic molecule, 4,4'-(9,9-dihexyl-9H-fluorene-2,7-diyl)bis(N,N-bis(4-(pyren-1-yl)phenyl)anili-ne) (DFNPy), which contains a triphenylamine core and bulky pyrene rings, was designed and used to construct ternary blend OSCs. DFNPy shows complementary absorption spectra in the 350-450 nm shortwave band, which has seldom been reported in the field of ternary OSCs. Furthermore, the bulky pyrene rings aggregate via π-π stacking to promote charge transfer. As a result, a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.59% with an enhanced JSC of 19.72 mA cm-2 was realized in PTB7-Th:DFNPy:PC71BM-based ternary OSCs. The addition of DFNPy was found to modulate the film morphology by improving the film phase separation and crystallinity, which can facilitate charge generation and decrease charge recombination, resulting in enhanced mobility. The results demonstrate an effective strategy for improving the photovoltaic performance of OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Li
- School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC), Chengdu 610054, P. R. China.
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8
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Niu S, Liu Z, Wang N. Effect of dihydronaphthyl-based C60 bisadduct as third component materials on the photovoltaic performance and charge carrier recombination of binary PBDB-T : ITIC polymer solar cells. NANOSCALE 2018; 10:8483-8495. [PMID: 29693093 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr01969j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
A dihydronaphthyl-based C60 bisadduct (NCBA) acceptor was introduced as a third component to typical poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b0]dithiophene))-alt-(5,5-(10,30-di-2-thienyl-50,70-bis(2-ethylhexyl)benzo[10,20-c:40,50-c0]dithiophene-4,8-dione))] (PBDB-T): 3,9-bis(2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-indanone))-5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3-d:20,30-d0]-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b0]-dithiophene (ITIC) binary polymer solar cells (PSCs). NCBA plays a bridging role between the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of PBDB-T and ITIC and provides more routes for charge carrier transfer at the interface between PBDB-T and ITIC, whereupon a higher open-circuit voltage (VOC) could be realized upon the addition of NCBA relative to the neat ITIC as an electron acceptor. With the strong visible light absorption in the range from 300 to 520 nm of the NCBA molecule, it had the effect of apparently complementary visible light absorption compared with the binary PBDB-T : ITIC layer. The crystallinity and surface morphology of the PBDB-T : NCBA : ITIC (1 : 0.1 : 0.9) thin films was similar to that of the binary PBDB-T : ITIC layer, which guaranteed suitable efficient exciton dissociation and charge carrier transport. The photocurrent density versus effective voltage (Jph-Veff) curves, short-circuit current density (JSC), and VOC as a function of incident light intensity as well as the transient photovoltage (TPV) and transient photocurrent (TPC) were measured, and the results illustrated the effects of NCBA as third component materials in terms of efficient exciton dissociation and reduced charge carrier recombination and loss. The PBDB-T : NCBA : ITIC (1 : 0.1 : 0.9)-based PSCs showed an optimized PCE value of 9.56% and better thermal stability after 10 h thermal annealing treatment (the normalized PCE value was 92.5% of the initial PCE value).
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengli Niu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonosis of Liaoning Province, School of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, People's Republic of China
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Huang W, Cheng P, Yang YM, Li G, Yang Y. High-Performance Organic Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells Based on Multiple-Donor or Multiple-Acceptor Components. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2018; 30:1705706. [PMID: 29333744 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201705706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2017] [Revised: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Organic solar cells (OSCs) based on bulk heterojunction structures are promising candidates for next-generation solar cells. However, the narrow absorption bandwidth of organic semiconductors is a critical issue resulting in insufficient usage of the energy from the solar spectrum, and as a result, it hinders performance. Devices based on multiple-donor or multiple-acceptor components with complementary absorption spectra provide a solution to address this issue. OSCs based on multiple-donor or multiple-acceptor systems have achieved power conversion efficiencies over 12%. Moreover, the introduction of an additional component can further facilitate charge transfer and reduce charge recombination through cascade energy structure and optimized morphology. This progress report provides an overview of the recent progress in OSCs based on multiple-donor (polymer/polymer, polymer/dye, and polymer/small molecule) or multiple-acceptor (fullerene/fullerene, fullerene/nonfullerene, and nonfullerene/nonfullerene) components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenchao Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Pei Cheng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Yang Michael Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Gang Li
- Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Yang Yang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
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Cheng P, Wang R, Zhu J, Huang W, Chang SY, Meng L, Sun P, Cheng HW, Qin M, Zhu C, Zhan X, Yang Y. Ternary System with Controlled Structure: A New Strategy toward Efficient Organic Photovoltaics. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2018; 30:1705243. [PMID: 29318665 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201705243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Recently, a new type of active layer with a ternary system has been developed to further enhance the performance of binary system organic photovoltaics (OPV). In the ternary OPV, almost all active layers are formed by simple ternary blend in solution, which eventually leads to the disordered bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structure after a spin-coating process. There are two main restrictions in this disordered BHJ structure to obtain higher performance OPV. One is the isolated second donor or acceptor domains. The other is the invalid metal-semiconductor contact. Herein, the concept and design of donor/acceptor/acceptor ternary OPV with more controlled structure (C-ternary) is reported. The C-ternary OPV is fabricated by a sequential solution process, in which the second acceptor and donor/acceptor binary blend are sequentially spin-coated. After the device optimization, the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of all OPV with C-ternary are enhanced by 14-21% relative to those with the simple ternary blend; the best PCEs are 10.7 and 11.0% for fullerene-based and fullerene-free solar cells, respectively. Moreover, the averaged PCE value of 10.4% for fullerene-free solar cell measured in this study is in great agreement with the certified one of 10.32% obtained from Newport Corporation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei Cheng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Rui Wang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Jingshuai Zhu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
| | - Wenchao Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Sheng-Yung Chang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Lei Meng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Pengyu Sun
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Hao-Wen Cheng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Meng Qin
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Chenhui Zhu
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Xiaowei Zhan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, P. R. China
| | - Yang Yang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
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Liu X, Wang J, Peng J, Liang Z. 2D/1A Strategy to Regulate Film Morphology for Efficient and Stable Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells. Macromolecules 2017. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.7b01509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Liu
- Department of Materials Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Jialin Wang
- Department of Materials Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Jiajun Peng
- Department of Materials Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Ziqi Liang
- Department of Materials Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
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13
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Random multiacceptor poly(2,7‐carbazole) derivatives containing the pentacyclic lactam acceptor unit TPTI for bulk heterojunction solar cells. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/pola.28680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Cai Y, Huo L, Sun Y. Recent Advances in Wide-Bandgap Photovoltaic Polymers. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2017; 29:1605437. [PMID: 28370466 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201605437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The past decade has witnessed significant advances in the field of organic solar cells (OSCs). Ongoing improvements in the power conversion efficiency of OSCs have been achieved, which were mainly attributed to the design and synthesis of novel conjugated polymers with different architectures and functional moieties. Among various conjugated polymers, the development of wide-bandgap (WBG) polymers has received less attention than that of low-bandgap and medium-bandgap polymers. Here, we briefly summarize recent advances in WBG polymers and their applications in organic photovoltaic (PV) devices, such as tandem, ternary, and non-fullerene solar cells. Addtionally, we also dissuss the application of high open-circuit voltage tandem solar cells in PV-driven electrochemical water dissociation. We mainly focus on the molecular design strategies, the structure-property correlations, and the photovoltaic performance of these WBG polymers. Finally, we extract empirical regularities and provide invigorating perspectives on the future development of WBG photovoltaic materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunhao Cai
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China
| | - Lijun Huo
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China
| | - Yanming Sun
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P.R. China
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Zhang G, Zhou C, Sun C, Jia X, Xu B, Ying L, Huang F, Cao Y. An Open-Circuit Voltage and Power Conversion Efficiency Study of Fullerene Ternary Organic Solar Cells Based on Oligomer/Oligomer and Oligomer/Polymer. Macromol Rapid Commun 2017; 38. [PMID: 28485819 DOI: 10.1002/marc.201700090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2017] [Revised: 03/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Variations in the open-circuit voltage (Voc ) of ternary organic solar cells are systematically investigated. The initial study of these devices consists of two electron-donating oligomers, S2 (two units) and S7 (seven units), and the electron-accepting [6,6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester (PC71 BM) and reveals that the Voc is continuously tunable due to the changing energy of the charge transfer state (Ect ) of the active layers. Further investigation suggests that Voc is also continuously tunable upon change in Ect in a ternary blend system that consists of S2 and its corresponding polymer (P11):PC71 BM. It is interesting to note that higher power conversion efficiencies can be obtained for both S2:S7:PC71 BM and S2:P11:PC71 BM ternary systems compared with their binary systems, which can be ascribed to an improved Voc due to the higher Ect and an improved fill factor due to the improved film morphology upon the incorporation of S2. These findings provide a new guideline for the future design of conjugated polymers for achieving higher performance of ternary organic solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guichuan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Cheng Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Chen Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Xiaoe Jia
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Baomin Xu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Lei Ying
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Fei Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Yong Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, China
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16
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Zhang G, Zhang K, Yin Q, Jiang XF, Wang Z, Xin J, Ma W, Yan H, Huang F, Cao Y. High-Performance Ternary Organic Solar Cell Enabled by a Thick Active Layer Containing a Liquid Crystalline Small Molecule Donor. J Am Chem Soc 2017; 139:2387-2395. [PMID: 28127955 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.6b11991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 157] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) have attracted much research attention in the past few years, as ternary organic blends can broaden the absorption range of OSCs without the use of complicated tandem cell structures. Despite their broadened absorption range, the light harvesting capability of ternary OSCs is still limited because most ternary OSCs use thin active layers of about 100 nm in thickness, which is not sufficient to absorb all photons in their spectral range and may also cause problems for future roll-to-roll mass production that requires thick active layers. In this paper, we report a highly efficient ternary OSC (11.40%) obtained by incorporating a nematic liquid crystalline small molecule (named benzodithiophene terthiophene rhodanine (BTR)) into a state-of-the-art PTB7-Th:PC71BM binary system. The addition of BTR into PTB7-Th:PC71BM was found to improve the morphology of the blend film with decreased π-π stacking distance, enlarged coherence length, and enhanced domain purity. This resulted in more efficient charge separation, faster charge transport, and less bimolecular recombination, which, when combined, led to better device performance even with thick active layers. Our results show that the introduction of highly crystalline small molecule donors into ternary OSCs is an effective means to enhance the charge transport and thus increase the active layer thickness of ternary OSCs to make them more suitable for roll-to-roll production than previous thinner devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guichuan Zhang
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Kai Zhang
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Qingwu Yin
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Xiao-Fang Jiang
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Zaiyu Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an 710049, P. R. China
| | - Jingming Xin
- State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an 710049, P. R. China
| | - Wei Ma
- State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an 710049, P. R. China
| | - He Yan
- Department of Chemistry and Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay , Kowloon, Hong Kong 999077, P. R. China
| | - Fei Huang
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
| | - Yong Cao
- Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510640, P. R. China
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17
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Yang X, Zheng F, Xu W, Bi P, Feng L, Liu J, Hao X. Improving the Compatibility of Donor Polymers in Efficient Ternary Organic Solar Cells via Post-Additive Soaking Treatment. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2017; 9:618-627. [PMID: 27959487 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b11063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
In dual-donor ternary organic solar cells, the compatibility between the donor polymers plays important roles to control the conformational change and govern the photophysical behavior in the blend films. Here, we apply a post-additive soaking (PAS) approach to reconstruct the morphology in a ternary organic photovoltaic BHJ of PTB7-Th: PCDTBT: PC71BM. The PAS-treated device has a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of about 8.7% in this ternary system. From the analyses of GIWAXS and GISAXS, the superior device performance is attributed to the favorable nanomorphology with optimum crystallinity of PTB7-Th and good intermixing of PCDTBT with PTB7-Th:PC71BM, leading to improved charge transport in the vertical direction. AFM and TRPL measurements clearly demonstrate PAS-treated film envisages a homogeneous distribution of smaller PC71BM aggregates to facilitate the exciton dissociation and carrier extraction at the interface. The increased PCE ascribed to not only the enhancement of absorption and nonradiative Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between two donors (PCDTBT and PTB7-Th) but also the formation of a bicontinuous interpenetrating network of PC71BM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Yang
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University , Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Fei Zheng
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University , Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Weilong Xu
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University , Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Pengqing Bi
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University , Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Lin Feng
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University , Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Jianqiang Liu
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University , Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
| | - Xiaotao Hao
- School of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University , Jinan, Shandong 250100, China
- School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne , Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
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18
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Zhao W, Li S, Zhang S, Liu X, Hou J. Ternary Polymer Solar Cells based on Two Acceptors and One Donor for Achieving 12.2% Efficiency. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2017; 29:1604059. [PMID: 27813280 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201604059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2016] [Revised: 09/24/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Ternary polymer solar cells are fabricated based on one donor PBDB-T and two acceptors (a methyl-modified small-molecular acceptor (IT-M) and a bis-adduct of Bis[70]PCBM). A high power conversion efficiency of 12.2% can be achieved. The photovoltaic performance of the ternary polymer solar cells is not sensitive to the composition of the blend.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenchao Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China
| | - Sunsun Li
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. 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, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoyu Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. 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, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China
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19
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Gobalasingham NS, Ekiz S, Pankow RM, Livi F, Bundgaard E, Thompson BC. Carbazole-based copolymers via direct arylation polymerization (DArP) for Suzuki-convergent polymer solar cell performance. Polym Chem 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/c7py00859g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Direct arylation polymerization (DArP) is used to synthesize a variety of carbazole-based copolymers for evaluation in solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nemal S. Gobalasingham
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
- University of Southern California
- Los Angeles
- USA
| | - Seyma Ekiz
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
- University of Southern California
- Los Angeles
- USA
| | - Robert M. Pankow
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
- University of Southern California
- Los Angeles
- USA
| | - Francesco Livi
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
- University of Southern California
- Los Angeles
- USA
- DTU Energy
| | - Eva Bundgaard
- DTU Energy
- Technical University of Denmark
- Roskilde
- Denmark
| | - Barry C. Thompson
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute
- University of Southern California
- Los Angeles
- USA
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20
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Ghasemi M, Ye L, Zhang Q, Yan L, Kim JH, Awartani O, You W, Gadisa A, Ade H. Panchromatic Sequentially Cast Ternary Polymer Solar Cells. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2017; 29:1604603. [PMID: 27897339 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201604603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2016] [Revised: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
A sequential-casting ternary method is developed to create stratified bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, in which the two BHJ layers are spin cast sequentially without the need of adopting a middle electrode and orthogonal solvents. This method is found to be particularly useful for polymers that form a mechanically alloyed morphology due to the high degree of miscibility in the blend.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masoud Ghasemi
- Department of Physics and ORaCEL, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Long Ye
- Department of Physics and ORaCEL, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Qianqian Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Liang Yan
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Joo-Hyun Kim
- Department of Physics and ORaCEL, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Omar Awartani
- Department of Physics and ORaCEL, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Wei You
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Abay Gadisa
- Department of Physics and ORaCEL, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Harald Ade
- Department of Physics and ORaCEL, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
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21
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Genene Z, Wang J, Xu X, Yang R, Mammo W, Wang E. A comparative study of the photovoltaic performances of terpolymers and ternary systems. RSC Adv 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/c7ra01418j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Terpolymer systems were realized as a good strategy to combine two incompatible polymers as compared to ternary systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zewdneh Genene
- Department of Chemistry
- Addis Ababa University
- Addis Ababa
- Ethiopia
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
| | - Junyi Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials
- Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Qingdao 266101
- China
| | - Xiaofeng Xu
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- Chalmers University of Technology
- SE-412 96 Göteborg
- Sweden
| | - Renqiang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials
- Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Qingdao 266101
- China
| | | | - Ergang Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- Chalmers University of Technology
- SE-412 96 Göteborg
- Sweden
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22
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Zhang L, Ma W. Morphology optimization in ternary organic solar cells. CHINESE JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10118-017-1898-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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23
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Liu T, Guo Y, Yi Y, Huo L, Xue X, Sun X, Fu H, Xiong W, Meng D, Wang Z, Liu F, Russell TP, Sun Y. Ternary Organic Solar Cells Based on Two Compatible Nonfullerene Acceptors with Power Conversion Efficiency >10. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2016; 28:10008-10015. [PMID: 27717048 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201602570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2016] [Revised: 08/10/2016] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Two different nonfullerene acceptors and one copolymer are used to fabricate ternary organic solar cells (OSCs). The two acceptors show unique interactions that reduce crystallinity and form a homogeneous mixed phase in the blend film, leading to a high efficiency of ≈10.3%, the highest performance reported for nonfullerene ternary blends. This work provides a new approach to fabricate high-performance OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Liu
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
| | - Yuan Guo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Yuanping Yi
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Lijun Huo
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
| | - Xiaonan Xue
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
| | - Xiaobo Sun
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
| | - Huiting Fu
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Wentao Xiong
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
| | - Dong Meng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Zhaohui Wang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
| | - Feng Liu
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240, P. R. China
| | - Thomas P Russell
- Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA
| | - Yanming Sun
- Heeger Beijing Research and Development Center, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
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24
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Gobalasingham NS, Noh S, Howard JB, Thompson BC. Influence of Surface Energy on Organic Alloy Formation in Ternary Blend Solar Cells Based on Two Donor Polymers. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2016; 8:27931-27941. [PMID: 27660888 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b10144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The compositional dependence of the open-circuit voltage (Voc) in ternary blend bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells is correlated with the miscibility of polymers, which may be influenced by a number of attributes, including crystallinity, the random copolymer effect, or surface energy. Four ternary blend systems featuring poly(3-hexylthiophene-co-3-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophene) (P3HT75-co-EHT25), poly(3-hexylthiophene-co-(hexyl-3-carboxylate)), herein referred to as poly(3-hexylthiophene-co-3-hexylesterthiophene) (P3HT50-co-3HET50), poly(3-hexylthiophene-thiophene-diketopyrrolopyrrole) (P3HTT-DPP-10%), and an analog of P3HTT-DPP-10% with 40% of 3-hexylthiophene exchanged for 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethylthiophen-2-yl (3MEO-T) (featuring an electronically decoupled oligoether side-chain), referred to as P3HTTDPP-MEO40%, are explored in this work. All four polymers are semicrystalline and rich in rr-P3HT content and perform well in binary devices with PC61BM. Except for P3HTTDPP-MEO40%, all polymers exhibit similar surface energies (∼21-22 mN/m). P3HTTDPP-MEO40% exhibits an elevated surface energy of around 26 mN/m. As a result, despite the similar optoelectronic properties and binary solar cell performance of P3HTTDPP-MEO40% compared to P3HTT-DPP-10%, the former exhibits a pinned Voc in two different sets of ternary blend devices. This is a stark contrast to previous rr-P3HT-based systems and demonstrates that surface energy, and its influence on miscibility, plays a critical role in the formation of organic alloys and can supersede the influence of crystallinity, the random copolymer effect, similar backbone structures, and HOMO/LUMO considerations. Therefore, we confirm surface energy compatibility as a figure-of-merit for predicting the compositional dependence of the Voc in ternary blend solar cells and highlight the importance of polymer miscibility in organic alloy formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nemal S Gobalasingham
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
| | - Sangtaik Noh
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
| | - Jenna B Howard
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
| | - Barry C Thompson
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
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25
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Howard JB, Ekiz S, Noh S, Thompson BC. Surface Energy Modification of Semi-Random P3HTT-DPP. ACS Macro Lett 2016; 5:977-981. [PMID: 35607215 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.6b00436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Alkyl solubilizing side chains on conjugated polymers can serve as a handle for modifying polymer properties. Recently, oligo-ether and semifluoro alkyl side chains were utilized to tune the surface energy of random P3HT-based polymers without changing the optical and electronic properties. Here, this method is applied to semi-random poly(3-hexylthiophene-thiophene-diketopyrrolopyrrole) (P3HTT-DPP) and the subsequent polymer device, optical, electronic, structural, and thermal properties are characterized. P3HTMETT-DPP, bearing oligo-ether side chains, exhibited higher crystallinity, closer lamellar packing, and lower temperature thermal transitions. P3HTFHTT-DPP, featuring semifluoro alkyl side chains, presented reduced crystallinity, greater lamellar packing distances, and higher temperature thermal transitions. P3HTMETT-DPP performed similarly to P3HTT-DPP under identical processing conditions, whereas P3HTFHTT-DPP had greatly reduced JSC due to lower polymer concentration necessitated by solubility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna B. Howard
- Department of Chemistry,
Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
| | - Seyma Ekiz
- Department of Chemistry,
Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
| | - Sangtaik Noh
- Department of Chemistry,
Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
| | - Barry C. Thompson
- Department of Chemistry,
Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
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26
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Lee JW, Choi YS, Ahn H, Jo WH. Ternary Blend Composed of Two Organic Donors and One Acceptor for Active Layer of High-Performance Organic Solar Cells. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2016; 8:10961-10967. [PMID: 27067461 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b12717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Ternary blends composed of two donor absorbers with complementary absorptions provide an opportunity to enhance the short-circuit current and thus the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells. In addition to complementary absorption of two donors, ternary blends may exhibit favorable morphology for high-performance solar cells when one chooses properly the donor pair. For this purpose, we develop a ternary blend with two donors (diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer (PTDPP2T) and small molecule ((TDPP)2Ph)) and one acceptor (PC71BM). The solar cell made of a ternary blend with 10 wt % (TDPP)2Ph exhibits higher PCE of 7.49% as compared with the solar cells with binary blends, PTDPP2T:PC71BM (6.58%) and (TDPP)2Ph:PC71BM (3.21%). The higher PCE of the ternary blend solar cell is attributed mainly to complementary absorption of two donors. However, a further increase in (TDPP)2Ph content in the ternary blend (>10 wt %) decreases the PCE. The ternary blend with 10 wt % (TDPP)2Ph exhibits well-developed morphology with narrow-sized fibrils while the blend with 15 wt % (TDPP)2Ph shows phase separation with large-sized domains, demonstrating that the phase morphology and compatibility of ternary blend are important factors to achieve a high-performance solar cell made of ternary blends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jong Won Lee
- Department of Materials and Engineering, Seoul National University , 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Korea
| | - Yoon Suk Choi
- Department of Materials and Engineering, Seoul National University , 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Korea
| | - Hyungju Ahn
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory , Pohang, Kyungbuk 790-784, Republic of Korea
| | - Won Ho Jo
- Department of Materials and Engineering, Seoul National University , 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 151-744, Korea
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27
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Zhang Q, Kelly MA, Hunt A, Ade H, You W. Comparative Photovoltaic Study of Physical Blending of Two Donor–Acceptor Polymers with the Chemical Blending of the Respective Moieties. Macromolecules 2016. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.5b02586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Qianqian Zhang
- Department
of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States
| | - Mary Allison Kelly
- Department
of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States
| | - Adrian Hunt
- Department
of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Harald Ade
- Department
of Physics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States
| | - Wei You
- Department
of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3290, United States
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28
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Li C, Ding Y, Soliman M, Lorenzo J, Dhasmana N, Chantharasupawong P, Ievlev AV, Gesquiere AJ, Tetard L, Thomas J. Probing Ternary Solvent Effect in High V(oc) Polymer Solar Cells Using Advanced AFM Techniques. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2016; 8:4730-4738. [PMID: 26807919 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b12260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
This work describes a simple method to develop a high V(oc) low band gap PSCs. In addition, two new atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based nanoscale characterization techniques to study the surface morphology and physical properties of the structured active layer are introduced. With the help of ternary solvent processing of the active layer and C60 buffer layer, a bulk heterojunction PSC with V(oc) more than 0.9 V and conversion efficiency 7.5% is developed. In order to understand the fundamental properties of the materials ruling the performance of the PSCs tested, AFM-based nanoscale characterization techniques including Pulsed-Force-Mode AFM (PFM-AFM) and Mode-Synthesizing AFM (MSAFM) are introduced. Interestingly, MSAFM exhibits high sensitivity for direct visualization of the donor-acceptor phases in the active layer of the PSCs. Finally, conductive-AFM (cAFM) studies reveal local variations in conductivity in the donor and acceptor phases as well as a significant increase in photocurrent in the PTB7:ICBA sample obtained with the ternary solvent processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Li
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
| | - Yi Ding
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
| | - Mikhael Soliman
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
| | - Josie Lorenzo
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
- CREOL, College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
| | - Nitesh Dhasmana
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
- CREOL, College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
| | - Panit Chantharasupawong
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
- CREOL, College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
| | - Anton V Ievlev
- The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory , 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
- Institute for Functional Imaging of Materials, Oak Ridge National Laboratory , 1 Bethel Valley Rd., Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Andre J Gesquiere
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
- CREOL, College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
| | - Laurene Tetard
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
| | - Jayan Thomas
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32826, United States
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
- CREOL, College of Optics and Photonics, University of Central Florida , Orlando, Florida 32816, United States
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29
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Chen W, Du Z, Xiao M, Zhang J, Yang C, Han L, Bao X, Yang R. High-Performance Small Molecule/Polymer Ternary Organic Solar Cells Based on a Layer-By-Layer Process. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2015; 7:23190-23196. [PMID: 26436528 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b07015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The layer-by-layer process method, which had been used to fabricate a bilayer or bulk heterojunction organic solar cell, was developed to fabricate highly efficient ternary blend solar cells in which small molecules and polymers act as two donors. The active layer could be formed by incorporating the small molecules into the polymer based active layer via a layer-by-layer method: the small molecules were first coated on the surface of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) ( PEDOT PSS), and then the mixed solution of polymer and fullerene derivative was spin-coated on top of a small molecule layer. In this method, the small molecules in crystalline state were effectively mixed in the active layer. Without further optimization of the morphology of the ternary blend, a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.76% was obtained with large short-circuit current density (Jsc) (17.24 mA cm(-2)) and fill factor (FF) (0.696). The high PCE resulted from not only enhanced light harvesting but also more balanced charge transport by incorporating small molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weichao Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Zhengkun Du
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Manjun Xiao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Jidong Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Changchun 130022, China
| | - Chunpeng Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Liangliang Han
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Xichang Bao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Renqiang Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Qingdao 266101, China
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology , Guangzhou 510641, China
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30
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Farahat ME, Patra D, Lee CH, Chu CW. Synergistic Effects of Morphological Control and Complementary Absorption in Efficient All-Small-Molecule Ternary-Blend Solar Cells. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2015; 7:22542-22550. [PMID: 26389528 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b06831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we combined two small-molecule donors-a diketopyrrolopyrrole-based small molecule (SMD) and a benzodithiophene-based molecule (BDT6T)-with [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) to form ternary blend solar cells. The power conversion efficiency of the binary SMD:PC61BM bulk heterojunction solar cell improved from 4.57 to 6.28% after adding an appropriate amount BDT6T as a guest. We attribute this 37% improvement in device performance to the complementary absorption behavior of BDT6T and SMD, as evidenced by the increase in the short circuit current. After addition of BDT6T to form the ternary blend, the crystallinity and morphology of the active layer were enhanced. For example, the features observed in the ternary active layers were finer than those in the binary blends. This means that BDT6T as a third component in the ternary blend has effective role on both the absorption and the morphology. In addition, adding BDT6T to form the ternary blend also led to an increase in the open-circuit voltage. Our findings suggest that the preparation of such simple all-small-molecule ternary blends can be an effective means of improving the efficiency of photovoltaic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud E Farahat
- Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing-Hua University , Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, Republic of China
- Nanoscience and Technology Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and National Tsing-Hua University Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica , Taipei 115, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Dhananjaya Patra
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica , Taipei 115, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Chih-Hao Lee
- Department of Engineering and System Science, National Tsing-Hua University , Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Chih-Wei Chu
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica , Taipei 115, Taiwan, Republic of China
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31
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Hartmeier BF, Brady MA, Treat ND, Robb MJ, Mates TE, Hexemer A, Wang C, Hawker CJ, Kramer EJ, Chabinyc ML. Significance of miscibility in multidonor bulk heterojunction solar cells. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/polb.23907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin F. Hartmeier
- Materials Department; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
- Department of Materials; ETH Zürich; Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5 Zürich CH-8093 Switzerland
| | - Michael A. Brady
- Materials Department; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
| | - Neil D. Treat
- Materials Department; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
| | - Maxwell J. Robb
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
| | - Thomas E. Mates
- Materials Research Laboratory; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
| | - Alexander Hexemer
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Advanced Light Source; Berkeley California 94720
| | - Cheng Wang
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Advanced Light Source; Berkeley California 94720
| | - Craig J. Hawker
- Materials Department; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
- Materials Research Laboratory; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
| | - Edward J. Kramer
- Materials Department; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
- Department of Chemical Engineering; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
| | - Michael L. Chabinyc
- Materials Department; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106
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32
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Lu L, Zheng T, Wu Q, Schneider AM, Zhao D, Yu L. Recent Advances in Bulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells. Chem Rev 2015; 115:12666-731. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2097] [Impact Index Per Article: 233.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Luyao Lu
- Department
of Chemistry and
The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, 929 East
57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Tianyue Zheng
- Department
of Chemistry and
The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, 929 East
57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Qinghe Wu
- Department
of Chemistry and
The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, 929 East
57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Alexander M. Schneider
- Department
of Chemistry and
The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, 929 East
57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Donglin Zhao
- Department
of Chemistry and
The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, 929 East
57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Luping Yu
- Department
of Chemistry and
The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, 929 East
57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
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33
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Gupta V, Bharti V, Kumar M, Chand S, Heeger AJ. Polymer-Polymer Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Significantly Boosts the Power Conversion Efficiency of Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2015; 27:4398-4404. [PMID: 26109435 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201501275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2015] [Revised: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Optically resonant donor polymers can exploit a wider range of the solar spectrum effectively without a complicated tandem design in an organic solar cell. Ultrafast Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) in a polymer-polymer system that significantly improves the power conversion efficiency in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells from 6.8% to 8.9% is demonstrated, thus paving the way to achieving 15% efficient solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vinay Gupta
- CSIR-Network of Institutes for Solar Energy
- Organic and Hybrid Solar Cells Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, 110012, India
- Center for Polymers and Organic Solids, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-5090, USA
| | - Vishal Bharti
- CSIR-Network of Institutes for Solar Energy
- Organic and Hybrid Solar Cells Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, 110012, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi, 110060, India
| | - Mahesh Kumar
- CSIR-Network of Institutes for Solar Energy
- Organic and Hybrid Solar Cells Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, 110012, India
- Ultrafast Optoelectronics and Terahertz Photonics Lab, Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Suresh Chand
- CSIR-Network of Institutes for Solar Energy
- Organic and Hybrid Solar Cells Physics of Energy Harvesting Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi, 110012, India
| | - Alan J Heeger
- Center for Polymers and Organic Solids, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-5090, USA
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34
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Howard JB, Noh S, Beier AE, Thompson BC. Fine Tuning Surface Energy of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) by Heteroatom Modification of the Alkyl Side Chains. ACS Macro Lett 2015; 4:725-730. [PMID: 35596496 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.5b00328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Recent work has pointed to polymer miscibility and surface energy as key figures of merit in the formation of organic alloys and synergistic behavior between components in ternary blend solar cells. Here, we present a simple model system and first report of poly(3-hexylthiophene)-based random copolymers featuring either a semifluoroalkyl (P3HT-co-FHT) or oligoether (P3HT-co-MET) side chain, prepared via Stille polycondensation. Water drop contact angle measurements demonstrated that P3HT-co-FHT polymers reached a minimum surface energy of 14.2 mN/m at 50% composition of comonomers, while in contrast, P3HT-co-MET polymers increased as high as 27.0 mN/m at 50% composition, compared to P3HT at 19.9 mN/m. Importantly, the surface energy of the copolymers was found to vary regularly with comonomer composition and exhibited fine-tuning. Optical and electronic properties of the polymers are found to be composition independent as determined by UV-vis and CV measurements; HOMO energy levels ranged from 5.25 to 5.30 eV; and optical band gaps all measured 1.9 eV. Following this model, surface energy modification of state-of-the-art polymers, without altering desirable electronic and optical properties, is proposed as a useful tool in identifying and exploiting more alloying polymer pairs for ternary blend solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna B. Howard
- Department of Chemistry, Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
| | - Sangtaik Noh
- Department of Chemistry, Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
| | - Alejandra E. Beier
- Department of Chemistry, Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
| | - Barry C. Thompson
- Department of Chemistry, Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
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35
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Zhang J, Zhang Y, Fang J, Lu K, Wang Z, Ma W, Wei Z. Conjugated Polymer-Small Molecule Alloy Leads to High Efficient Ternary Organic Solar Cells. J Am Chem Soc 2015; 137:8176-83. [PMID: 26052738 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b03449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 200] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Ternary organic solar cells are promising candidates for bulk heterojunction solar cells; however, improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) is quite challenging because the ternary system is complicated on phase separation behavior. In this study, a ternary organic solar cell (OSC) with two donors, including one polymer (PTB7-Th), one small molecule (p-DTS(FBTTH2)2), and one acceptor (PC71BM), is fabricated. We propose the two donors in the ternary blend forms an alloy. A notable averaged PCE of 10.5% for ternary OSC is obtained due to the improvement of the fill factor (FF) and the short-circuit current density (J(sc)), and the open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) does not pin to the smaller V(oc) of the corresponding binary blends. A highly ordered face-on orientation of polymer molecules is obtained due to the formation of an alloy structure, which facilitates the enhancement of charge separation and transport and the reduction of charge recombination. This work indicates that a high crystallinity and the face-on orientation of polymers could be obtained by forming alloy with two miscible donors, thus paving a way to largely enhance the PCE of OSCs by using the ternary blend strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianqi Zhang
- †Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Yajie Zhang
- †Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Jin Fang
- †Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Kun Lu
- †Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
| | - Zaiyu Wang
- ‡State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, P. R. China
| | - Wei Ma
- ‡State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, P. R. China
| | - Zhixiang Wei
- †Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
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36
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Exploring the open-circuit voltage of organic solar cells under low temperature. Sci Rep 2015; 5:11363. [PMID: 26079701 PMCID: PMC4468816 DOI: 10.1038/srep11363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2015] [Accepted: 05/22/2015] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Open-circuit voltage (VOC) in organic solar cells (OSCs) is currently still not well-understood. A generally acceptable view is that VOC is mainly determined by the energy level offset between donor and acceptor materials. Recently in ternary blend OSCs, VOC is found to be dependent on the blend composition. But contrary to expectation, this dependence is not a simple linear relationship, which adds complications to understanding on VOC. Here, in order to figure out the origin of VOC, we performed a series of experiments on both binary and ternary blend OSCs in a wide temperature range from 15 K to 300 K. It is observed that the devices behave like Schottky barrier (SB) diode. By fitting the experimental results with SB diode model, the detailed device parameters of ternary blend OSCs are extracted and it is found that VOC is determined by the energetics of organic molecules and metal at the cathode interface, and the inhomogeneity of the SB also play a great role in the origin of VOC at low temperatures. This work not only paves the way to deep understanding on the origin of VOC, but also opens a door to further exploring the general working principle of OSCs.
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37
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Zhen Y, Tanaka H, Harano K, Okada S, Matsuo Y, Nakamura E. Organic Solid Solution Composed of Two Structurally Similar Porphyrins for Organic Solar Cells. J Am Chem Soc 2015; 137:2247-52. [DOI: 10.1021/ja513045a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yonggang Zhen
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
- Beijing
National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Key Laboratory of Organic
Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Hideyuki Tanaka
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Koji Harano
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Satoshi Okada
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Yutaka Matsuo
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
| | - Eiichi Nakamura
- Department
of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan
- CREST, JST, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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38
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Khlyabich PP, Rudenko AE, Burkhart B, Thompson BC. Contrasting performance of donor-acceptor copolymer pairs in ternary blend solar cells and two-acceptor copolymers in binary blend solar cells. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2015; 7:2322-2330. [PMID: 25590225 DOI: 10.1021/am5066267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Here two contrasting approaches to polymer-fullerene solar cells are compared. In the first approach, two distinct semi-random donor-acceptor copolymers are blended with phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) to form ternary blend solar cells. The two poly(3-hexylthiophene)-based polymers contain either the acceptor thienopyrroledione (TPD) or diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP). In the second approach, semi-random donor-acceptor copolymers containing both TPD and DPP acceptors in the same polymer backbone, termed two-acceptor polymers, are blended with PC61BM to give binary blend solar cells. The two approaches result in bulk heterojunction solar cells that have the same molecular active-layer components but differ in the manner in which these molecular components are mixed, either by physical mixing (ternary blend) or chemical "mixing" in the two-acceptor (binary blend) case. Optical properties and photon-to-electron conversion efficiencies of the binary and ternary blends were found to have similar features and were described as a linear combination of the individual components. At the same time, significant differences were observed in the open-circuit voltage (Voc) behaviors of binary and ternary blend solar cells. While in case of two-acceptor polymers, the Voc was found to be in the range of 0.495-0.552 V, ternary blend solar cells showed behavior inherent to organic alloy formation, displaying an intermediate, composition-dependent and tunable Voc in the range from 0.582 to 0.684 V, significantly exceeding the values achieved in the two-acceptor containing binary blend solar cells. Despite the differences between the physical and chemical mixing approaches, both pathways provided solar cells with similar power conversion efficiencies, highlighting the advantages of both pathways toward highly efficient organic solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petr P Khlyabich
- Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California , Los Angeles, California 90089-1661, United States
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39
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Zhang Y, Deng D, Lu K, Zhang J, Xia B, Zhao Y, Fang J, Wei Z. Synergistic effect of polymer and small molecules for high-performance ternary organic solar cells. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2015; 27:1071-6. [PMID: 25655181 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201404902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2014] [Revised: 11/11/2014] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
A ternary blend system with two donors and one acceptor provides an effective route to improve the performance of organic solar cells. A synergistic effect of polymer and small molecules is observed in ternary solar cells, and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the ternary system (8.40%) is higher than those of binary systems based on small molecules (7.48%) or polymers (6.85%).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajie Zhang
- National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing, 100190, China
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40
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Dai S, Cheng P, Lin Y, Wang Y, Ma L, Ling Q, Zhan X. Perylene and naphthalene diimide polymers for all-polymer solar cells: a comparative study of chemical copolymerization and physical blend. Polym Chem 2015. [DOI: 10.1039/c5py00665a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Five copolymers, having 4,4,9,9-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]-dithiophene as a donor unit, and perylene diimide (PDI) and/or naphthalene diimide (NDI) as acceptor moieties, were synthesized, and used as electron acceptors in polymer solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuixing Dai
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials
- College of Materials Science and Engineering
- Fujian Normal University
- Fuzhou 350007
- China
| | - Pei Cheng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences and Key Laboratory of Organic Solids
- Institute of Chemistry
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Beijing 100190
- China
| | - Yuze Lin
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences and Key Laboratory of Organic Solids
- Institute of Chemistry
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Beijing 100190
- China
| | - Yifan Wang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences and Key Laboratory of Organic Solids
- Institute of Chemistry
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Beijing 100190
- China
| | - Lanchao Ma
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences and Key Laboratory of Organic Solids
- Institute of Chemistry
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Beijing 100190
- China
| | - Qidan Ling
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials
- College of Materials Science and Engineering
- Fujian Normal University
- Fuzhou 350007
- China
| | - Xiaowei Zhan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering
- College of Engineering
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education
- Peking University
- Beijing 100871
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