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Liu J, Zhang Y, Liu X, Wen L, Wan L, Song C, Xin J, Liang Q. Solution Sequential Deposition Pseudo-Planar Heterojunction: An Efficient Strategy for State-of-Art Organic Solar Cells. SMALL METHODS 2024:e2301803. [PMID: 38386309 DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202301803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Organic solar cells (OSCs) are considered as a promising new generation of clean energy. Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structure has been widely employed in the active layer of efficient OSCs. However, precise regulation of morphology in BHJ is still challenging due to the competitive coupling between crystallization and phase separation. Recently, a novel pseudo-planar heterojunction (PPHJ) structure, prepared through solution sequential deposition, has attracted much attention. It is an easy-to-prepare structure in which the phase separation structures, interfaces, and molecular packing can be separately controlled. Employing PPHJ structure, the properties of OSCs, such as power conversion efficiency, stability, transparency, flexibility, and so on, are usually better than its BHJ counterpart. Hence, a comprehensive understanding of the film-forming process, morphology control, and device performance of PPHJ structure should be considered. In terms of the representative works about PPHJ, this review first introduces the fabrication process of active layers based on PPHJ structure. Second, the widely applied morphology control methods in PPHJ structure are summarized. Then, the influences of PPHJ structure on device performance and other property are reviewed, which largely expand its application. Finally, a brief prospect and development tendency of PPHJ devices are discussed with the consideration of their challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiangang Liu
- School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, P.R. China
| | - Yutong Zhang
- School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, P.R. China
| | - Xingpeng Liu
- School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, P.R. China
| | - Liangquan Wen
- School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, P.R. China
| | - Longjing Wan
- School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, P.R. China
| | - Chunpeng Song
- School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, P.R. China
| | - Jingming Xin
- School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, P.R. China
| | - Qiuju Liang
- School of Microelectronics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, P.R. China
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Yu X, Lin H, He Z, Du X, Chen Z, Yang G, Zheng C, Tao S. Efficient Near-Infrared Organic Photodetectors with Spectral Response up to 1600 nm for Accurate Alcohol Concentration Detection. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:16918-16929. [PMID: 36947683 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c22724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The development of near-infrared organic photodetectors (NIR-OPDs) in 1000-1700 nm is essential for medical monitoring, food quality inspection, machine vision, and biomedical imaging. However, when solving the high dark current density (JD) in bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) NIR-OPDs based on narrow-bandgap systems, it is often accompanied by photocurrent loss, which is a great challenge in achieving high-performance NIR-OPDs. Here, an ideal hybrid pseudo-PHJ (planar-heterojunction)/BHJ structure is proposed to overcome this challenge, which is introducing the N2200 layer between the cathode and BHJ. The introduction of the N2200 raises the external charge injection barrier and reduces the trap density, thus achieving significant suppression of JD (6.22 × 10-7 A cm-2 at -0.2 V bias, about 2 orders of magnitude lower compared to the BHJ NIR-OPDs). Meanwhile, the hybrid structure combines the advantages of PHJ and BHJ, thus maintaining a high photocurrent, resulting in responsivity and detectivity of 18.71 mA W-1 and 4.19 × 1010 Jones, respectively, at 1400 nm at -0.2 V bias, which is superior to the performance of BHJ NIR-OPDs. And the hybrid structured NIR-OPDs are proven to rapidly quantify the alcohol content of mixtures to within 2% accuracy, which exhibits great potential for application in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Yu
- School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, P. R. China
| | - Hui Lin
- School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, P. R. China
| | - Zeyu He
- School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoyang Du
- School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, P. R. China
| | - Zhenhua Chen
- Shanghai Synchrotron Facility (SSRF), Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201204, P. R. China
| | - Gang Yang
- School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, P. R. China
| | - Caijun Zheng
- School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, P. R. China
| | - Silu Tao
- School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, P. R. China
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Hajduk B, Jarka P, Tański T, Bednarski H, Janeczek H, Gnida P, Fijalkowski M. An Investigation of the Thermal Transitions and Physical Properties of Semiconducting PDPP4T:PDBPyBT Blend Films. MATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 15:8392. [PMID: 36499890 PMCID: PMC9741459 DOI: 10.3390/ma15238392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
This work focuses on the study of thermal and physical properties of thin polymer films based on mixtures of semiconductor polymers. The materials selected for research were poly [2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-pyrrolo [3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione-3,6-diyl)-alt-(2,2';5',2″;5″,2'''-quater-thiophen-5,5'''-diyl)]-PDPP4T, a p-type semiconducting polymer, and poly(2,5-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-di(pyridin-2-yl)-pyrrolo [3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione-alt-2,2'-bithiophene)-PDBPyBT, a high-mobility n-type polymer. The article describes the influence of the mutual participation of materials on the structure, physical properties and thermal transitions of PDPP4T:PDBPyBT blends. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate the phase diagram for PDPP4T:PDBPyBT blend films, constructed on the basis of variable-temperature spectroscopic ellipsometry and differential scanning calorimetry. Both techniques are complementary to each other, and the obtained results overlap to a large extent. Our research shows that these polymers can be mixed in various proportions to form single-phase mixtures with several thermal transitions, three of which with the lowest characteristic temperatures can be identified as glass transitions. In addition, the RMS roughness value of the PDPP4T:PDBPyBT blended films was lower than that of the pure materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Hajduk
- Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences, 34 Marie Curie-Skłodowska Str., 41-819 Zabrze, Poland
| | - Paweł Jarka
- Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Silesian University of Technology, 18a Konarskiego Str., 41-100 Gliwice, Poland
| | - Tomasz Tański
- Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Silesian University of Technology, 18a Konarskiego Str., 41-100 Gliwice, Poland
| | - Henryk Bednarski
- Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences, 34 Marie Curie-Skłodowska Str., 41-819 Zabrze, Poland
| | - Henryk Janeczek
- Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences, 34 Marie Curie-Skłodowska Str., 41-819 Zabrze, Poland
| | - Paweł Gnida
- Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials, Polish Academy of Sciences, 34 Marie Curie-Skłodowska Str., 41-819 Zabrze, Poland
| | - Mateusz Fijalkowski
- Institute for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation, Technical University of Liberec, Studentská 1402/2, 461 17 Liberec, Czech Republic
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Yu R, Wu G, Cui Y, Wei X, Hong L, Zhang T, Zou C, Hu S, Hou J, Tan Z. Multi-Functional Solid Additive Induced Favorable Vertical Phase Separation and Ordered Molecular Packing for Highly Efficient Layer-by-Layer Organic Solar Cells. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2021; 17:e2103497. [PMID: 34622540 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202103497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 08/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition strategy enabling favorable vertical phase distributions has been regarded as promising candidates for constructing high-efficient organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. However, solid additives with the merits of good stability and reproducibility have been rarely used to fine-tune the morphology of the LBL films for improved efficiency and stability. Herein, hierarchical morphology control in LBL OPV is achieved via a dual functional solid additive. Series of LBL devices are fabricated by introducing the solid additive individually or simultaneously to the donor or acceptor layer to clarify the functions of additives. Additive in the donor layer can facilitate the formation of preferable vertical component distribution, and that in the acceptor layer will enhance the molecular crystallinity for better charge transport properties. The optimized morphology ultimately contributed to high PCEs of 16.4% and 17.4% in the binary and quaternary LBL devices. This reported method provides an alternative way to controllably manipulate the morphology of LBL OPV cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runnan Yu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Guangzheng Wu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Yong Cui
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Xueqi Wei
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Ling Hong
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Tao Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Chao Zou
- College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325027, China
| | - Siqian Hu
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan, 430056, China
| | - Jianhui Hou
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Zhan'ao Tan
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
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Capture the high-efficiency non-fullerene ternary organic solar cells formula by machine-learning-assisted energy-level alignment optimization. PATTERNS 2021; 2:100333. [PMID: 34553173 PMCID: PMC8441578 DOI: 10.1016/j.patter.2021.100333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2021] [Revised: 07/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Appropriate energy-level alignment in non-fullerene ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) can enhance the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs), due to the simultaneous improvement in charge generation/transportation and reduction in voltage loss. Seven machine-learning (ML) algorithms were used to build the regression and classification models based on energy-level parameters to predict PCE and capture high-performance material combinations, and random forest showed the best predictive capability. Furthermore, two sets of verification experiments were designed to compare the experimental and predicted results. The outcome elucidated that a deep lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the non-fullerene acceptors can slightly reduce the open-circuit voltage (VOC) but significantly improve short-circuit current density (JSC), and, to a certain extent, the VOC could be optimized by the slightly up-shifted LUMO of the third component in non-fullerene ternary OSCs. Consequently, random forest can provide an effective global optimization scheme and capture multi-component combinations for high-efficiency ternary OSCs. ML assists in analyzing energy-level alignment of non-fullerene ternary blends Random forest approach provides the best predictive capability The effective global optimization scheme in material selection is provided
Introducing a third component into a binary blend to fabricate the ternary organic solar cells (OSCs) is a common practice to enhance light harvest and reduce energy loss of the photoactive blends, especially the non-fullerene ternary OSCs, which showed thrilling power conversion efficiencies improvement. A proper energy-level alignment in ternary blends, promoting the device charge generation, transport, and extraction, is of importance to maximize the short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage simultaneously. The machine-learning (ML) technique is a powerful tool for processing complex data from previous research to find the underlying mechanisms. In this work, we built regression and classification models, aiming to find the relationship between molecular energy levels and device performances. The results demonstrated that random forest is an effective method to assess the energy-level alignment, providing guidelines for the design of high-performance non-fullerene ternary OSCs.
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Zhang Y, Liu K, Huang J, Xia X, Cao J, Zhao G, Fong PWK, Zhu Y, Yan F, Yang Y, Lu X, Li G. Graded bulk-heterojunction enables 17% binary organic solar cells via nonhalogenated open air coating. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4815. [PMID: 34376697 PMCID: PMC8355148 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25148-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Graded bulk-heterojunction (G-BHJ) with well-defined vertical phase separation has potential to surpass classical BHJ in organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, an effective G-BHJ strategy via nonhalogenated solvent sequential deposition is demonstrated using nonfullerene acceptor (NFA) OSCs. Spin-coated G-BHJ OSCs deliver an outstanding 17.48% power conversion efficiency (PCE). Depth-profiling X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (DP-XPS) and angle-dependent grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GI-XRD) techniques enable the visualization of polymer/NFA composition and crystallinity gradient distributions, which benefit charge transport, and enable outstanding thick OSC PCEs (16.25% for 300 nm, 14.37% for 500 nm), which are among the highest reported. Moreover, the nonhalogenated solvent enabled G-BHJ OSC via open-air blade coating and achieved a record 16.77% PCE. The blade-coated G-BHJ has drastically different D-A crystallization kinetics, which suppresses the excessive aggregation induced unfavorable phase separation in BHJ. All these make G-BHJ a feasible and promising strategy towards highly efficient, eco- and manufacture friendly OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Zhang
- Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Kuan Liu
- Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Jiaming Huang
- Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xinxin Xia
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jiupeng Cao
- Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Guangming Zhao
- Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Patrick W K Fong
- Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ye Zhu
- Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Feng Yan
- Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yang Yang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Xinhui Lu
- Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Gang Li
- Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
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Hu M, Zhang Y, Liu X, Zhao X, Hu Y, Yang Z, Yang C, Yuan Z, Chen Y. Layer-by-Layer Solution-Processed Organic Solar Cells with Perylene Diimides as Acceptors. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:29876-29884. [PMID: 34152121 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c06192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Layer-by-layer (LBL) sequential solution processing of the active layer has been proven as an effective strategy to improve the performance of organic solar cells (OSCs), which could adjust vertical phase separation and improve device performance. Although perylene diimide (PDI) derivatives are typical acceptors with excellent photoelectric properties, there are few studies on PDI-based LBL OSCs. Herein, three PDI acceptors (TBDPDI-C5, TBDPDI-C11, and SdiPDI) were used to fabricate LBL and bulk heterojunction (BHJ) OSCs, respectively. A series of studies including device optimization, photoluminescence (PL) quenching, dependence of light intensity, carrier mobility, atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS), and depth analysis X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (DXPS) were carried out to make clear the difference of the PDI-based LBL and BHJ OSCs. The results show that LBL OSCs possess better charge transport, higher and more balanced carrier mobility, less exciton recombination loss, more favorable film morphology, and proper vertical component distribution. Therefore, all the three PDI acceptor-based LBL OSCs exhibit higher performance than their BHJ counterparts. Among them, TBDPDI-C5 performs best with a power conversion efficiency of 6.11% for LBL OSCs, higher than its BHJ OSC (5.14%). It is the first time for PDI small molecular acceptors to fabricate high-efficiency OSCs by using an LBL solution-processed method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Hu
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Youdi Zhang
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
- Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Xia Liu
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Xiaohong Zhao
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Yu Hu
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Zhenyu Yang
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Changduk Yang
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Perovtronics Research Center, Low Dimensional Carbon Materials Center, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 UNIST-gil, Ulju-gun, Ulsan 44919, South Korea
| | - Zhongyi Yuan
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
- Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Yiwang Chen
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
- Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
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Ye L, Xiong Y, Chen Z, Zhang Q, Fei Z, Henry R, Heeney M, O'Connor BT, You W, Ade H. Sequential Deposition of Organic Films with Eco-Compatible Solvents Improves Performance and Enables Over 12%-Efficiency Nonfullerene Solar Cells. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2019; 31:e1808153. [PMID: 30873701 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201808153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2018] [Revised: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Casting of a donor:acceptor bulk-heterojunction structure from a single ink has been the predominant fabrication method of organic photovoltaics (OPVs). Despite the success of such bulk heterojunctions, the task ofcontrolling the microstructure in a single casting process has been arduous and alternative approaches are desired. To achieve OPVs with a desirable microstructure, a facile and eco-compatible sequential deposition approach is demonstrated for polymer/small-molecule pairs. Using a nominally amorphous polymer as the model material, the profound influence of casting solvent is shown on the molecular ordering of the film, and thus the device performance and mesoscale morphology of sequentially deposited OPVs can be tuned. Static and in situ X-ray scattering indicate that applying (R)-(+)-limonene is able to greatly promote the molecular order of weakly crystalline polymers and form the largest domain spacing exclusively, which correlates well with the best efficiency of 12.5% in sequentially deposited devices. The sequentially cast device generally outperforms its control device based on traditional single-ink bulk-heterojunction structure. More crucially, a simple polymer:solvent interaction parameter χ is positively correlated with domain spacing in these sequentially deposited devices. These findings shed light on innovative approaches to rationally create environmentally friendly and highly efficient electronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Ye
- Department of Physics, Organic and Carbon Electronics Lab (ORaCEL), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Yuan Xiong
- Department of Physics, Organic and Carbon Electronics Lab (ORaCEL), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Zheng Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
- College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, P. R. China
| | - Qianqian Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Zhuping Fei
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Reece Henry
- Department of Physics, Organic and Carbon Electronics Lab (ORaCEL), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Martin Heeney
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Brendan T O'Connor
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 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
| | - Harald Ade
- Department of Physics, Organic and Carbon Electronics Lab (ORaCEL), North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
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She Y, Lee J, Lee B, Diroll B, Scharf T, Shevchenko EV, Berman D. Effect of the Micelle Opening in Self-assembled Amphiphilic Block Co-polymer Films on the Infiltration of Inorganic Precursors. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:796-803. [PMID: 30614710 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b04039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Infiltration of the polymer templates with inorganic precursors using the selective vapor-phase infiltration approach, or sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS), allows the design of materials with advanced properties. Swelling of the block co-polymer (BCP) templates enables the additional control of the structure, porosity, and thickness of the composite or inorganic materials. Here, we use the highly precise quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique to investigate quantitatively the effect of the micelle opening by swelling and inorganic precursor infiltrating on the evolution of porosity in amphiphilic BCPs. We show that swelling of the polystyrene- block-poly-4-vinyl pyridine (PS- b-P4VP) BCP in ethanol at 75 °C occurs rapidly and results in a stable polymer structure in 30 min. By using an alumina model system, we found that swelling enables access to all available polar domains of the PS- b-P4VP film leading to an increase in the SIS-infiltrated alumina mass as compared to the nonswelled BCP layer. Our results demonstrate that swelling of the 110 nm thick BCP template results in the formation of 192 nm thick alumina films with 2 times larger alumina mass and 4 times larger effective pore volume than in case of the nonswelled sample. In the case of the thicker polymer template, the difference due to swelling becomes even more substantial because the fraction of accessible polymer is increased much more than in thin films. Our findings provide important insights into the mechanism of the infiltration of the inorganic precursors into swelled and nonswelled, spin-coated BCP templates enabling the design of highly porous thick ceramic films by SIS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunlong She
- Materials Science and Engineering Department and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute , University of North Texas , 1155 Union Circle , Denton , Texas 76203 , United States
| | - Jihyung Lee
- Materials Science and Engineering Department and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute , University of North Texas , 1155 Union Circle , Denton , Texas 76203 , United States
| | | | | | - Thomas Scharf
- Materials Science and Engineering Department and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute , University of North Texas , 1155 Union Circle , Denton , Texas 76203 , United States
| | | | - Diana Berman
- Materials Science and Engineering Department and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute , University of North Texas , 1155 Union Circle , Denton , Texas 76203 , United States
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Yi A, Chae S, Hong S, Lee HH, Kim HJ. Manipulating the crystal structure of a conjugated polymer for efficient sequentially processed organic solar cells. NANOSCALE 2018; 10:21052-21061. [PMID: 30215661 DOI: 10.1039/c8nr05407j] [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
Recently, the sequential (Sq) process, which forms nanoscale network structures from quasi-solid-state inter-diffusion through swelling and annealing, is considered to be one of the most efficient methods for fabricating organic solar cells and blend films. Here, we examined the effect of the crystallinity and orientation of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) molecules on the formation of the nanostructure by carrying out a Sq process using various solvents with different boiling points. We showed that the moderate crystallinity promoted suitable inter-diffusion between the donor (P3HT) and acceptor ([6,6]-pentadeuterophenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester, PC60BM), and hence was important for achieving high-performance solar cells using Sq processing. Nanostructure formation by inter-diffusion was investigated and visualized by taking a combination of grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) measurements. In addition, our Sq-processed solar cell yielded a device efficiency as high as 3.25%, and was also impressive because it was made with an eco-friendly solvent and using a short-duration annealing process, in contrast to the conventional BHJ process. The present findings provided advanced insight into the Sq process, and we anticipate this efficacious sequential process to contribute not only to the development of higher-efficiency organic solar cells but also to the fabrication of functional blend films.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahra Yi
- Department of Organic Material Science and Engineering, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, South Korea.
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Cho Y, Nguyen TL, Oh H, Ryu KY, Woo HY, Kim K. Ternary Organic Photovoltaics Prepared by Sequential Deposition of Single Donor and Binary Acceptors. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2018; 10:27757-27763. [PMID: 30058325 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b07199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Binary organic photovoltaics (OPVs) fabricated by single-step (SS) deposition of a binary blend of polymer (or small molecule) donor and fullerene acceptor (SS binary OPV) are widely utilized. To improve the OPV performance, SS ternary OPVs utilizing a ternary blend consisting of two (or one) electron donor(s) and one (or two) electron acceptor(s) have been studied. SS ternary OPVs require more sensitive and complex optimization processes to optimize bulk heterojunctions with bicontinuous nanoscale phase separation of the donor and acceptor. We demonstrated a novel ternary OPV fabricated by sequential (SQ) deposition of a single polymer donor and a binary mixture consisting of a phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and nonfullerene acceptor, 3,9-bis(2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-indanone))-5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3- d:2,3'- d']- s-indaceno[1,2- b:5,6- b']dithiophene (ITIC). In the SQ ternary OPV, PCBM effectively created a bicontinuous pathway for charge transport with a polymer, and ITIC mainly enhanced light absorption and photovoltage. This complementary effect was not observed in an SS ternary OPV utilizing the same donor and acceptors. Due to these complementary effects, the SQ ternary OPV exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 6.22%, which was 52 and 37% higher than that of the SQ binary OPV and the SS ternary OPV, respectively. In addition, the thermal stability of the SQ ternary OPV was found to be superior to that of the SS ternary OPV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunju Cho
- Department of Chemistry and Nano Science , Ewha Womans University , Seoul 03760 , Republic of Korea
| | - Thanh Luan Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry , Korea University , Seoul 136-713 , Republic of Korea
| | - Hyerim Oh
- Department of Chemistry and Nano Science , Ewha Womans University , Seoul 03760 , Republic of Korea
| | - Ka Yeon Ryu
- Department of Chemistry and Nano Science , Ewha Womans University , Seoul 03760 , Republic of Korea
| | - Han Young Woo
- Department of Chemistry , Korea University , Seoul 136-713 , Republic of Korea
| | - Kyungkon Kim
- Department of Chemistry and Nano Science , Ewha Womans University , Seoul 03760 , Republic of Korea
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Scharber MC, Sarciftci NS. Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells: Working Principles and Power Conversion Efficiencies. NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS FOR TYPE III PHOTOVOLTAICS 2017. [DOI: 10.1039/9781782626749-00033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Bulk heterojunction solar cells are a promising low-cost photovoltaic technology. This chapter discusses the efficiency potential, the role of nanomorphology and approaches to increase the power conversion efficiency of bulk heterojunction solar cells. The stacking of devices on top of each other – constructing the so-called tandem cell – appears to be one of the best ways to reach the power conversion efficiencies necessary for the large-scale commercialization of this technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. C. Scharber
- Linz Institute of Organic Solar Cells, Physical Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenbergerstrasse 69 4040 Linz Austria
| | - N. S. Sarciftci
- Linz Institute of Organic Solar Cells, Physical Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz Altenbergerstrasse 69 4040 Linz Austria
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13
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Liu G, Weng C, Yin P, Tan S, Shen P. Impact of the number of fluorine atoms on crystalline, physicochemical and photovoltaic properties of low bandgap copolymers based on 1,4-dithienylphenylene and diketopyrrolopyrrole. POLYMER 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2017.08.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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14
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Inaba S, Vohra V. Fabrication Processes to Generate Concentration Gradients in Polymer Solar Cell Active Layers. MATERIALS 2017; 10:ma10050518. [PMID: 28772878 PMCID: PMC5459058 DOI: 10.3390/ma10050518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2017] [Revised: 04/28/2017] [Accepted: 05/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Polymer solar cells (PSCs) are considered as one of the most promising low-cost alternatives for renewable energy production with devices now reaching power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) above the milestone value of 10%. These enhanced performances were achieved by developing new electron-donor (ED) and electron-acceptor (EA) materials as well as finding the adequate morphologies in either bulk heterojunction or sequentially deposited active layers. In particular, producing adequate vertical concentration gradients with higher concentrations of ED and EA close to the anode and cathode, respectively, results in an improved charge collection and consequently higher photovoltaic parameters such as the fill factor. In this review, we relate processes to generate active layers with ED–EA vertical concentration gradients. After summarizing the formation of such concentration gradients in single layer active layers through processes such as annealing or additives, we will verify that sequential deposition of multilayered active layers can be an efficient approach to remarkably increase the fill factor and PCE of PSCs. In fact, applying this challenging approach to fabricate inverted architecture PSCs has the potential to generate low-cost, high efficiency and stable devices, which may revolutionize worldwide energy demand and/or help develop next generation devices such as semi-transparent photovoltaic windows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shusei Inaba
- Department of Engineering Science, University of Electro-Communications, Chofu 182-8585, Japan.
| | - Varun Vohra
- Department of Engineering Science, University of Electro-Communications, Chofu 182-8585, Japan.
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Narayanan T, Wacklin H, Konovalov O, Lund R. Recent applications of synchrotron radiation and neutrons in the study of soft matter. CRYSTALLOGR REV 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/0889311x.2016.1277212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Hanna Wacklin
- European Spallation Source ERIC, Lund, Sweden
- Physical Chemistry, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Reidar Lund
- Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway
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16
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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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Zhang G, Hawks SA, Ngo C, Schelhas LT, Scholes DT, Kang H, Aguirre JC, Tolbert SH, Schwartz BJ. Extensive Penetration of Evaporated Electrode Metals into Fullerene Films: Intercalated Metal Nanostructures and Influence on Device Architecture. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2015; 7:25247-25258. [PMID: 26488157 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b06944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Although it is known that evaporated metals can penetrate into films of various organic molecules that are a few nanometers thick, there has been little work aimed at exploring the interaction of the common electrode metals used in devices with fullerene derivatives, such as organic photovoltaics (OPVs) or perovskite solar cells that use fullerenes as electron transport layers. In this paper, we show that when commonly used electrode metals (e.g., Au, Ag, Al, Ca, etc.) are evaporated onto films of fullerene derivatives (such as [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)), the metal penetrates many tens of nanometers into the fullerene layer. This penetration decreases the effective electrical thickness of fullerene-based sandwich structure devices, as measured by the device's geometric capacitance, and thus significantly alters the device physics. For the case of Au/PCBM, the metal penetrates a remarkable 70 nm into the fullerene, and we see penetration of similar magnitude in a wide variety of fullerene derivative/evaporated metal combinations. Moreover, using transmission electron microscopy to observed cross-sections of the films, we show that when gold is evaporated onto poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/PCBM sequentially processed OPV quasi-bilayers, Au nanoparticles with diameters of ∼3-20 nm are formed and are dispersed entirely throughout the fullerene-rich overlayer. The plasmonic absorption and scattering from these nanoparticles are readily evident in the optical transmission spectrum, demonstrating that the interpenetrated metal significantly alters the optical properties of fullerene-rich active layers. This opens a number of possibilities in terms of contact engineering and light management so that metal penetration in devices that use fullerene derivatives could be used to advantage, making it critical that researchers are aware of the electronic and optical consequences of exposing fullerene-derivative films to evaporated electrode metals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangye Zhang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Steven A Hawks
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Chilan Ngo
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Laura T Schelhas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - D Tyler Scholes
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Hyeyeon Kang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Jordan C Aguirre
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
| | - Sarah H Tolbert
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
| | - Benjamin J Schwartz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095-1569, United States
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095, United States
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18
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Homyak P, Liu Y, Liu F, Russel TP, Coughlin EB. Systematic Variation of Fluorinated Diketopyrrolopyrrole Low Bandgap Conjugated Polymers: Synthesis by Direct Arylation Polymerization and Characterization and Performance in Organic Photovoltaics and Organic Field-Effect Transistors. Macromolecules 2015. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.5b01275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Homyak
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts Conte Center for Polymer Research, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
- Energy
Frontier Research Center PHaSE, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Yao Liu
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts Conte Center for Polymer Research, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
- Energy
Frontier Research Center PHaSE, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - Feng Liu
- Materials
Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron
Road, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
| | - Thomas P. Russel
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts Conte Center for Polymer Research, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
- Energy
Frontier Research Center PHaSE, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Massachusetts 01003, United States
| | - E. Bryan Coughlin
- Department of Polymer Science & Engineering, University of Massachusetts Conte Center for Polymer Research, 120 Governors Drive, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States
- Energy
Frontier Research Center PHaSE, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Massachusetts 01003, United States
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