Steric Control of the Donor/Acceptor Interface: Implications in Organic Photovoltaic Charge Generation

Enhancing NLO performance by utilizing tyrian purple dye as donor moiety in organic DSSCs with end capped acceptors: A theoretical study

A series of new organic dyes (T1-T6) with nonfullerene acceptors have been theoretically designed around the chemical structure of tyrian purple (T) natural dye. For their ground state energy parameters, all the molecular geometries of those dyes were optimized by density functional theory (DFT) at its Becke, 3-parameter, Lee-Yang-Parr (B3LYP) level of theory with 6-31G+(d,p) basis sets. When benchmarking against several long range and range separated levels of theory, the Coulomb attenuated B3LYP (CAM-B3LYP) produced most accurate absorption maxima (λmax) value to that of T so it was further employed for further Time dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations. Frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) with natural bond orbital (NBO) studies were used to study their intra molecular charge transfer (ICT). All of the dyes had their energy gaps (Eg) values between their FMOs to range around 0.96-3.39 eV, whereas the starting reference dye had an Eg of 1.30 eV. Their ionization potential (IP) values were ranged to be 3.07-7.25 eV which indicated their nature to loss electrons. The λ max in chloroform was marginally red-shifted with a value 600-625 from T (580 nm). The dye T6 showed its highest linear polarizability (<α>), and first and second order hyperpolarizabilities (β and γ). The synthetic experts can find the present research to design finest NLO materials for current and future uses.

Efficient and tunable enhancement of NLO performance for indaceno-based donor moiety in A-π-D-π-D-π-A type first DSSC design by end-capped acceptors

BACKGROUND

The organic dyes with non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have aided in the creation of competitive organic solar cells (OSCs) with long-term sustainability. A series of NFA dyes (IDIC-R1-IDIC-R9) have been designed by varying the end-capped fluorinated moieties (PD1-PD6) at indaceno (IDIC) core.

METHODS

All the calculations were performed by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT)-based approaches. All the geometries were optimized at B3LYP/6-31G + (d,p) of DFT level at their ground state energies. Out of several density functionals, the CAM-B3LYP with 6-31G + (d,p) basis sets was selected after a benchmark study to carry out further calculations. All the dyes had their bandgaps in 0.11-3.12 eV while their starting reference dye had a bandgap value of 2.01 eV.

RESULTS

Their ionization potential (IP) implied that these dyes have strong tendency to lose electrons. The λ_max of the dyes was slightly redshifted from the IDIC (476 nm) and IDIC-R (479 nm) when changing solvent polarity from methanol to DCM and then chloroforms. The natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis showed the (S63)LP → (C61-C62)π* with highest stabilization energy. Their electron injection analysis showed that these dyes can be a good anode material against the aluminum and gold electrodes. The intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process and stability of the dyes were investigated using frontier molecular orbital (FMO) and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis.

CONCLUSION

Among all dyes, IDIC-R8 has the highest linear polarizability and second-order hyperpolarizability (β_total). All the dyes demonstrated promising non-linear optical (NLO) properties due to their low charge transfer barriers. Scientists would be able to exploit these properties to identify the best NLO materials for existing applications.

Single-molecule nano-optoelectronics: insights from physics

Single-molecule optoelectronic devices promise a potential solution for miniaturization and functionalization of silicon-based microelectronic circuits in the future. For decades of its fast development, this field has made significant progress in the synthesis of optoelectronic materials, the fabrication of single-molecule devices and the realization of optoelectronic functions. On the other hand, single-molecule optoelectronic devices offer a reliable platform to investigate the intrinsic physical phenomena and regulation rules of matters at the single-molecule level. To further realize and regulate the optoelectronic functions toward practical applications, it is necessary to clarify the intrinsic physical mechanisms of single-molecule optoelectronic nanodevices. Here, we provide a timely review to survey the physical phenomena and laws involved in single-molecule optoelectronic materials and devices, including charge effects, spin effects, exciton effects, vibronic effects, structural and orbital effects. In particular, we will systematically summarize the basics of molecular optoelectronic materials, and the physical effects and manipulations of single-molecule optoelectronic nanodevices. In addition, fundamentals of single-molecule electronics, which are basic of single-molecule optoelectronics, can also be found in this review. At last, we tend to focus the discussion on the opportunities and challenges arising in the field of single-molecule optoelectronics, and propose further potential breakthroughs.

Anharmonic Molecular Motion Drives Resonance Energy Transfer in peri-Arylene Dyads

Spectral and dynamical properties of molecular donor-acceptor systems strongly depend on the steric arrangement of the constituents with exciton coupling J as a key control parameter. In the present work we study two peri-arylene based dyads with orthogonal and parallel transition dipoles for donor and acceptor moieties, respectively. We show that the anharmonic multi-well character of the orthogonal dyad's intramolecular potential explains findings from both stationary and time-resolved absorption experiments. While for a parallel dyad, standard quantum chemical estimates of J at 0 K are in good agreement with experimental observations, J becomes vanishingly small for the orthogonal dyad, in contrast to its ultrafast experimental transfer times. This discrepancy is not resolved even by accounting for harmonic fluctuations along normal coordinates. We resolve this problem by supplementing quantum chemical approaches with dynamical sampling of fluctuating geometries. In contrast to the moderate Gaussian fluctuations of J for the parallel dyad, fluctuations for the orthogonal dyad are found to follow non-Gaussian statistics leading to significantly higher effective J in good agreement with experimental observations. In effort to apply a unified framework for treating the dynamics of optical coherence and excitonic populations of both dyads, we employ a vibronic approach treating electronic and selected vibrational degrees on an equal footing. This vibronic model is used to model absorption and fluorescence spectra as well as donor-acceptor transport dynamics and covers the more traditional categories of Förster and Redfield transport as limiting cases.

Of Twists and Curves: Electronics, Photophysics, and Upcoming Applications of Non-Planar Conjugated Organic Molecules

Non-planar conjugated organic molecules (NPCOMs) contain π-conjugation across their length and also exhibit asymmetry in their conformation. In other words, certain molecular fragments in NPCOMs are either twisted or curved out of planarity. This conformational asymmetry in NPCOMs leads to non-uniform charge-distribution across the molecule, with important photophysical and electronic consequences such as altered thermodynamic stability, chemical reactivity, as well as materials properties. Majorly, NPCOMs can be classified as having either Fused or Rotatable architectures. NPCOMs have been the focus of significant scientific attention in the recent past due to their exciting photophysical behavior that includes intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT), thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and long-lived charge-separated states. In addition, they also have many useful materials characteristics such as biradical character, semi-conductivity, dynamic conformations, and mechanochromism. As a result, rational design of NPCOMs and mapping their structure-property correlations has become imperative. Researchers have executed conformational changes in NPCOMs through a variety of external stimuli such as pH, temperature, anions-cations, solvent, electric potential, and mechanical force in order to tailor their photophysical, optoelectronic and magnetic properties. Converging to these points, this review highlights the lucrative electronic features, photophysical traits and upcoming applications of NPCOMs by a selective survey of the recent scientific literature.

Molecular Orientation of Poly-3-hexylthiophene at the Buried Interface with Fullerene

Molecular orientation at the donor-acceptor interface plays a crucial role in determining the efficiency of organic semiconductor materials. We have used vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy to determine the orientation of poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) at the planar buried interface with fullerene (C₆₀). The thiophene rings of P3HT have been found to tilt significantly toward C₆₀, making an average angle θ ≈ 49° ± 10° between the plane of the ring and the interface. Such tilt may be attributed to π-π stacking interactions between P3HT and C₆₀ and may facilitate efficient charge transfer between donor and acceptor. Upon annealing, the thiophene rings tilt away from the interface by Δθ = 12-19°. This may be attributed to higher crystallinity of annealed P3HT that propagates all the way to the interface, resulting in more "edge-on" orientation, which is consistent with the observed red-shift by ∼6 cm^-1 and spectral narrowing of the C=C stretch bands.

Planar Benzofuran Inside-Fused Perylenediimide Dimers for High VOC Fullerene-Free Organic Solar Cells

Bulk heterojunction organic solar cells based on perylenediimide (PDI) derivatives as electron acceptors have afforded high power conversion efficiency (PCE) but still lagged behind fullerene-based analogues. Design of novel molecular structures by adjusting the PDI ring and/or connection mode remains the breakthrough point to improve the photovoltaic performance. After introducing benzofuran at the inside bay positions and being linked with a single bond and a fluorene unit, mandatory planar PDI dimers were achieved and named FDI₂ and F-FDI₂. Both acceptors show high-lying LUMO energy levels and realize high V_OC beyond 1.0 V when using the classic polymer of PBDB-T as an electron donor. However, FDI₂ and F-FDI₂ gave totally different photovoltaic performance with PCEs of 0.15 and 6.33%, respectively. The central fluorene linkage increased the miscibility of materials and ensured a much higher short-circuit current because of the formation of suitable phase separation. Our results demonstrated that utilizing the mandatory planar skeleton of PDI dimers is a simple and effective strategy to achieve high-performance nonfullerene electron acceptors, and the modulation of central conjugated units is also vital.

Critical review of the molecular design progress in non-fullerene electron acceptors towards commercially viable organic solar cells

A critical analysis of the molecular design strategies employed in the recent progress of non-fullerene electron acceptors for organic photovoltaics.

In Situ Synthesis of Ternary Block Copolymer/Homopolymer Blends for Organic Photovoltaics

A detailed investigation of in situ-synthesized all-conjugated block copolymer (BCP) compatibilized ternary blends containing poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly{[ N, N'-bis(2-octyldodecyl)naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dibcarboximide)-2,6-diyl]- alt-5,5'-(2,2'-bithiophene)} (PNDIT2) as donor and acceptor polymers, respectively, is presented. Both polymers are incompatible and show strong segregation in blends, which renders compatibilization with their corresponding BCPs promising to enable nanometer-phase-separated structures suitable for excitonic devices. Here, we synthesize a ternary block copolymer/homopolymer blend system and investigate the phase behavior as a function of block copolymer molecular weight and different annealing conditions. The device performance decreases on increasing annealing temperatures. To understand this effect, morphological investigations including atomic force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and grazing incidence wide- and small-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS/GISAXS) are carried out. On comparing domain sizes of pristine and compatibilized blends obtained from GISAXS, a weak compatibilization effect appears to take place for the in situ-synthesized ternary systems. The effect of thermal annealing is most prevalent for all samples, which, for the highest annealing temperature above the melting point of PNDIT2 (310 °C), ultimately leads to a change from the face-on to edge-on orientation of PNDIT2, as seen in GIWAXS. This effect dominates and decreases all photovoltaic parameters, irrespective of whether a pristine or compatibilized blend is used.

Nonfullerene Acceptor Molecules for Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells

The bulk-heterojunction blend of an electron donor and an electron acceptor material is the key component in a solution-processed organic photovoltaic device. In the past decades, a p-type conjugated polymer and an n-type fullerene derivative have been the most commonly used electron donor and electron acceptor, respectively. While most advances of the device performance come from the design of new polymer donors, fullerene derivatives have almost been exclusively used as electron acceptors in organic photovoltaics. Recently, nonfullerene acceptor materials, particularly small molecules and oligomers, have emerged as a promising alternative to replace fullerene derivatives. Compared to fullerenes, these new acceptors are generally synthesized from diversified, low-cost routes based on building block materials with extraordinary chemical, thermal, and photostability. The facile functionalization of these molecules affords excellent tunability to their optoelectronic and electrochemical properties. Within the past five years, there have been over 100 nonfullerene acceptor molecules synthesized, and the power conversion efficiency of nonfullerene organic solar cells has increased dramatically, from ∼2% in 2012 to >13% in 2017. This review summarizes this progress, aiming to describe the molecular design strategy, to provide insight into the structure-property relationship, and to highlight the challenges the field is facing, with emphasis placed on most recent nonfullerene acceptors that demonstrated top-of-the-line photovoltaic performances. We also provide perspectives from a device point of view, wherein topics including ternary blend device, multijunction device, device stability, active layer morphology, and device physics are discussed.

Widely Applicable n-Type Molecular Doping for Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance of All-Polymer Solar Cells

A widely applicable doping design for emerging nonfullerene solar cells would be an efficient strategy in order to further improve device photovoltaic performance. Herein, a family of compound TBAX (TBA= tetrabutylammonium, X = F, Cl, Br, or I, containing Lewis base anions are considered as efficient n-dopants for improving polymer-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) performance. In all cases, significantly increased fill factor (FF) and slightly increased short-circuit current density (J_sc) are observed, leading to a best PCE of 7.0% for all-PSCs compared to that of 5.8% in undoped devices. The improvement may be attributed to interaction between different anions X^- (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) in TBAX with the polymer acceptor. We reveal that adding TBAX at relatively low content does not have a significantly impact on blend morphology, while it can reduce the work function (WF) of the electron acceptor. We find this simple and solution processable n-type doping can efficiently restrain charge recombination in all-polymer solar cell devices, resulting in improved FF and J_sc. More importantly, our findings may provide new protocles and insights using n-type molecular dopants in improving the performance of current polymer-polymer solar cells.

Fine-Tuning the Quasi-3D Geometry: Enabling Efficient Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells Based on Perylene Diimides

The geometries of acceptors based on perylene diimides (PDIs) are important for improving the phase separation and charge transport in organic solar cells. To fine-tune the geometry, biphenyl, spiro-bifluorene, and benzene were used as the core moiety to construct quasi-three-dimensional nonfullerene acceptors based on PDI building blocks. The molecular geometries, energy levels, optical properties, photovoltaic properties, and exciton kinetics were systematically studied. The structure-performance relationship was discussed as well. Owing to the finest phase separation, the highest charge mobility and smallest nongeminate recombination, the power conversion efficiency of nonfullerene solar cells using PDI derivatives with biphenyl core (BP-PDI₄) as acceptor reached 7.3% when high-performance wide band gap donor material poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene))-alt-(5,5-(1',3'-di-2-thienyl-5',7'-bis(2-ethylhexyl)benzo[1',2'-c:4',5'-c']dithiophene-4,8-dione))] was blended.

The impact of vinylene bridges and side chain alkyl groups on the solid state structures of tricyanovinyl-substituted thiophenes

The goal of this work is to examine the solid state structures of compounds that have been designed for increased conjugation and solubility, as these factors are important if these compounds are to be used in the solid state.

Discrimination of alkyl and aromatic amine vapors using TTF–TCNQ based chemiresistive sensors

Chemiresistors based on TTF–TCNQ microfibers can discriminate alkyl and aromatic amine vapors through the dramatic difference in signal recovery kinetics.

Molecular packing and morphological stability of dihydro-indeno[1,2-b]fluorenes in the context of their substitution pattern

The synthesis and structural characterization of a series of dihydroindeno[1,2-b]fluorene (IF) derivatives with various side chain substituents is reported.

The origin of high PCE in PTB7 based photovoltaics: proper charge neutrality level and free energy of charge separation at PTB7/PC71BM interface

The energy level alignments at donor/acceptor interfaces in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) play a decisive role in device performance. However, little is known about the interfacial energetics in polymer OPVs due to technical issues of the solution process. Here, the frontier ortbial line-ups at the donor/acceptor interface in high performance polymer OPVs, PTB7/PC₇₁BM, were investigated using in situ UPS, XPS and IPES. The evolution of energy levels during PTB7/PC₇₁BM interface formation was investigated using vacuum electrospray deposition, and was compared with that of P3HT/PC₆₁BM. At the PTB7/PC₇₁BM interface, the interface dipole and the band bending were absent due to their identical charge neutrality levels. In contrast, a large interfacial dipole was observed at the P3HT/PC₆₁BM interface. The measured photovoltaic energy gap (E_PVG) was 1.10 eV for PTB7/PC₇₁BM and 0.90 eV for P3HT/PC₆₁BM. This difference in the E_PVG leads to a larger open-circuit voltage of PTB7/PC₇₁BM than that of P3HT/PC₆₁BM.

Modulating PCBM-Acceptor Crystallinity and Organic Solar Cell Performance by Judiciously Designing Small-Molecule Mainchain End-Capping Units

In this article, we report that the bulk-size and electron-donating/electron-accepting nature of moieties, which are end-capping onto small-molecule donor mainchain, not only modulate the donor's absorption, molecular frontier orbitals, and phase ordering, but also effectively tune the PC₇₁BM-acceptor phase crystallinity. Compared to the electron-deficient trifluoromethyl (SM-CF₃) units on the diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) small molecule mainchain ends, the electron-rich methoxyl (SM-OCH₃) units ending on the same mainchain help improve the PC₇₁BM-acceptor phase short-range ordering. As a result, the -OCH₃ capping small-molecule displays larger short-circuit current density (J_sc) when blended with PC₇₁BM (10.72 ± 0.22 vs. 16.15 ± 0.53 mA/cm²). However, the electron-donating nature of -OCH₃ raises the donor HOMO level, which leads to a quite small open-circuit voltage (V_oc) (0.624 vs. 0.881 V). Replacement of the -OCH₃ with the large and weak electron-donating aromatic carbazolyl (SM-Cz) ones affords the small molecule of SM-Cz. The SM-Cz:PC₇₁BM system affords a high V_oc of 0.846 V and a large J_sc of 13.33 ± 0.34 mA/cm² after thermal annealing, and hence gives a larger power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.26 ± 0.13%, which is among the top values achieved so far from the DPP molecules. Taken together, these results demonstrate that engineering the end-capping units on small-molecule donor mainchain can effectively modulate the organic solar cell performance.

Ring-fusion as a perylenediimide dimer design concept for high-performance non-fullerene organic photovoltaic acceptors

A series of perylenediimide (PDI) dimers are evaluated as acceptors for organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. The materials are characterized using a wide variety of physical and computational techniques. These dimers are first linked at the bay position of each PDI molecule via an aromatic spacer; subsequent photocyclization affords ring-fused dimers. Thus, photocyclization of the thiophene-linked dimer 2,5-bis-[N,N'-bis-perylenediimide-1-yl]-thiophene (T1) affords the twisted acceptor [2,3-b:2',3'-d]-bis-[N,N'-bis-perylenediimide-1,12-yl]-thiophene (T2), while photocyclization of the thienothiophene-linked dimer, 2,5-bis-[N,N'-bis-perylenediimide-1-yl]-thienothiophene (TT1) affords the planar acceptor [2,3-b:2',3'-d]-bis-[N,N'-bis-perylenediimide-1,12-yl]-thienothiophene (TT2). Furthermore, a dimer linked by a phenylene group, 1,4-bis-[N,N'-bis-perylenediimide-1-yl]-benzene (Ph1), can be selectively photocyclized to form either the twisted dimer, [1,2:3,4]-bis-[N,N'-bis-perylenediimide-1,12-yl]-benzene (Ph1a) or the planar dimer [1,2:4,5]-bis-[N,N'-bis-perylenediimide-1,12-yl]-benzene (Ph2b). Ring-fusion results in increased electronic coupling between the PDI units, and increased space-charge limited thin film electron mobility. While charge transport is efficient in bulk-heterojunction blends of each dimer with the polymeric donor PBDTT-FTTE, in the case of the twisted dimers ring fusion leads to a significant decrease in geminate recombination, hence increased OPV photocurrent density and power conversion efficiency. This effect is not observed in planar dimers where ring fusion leads to increased crystallinity and excimer formation, decreased photocurrent density, and decreased power conversion efficiency. These results argue that ring fusion is an effective approach to increasing OPV bulk-heterojunction charge carrier generation efficiency in PDI dimers as long as they remain relatively amorphous, thereby suppressing excimer formation and coulombically trapped charge transfer states.

A comparative study of photovoltaic performance between non-fullerene and fullerene based organic solar cells

A perylene diimide dimer based non-fullerene acceptor shows a promising efficiency of 5.24% and 6.36% with PBDTTT-C-T and PBDT-TS1 as the donor, respectively.

Charge Generation Dynamics in Efficient All-Polymer Solar Cells: Influence of Polymer Packing and Morphology

All-polymer solar cells exhibit rapid progress in power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 2 to 7.7% over the past few years. While this improvement is primarily attributed to efficient charge transport and balanced mobility between the carriers, not much is known about the charge generation dynamics in these systems. Here we measured exciton relaxation and charge separation dynamics using ultrafast spectroscopy in polymer/polymer blends with different molecular packing and morphology. These measurements indicate that preferential face-on configuration with intermixed nanomorphology increases the charge generation efficiency. In fact, there is a direct quantitative correlation between the free charge population in the ultrafast time scales and the external quantum efficiency, suggesting not only the transport but also charge generation is key for the design of high performance all polymer solar cells.

Manipulating aggregation and molecular orientation in all-polymer photovoltaic cells

Manipulating molecular orientation at the donor/acceptor interface is the key to boosting charge separation properties and efficiencies of anisotropic-materials-based organic photovoltaics (OPVs). By replacing the polymeric donor PBDTBDD with its 2D-conjugated polymer PBDTBDD-T, the power conversion efficiency of OPVs featuring the anisotropic polymer acceptor PNDI is drastically boosted from 2.4% up to 5.8%.

Beyond Fullerenes: Designing Alternative Molecular Electron Acceptors for Solution-Processable Bulk Heterojunction Organic Photovoltaics

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) are promising candidates for providing a low cost, widespread energy source by converting sunlight into electricity. Solution-processable active layers have predominantly consisted of a conjugated polymer donor blended with a fullerene derivative as the acceptor. Although fullerene derivatives have been the acceptor of choice, they have drawbacks such as weak visible light absorption and poor energy tuning that limit overall efficiencies. This has recently fueled new research to explore alternative acceptors that would overcome those limitations. During this exploration, one question arises: what are the important design principles for developing nonfullerene acceptors? It is generally accepted that acceptors should have high electron affinity, electron mobility, and absorption coefficient in the visible and near-IR region of the spectra. In this Perspective, we argue that alternative molecular acceptors, when blended with a conjugated polymer donor, should also have large nonplanar structures to promote nanoscale phase separation, charge separation and charge transport in blend films. Additionally, new material design should address the low dielectric constant of organic semiconductors that have so far limited their widespread application.

Amorphous oxide alloys as interfacial layers with broadly tunable electronic structures for organic photovoltaic cells

In diverse classes of organic optoelectronic devices, controlling charge injection, extraction, and blocking across organic semiconductor-inorganic electrode interfaces is crucial for enhancing quantum efficiency and output voltage. To this end, the strategy of inserting engineered interfacial layers (IFLs) between electrical contacts and organic semiconductors has significantly advanced organic light-emitting diode and organic thin film transistor performance. For organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, an electronically flexible IFL design strategy to incrementally tune energy level matching between the inorganic electrode system and the organic photoactive components without varying the surface chemistry would permit OPV cells to adapt to ever-changing generations of photoactive materials. Here we report the implementation of chemically/environmentally robust, low-temperature solution-processed amorphous transparent semiconducting oxide alloys, In-Ga-O and Ga-Zn-Sn-O, as IFLs for inverted OPVs. Continuous variation of the IFL compositions tunes the conduction band minima over a broad range, affording optimized OPV power conversion efficiencies for multiple classes of organic active layer materials and establishing clear correlations between IFL/photoactive layer energetics and device performance.

Origin of effects of additive solvent on film-morphology in solution-processed nonfullerene solar cells

In this paper, we report an efficient nonfullerene solar cell based on small molecules of p-DTS(FBTTh2)2 and bis-PDI-T. Characterization data indicate that the nature of the acceptor aggregate is a key factor that affects the photocurrent. There is a good relationship between the short-circuit current density (J(SC)) and the phase size of the acceptor-rich domains. The phase size of the acceptor-rich domains is tuned by both the additive types and additive content. As the kind of additive goes from 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) to 1,8-octanedithiol (ODT) and 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO), by this order the solubility of the acceptor in the additive is down, the phase size significantly decreases from over 400 nm down to 30 nm. Also, the acceptor's domain size decreases from 80 to 30 nm as the DIO content ([DIO]) is down from 1% to 0.15%. Following this trend, less DIO remains in the wet film as residue after the host chloroform evaporates, and thus less acceptor can be dissolved in the residue DIO. This decreasing of DIO content acts on the film-morphology similarly as the additive changes down to the one having a lower solubility. Accordingly, our results indicate that it is the dissolved amount of the organic component in the residue additive solvent of the wet film that plays a role in turning the phase size. The efficiency from this small molecule system is significantly raised from 0.02% up to 3.7% by selecting the additive type and fine-tuning the additive content.

Synthesis, optical properties, and electronic structures of nucleobase-containing π-conjugated oligomers

The molecular recognition properties of the nucleobases instruct the formation of complex three-dimensional architectures in natural and synthetic systems; relatively unexplored is their use as building blocks for π-conjugated materials where they might mutually tune electronic and supramolecular structures. Toward this goal, an introductory set (1a-d and 2a-d) of six purine-terminated and two pyrimidine-terminated π-conjugated oligomers has been synthesized and used to develop experimental electronic and photophysical structure-property trends. Unlike 2,2':5',2″-terthiophene (TTT) derivatives 2a-d, intramolecular charge transfer dominates oligomers 1a-d bearing a 4,7-bisthienylbenzothiadiazole (TBT) spacer due to the strong electron-accepting ability of its benzothiadiazole (BTD) ring. The resulting donor-acceptor-donor systems feature lower HOMO-LUMO gaps than the terthiophene-linked nucleobases (ΔE(g) ∼ 1.8 eV vs 2.4 eV based on electrochemical measurements), and the lowest so far for π-conjugated molecules that include nucleobases within the π-framework. Experiments reveal a dependence of photophysical and electronic structure on the nature of the nucleobase and are in good agreement with theoretical calculations performed at the B3LYP/6-31+G** level. Overall, the results show how nucleobase heterocycles can be installed within π-systems to tune optical and electronic properties. Future work will evaluate the consequences of these information-rich components on supramolecular π-conjugated structure.

New advances in non-fullerene acceptor based organic solar cells

Non-fullerene organic molecules are alternative and competitive acceptor materials for high-efficiency organic solar cells.

A comparison of n-type copolymers based on cyclopentadithiophene and naphthalene diimide/perylene diimides for all-polymer solar cell applications

Two cyclopentadithiophene (CPDT)-based n-type copolymers, PCPDT-NDI and PCPDT-PDI, were synthesized and used in all-polymer solar cells with PCE of 1.12% and 2.13%, respectively.

Fluorescent and photoconductive nanoribbons as a dual-mode sensor for selective discrimination of alkyl amines versus aromatic amines

Nanoribbons were used as a dual-mode sensor, which exhibited orthogonal responses when exposed to alkyl amines versus aromatic amines.

Effect of alkyl-chain branching position on nanoscale morphology and performance of all-polymer solar cells

The improved performance of an all-polymer solar cell was attributed to the well-ordered structure of polymer C3 and nanoscale phase separation in a blend film of the polymer, which resulted from manipulating the alkyl-chain branching position of the polymer.

A selenophenyl bridged perylene diimide dimer as an efficient solution-processable small molecule acceptor

This communication presents a new efficient selenophenyl-bridged PDI dimer based acceptor with 4% efficiency.