1
|
Mombrú D, Romero M, Faccio R, Mombrú AW. On the Donor: Acceptor Features for Poly(3-hexylthiophene): TiO 2 Quantum Dots Hybrid Materials Obtained via Water Vapor Flow Assisted Sol-Gel Growth. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15071706. [PMID: 37050320 PMCID: PMC10096910 DOI: 10.3390/polym15071706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Here, we present a novel methodology for the preparation of P3HT:TiO2 quantum dots hybrid materials via water vapor flow-assisted sol-gel growth focusing on the structural, optical and electrical property characterization complemented with first-principles calculations as a promising donor-acceptor system for polymer and hybrid solar cells. X-ray diffraction and UV-Vis spectroscopy analyses suggest that the increasing concentration of TiO2 quantum dots leads to the formation of higher amounts of amorphous regions while the crystalline regions exhibited interesting aspect ratio modifications for the P3HT polymer. Raman spectra evidenced the formation of charge carriers in the P3HT with increasing TiO2 quantum dots content and the P3HT:TiO2 50:50 weight ratio resulted in the best composition for optimizing the bulk electronic conductivity, as evidenced by impedance spectroscopy studies. Our DFT calculations performed for a simplified model of the P3HT:TiO2 interface revealed that there is an important contribution of the thiophene carbon atoms states in the conduction band at the Fermi level. Finally, our DFT calculations also reveal an evident gain of electron density at the TiO2 (101) surface while the thiophene rings showed a loss of the electron density, thus confirming that the P3HT:TiO2 junction acts as a good donor-acceptor system. In our opinion, these results not only present a novel methodology for the preparation of P3HT:TiO2 quantum dots hybrid materials but also reveal some key aspects to guide the more rational design of polymer and hybrid solar cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Mombrú
- Centro NanoMat & Área Física, Departamento de Experimentación y Teoría de la Estructura de la Materia y sus Aplicaciones (DETEMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo C.P. 11800, Uruguay
| | - Mariano Romero
- Centro NanoMat & Área Física, Departamento de Experimentación y Teoría de la Estructura de la Materia y sus Aplicaciones (DETEMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo C.P. 11800, Uruguay
| | - Ricardo Faccio
- Centro NanoMat & Área Física, Departamento de Experimentación y Teoría de la Estructura de la Materia y sus Aplicaciones (DETEMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo C.P. 11800, Uruguay
| | - Alvaro W Mombrú
- Centro NanoMat & Área Física, Departamento de Experimentación y Teoría de la Estructura de la Materia y sus Aplicaciones (DETEMA), Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, Montevideo C.P. 11800, Uruguay
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Mohan L, Ratnasingham SR, Panidi J, Daboczi M, Kim JS, Anthopoulos TD, Briscoe J, McLachlan MA, Kreouzis T. Determining Out-of-Plane Hole Mobility in CuSCN via the Time-of-Flight Technique To Elucidate Its Function in Perovskite Solar Cells. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:38499-38507. [PMID: 34365787 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c09750] [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
Copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) is a stable, low-cost, solution-processable p-type inorganic semiconductor used in numerous optoelectronic applications. Here, for the first time, we employ the time-of-flight (ToF) technique to measure the out-of-plane hole mobility of CuSCN films, enabled by the deposition of 4 μm-thick films using aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD). A hole mobility of ∼10-3 cm2/V s was measured with a weak electric field dependence of 0.005 cm/V1/2. Additionally, by measuring several 1.5 μm CuSCN films, we show that the mobility is independent of thickness. To further validate the suitability of our AACVD-prepared 1.5 μm-thick CuSCN film in device applications, we demonstrate its incorporation as a hole transport layer (HTL) in methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Our AACVD films result in devices with measured power conversion efficiencies of 10.4%, which compares favorably with devices prepared using spin-coated CuSCN HTLs (12.6%), despite the AACVD HTLs being an order of magnitude thicker than their spin-coated analogues. Improved reproducibility and decreased hysteresis were observed, owing to a combination of excellent film quality, high charge-carrier mobility, and favorable interface energetics. In addition to providing a fundamental insight into charge-carrier mobility in CuSCN, our work highlights the AACVD methodology as a scalable, versatile tool suitable for film deposition for use in optoelectronic devices.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lokeshwari Mohan
- Department of Materials and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, U.K
- School of Engineering and Materials Science and Materials Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, U.K
| | - Sinclair R Ratnasingham
- Department of Materials and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, U.K
- School of Engineering and Materials Science and Materials Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, U.K
| | - Julianna Panidi
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, U.K
| | - Matyas Daboczi
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, U.K
| | - Ji-Seon Kim
- Department of Physics and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, U.K
| | - Thomas D Anthopoulos
- Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Joe Briscoe
- School of Engineering and Materials Science and Materials Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, U.K
| | - Martyn A McLachlan
- Department of Materials and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, London W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Theo Kreouzis
- School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, U.K
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Nikerov D, Korolev N, Nikitenko V, Tyutnev A. Theoretical analysis of the drift and diffusion of charge carriers in thin layers of organic crystals. Chem Phys 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphys.2018.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
|
4
|
Love JA, Feuerstein M, Wolff CM, Facchetti A, Neher D. Lead Halide Perovskites as Charge Generation Layers for Electron Mobility Measurement in Organic Semiconductors. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2017; 9:42011-42019. [PMID: 29083145 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b10361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Hybrid lead halide perovskites are introduced as charge generation layers (CGLs) for the accurate determination of electron mobilities in thin organic semiconductors. Such hybrid perovskites have become a widely studied photovoltaic material in their own right, for their high efficiencies, ease of processing from solution, strong absorption, and efficient photogeneration of charge. Time-of-flight (ToF) measurements on bilayer samples consisting of the perovskite CGL and an organic semiconductor layer of different thickness are shown to be determined by the carrier motion through the organic material, consistent with the much higher charge carrier mobility in the perovskite. Together with the efficient photon-to-electron conversion in the perovskite, this high mobility imbalance enables electron-only mobility measurement on relatively thin application-relevant organic films, which would not be possible with traditional ToF measurements. This architecture enables electron-selective mobility measurements in single components as well as bulk-heterojunction films as demonstrated in the prototypical polymer/fullerene blends. To further demonstrate the potential of this approach, electron mobilities were measured as a function of electric field and temperature in an only 127 nm thick layer of a prototypical electron-transporting perylene diimide-based polymer, and found to be consistent with an exponential trap distribution of ca. 60 meV. Our study furthermore highlights the importance of high mobility charge transporting layers when designing perovskite solar cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John A Love
- Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam , Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany
| | - Markus Feuerstein
- Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam , Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany
| | - Christian M Wolff
- Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam , Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany
| | - Antonio Facchetti
- Department of Chemistry and The Materials Research Center, Northwestern University , 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Dieter Neher
- Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam , Karl-Liebknecht-Straße 24-25, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany
| |
Collapse
|