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Chen F, Zhang Y, Wang Q, Gao M, Kirby N, Peng Z, Deng Y, Li M, Ye L. High
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Polymer Insulator Yields Organic Photovoltaic Blends with Superior Thermal Stability at 150
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C. CHINESE J CHEM 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/cjoc.202100270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Fei Chen
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Ying Zhang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Qi Wang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Mengyuan Gao
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Nigel Kirby
- Australian Synchrotron Clayton Victoria 3168 Australia
| | - Zhongxiang Peng
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Yunfeng Deng
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science, Tianjin University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin) Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Miaomiao Li
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science, Tianjin University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin) Tianjin 300072 China
| | - Long Ye
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science, Tianjin University, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin) Tianjin 300072 China
- State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology Guangzhou Guangdong 510640 China
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Levitsky A, Schneider SA, Rabkin E, Toney MF, Frey GL. Bridging the thermodynamics and kinetics of temperature-induced morphology evolution in polymer/fullerene organic solar cell bulk heterojunction. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2021; 8:1272-1285. [PMID: 34821920 DOI: 10.1039/d0mh01805h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The performance of organic solar cells (OSC) critically depends on the morphology of the active layer. After deposition, the active layer is in a metastable state and prone to changes that lead to cell degradation. Here, a high efficiency fullerene:polymer blend is used as a model system to follow the temperature-induced morphology evolution through a series of thermal annealing treatments. Electron microscopy analysis of the nano-scale phase evolution during the early stages of thermal annealing revealed that spinodal decomposition, i.e. spontaneous phase separation with no nucleation stage, is possibly responsible for the formation of a fine scale bicontinuous structure. In the later evolution stages, large polycrystalline fullerene aggregates are formed. Optical microscopy and scattering revealed that aggregate-growth follows the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov equation indicating a heterogeneous transformation process, i.e., through nucleation and growth. These two mechanisms, spinodal decomposition vs. nucleation and growth, are mutually exclusive and their co-existence is surprising. This unexpected observation is resolved by introducing a metastable monotectic phase diagram and showing that the morphology evolution goes through two distinct and consecutive transformation processes where spinodal decomposition of the amorphous donor:acceptor blend is followed by nucleation and growth of crystalline acceptor aggregates. Finally, this unified thermodynamic and kinetic mechanism allows us to correlate the morphology evolution with OSC degradation during thermal annealing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Artem Levitsky
- Department of Material Science and Engineering, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel.
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Xiao X, Yi N, Yao G, Lu J, Leng S, Liu F, Hu M, Yuan Z, Zhou W. Preaggregation Matching of Donors and Acceptors in Solution Accounting for Thermally Stable Non-Fullerene Solar Cells. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:58082-58093. [PMID: 33332082 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c17049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The mechanism of how the solvent type influences photovoltaic performance and thermal stability of non-fullerene organic solar cells remains unexplored. In this article, the well-known PTB7-Th was selected as a donor, while F8IC was used as an acceptor. The PTB7-Th:F8IC processed from chloroform (CF) exhibited a superiorly higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.5%, in contrast to the specimen processed from chlorobenzene (CB) of 6.8%. In addition, upon thermal annealing at 160 °C for 120 min, the device processed from CF was more stable than that processed from CB. The incorporation of perylene diimide derivative TBDPDI-C11, serving as the third additive, could also obviously improve the PCE value and thermal stability of PTB7-Th:F8IC processed from CB. According to ultraviolet spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering analyses, the enhanced photovoltaic performance and thermal stability are mainly attributed to formation of PTB7-Th nanofibers and appropriate aggregation of F8IC. The interaction free energy calculated using water and diiodomethane contact angles reveals that PTB7-Th well disperses in CB and tends to aggregate in CF, while F8IC aggregates strongly in CB. The preaggregation matching of the donor and acceptor in solution is essential for the optimization of morphology, efficiency, and thermal stability. The findings in this article could provide useful guidelines to fabricate efficient and thermally stable organic solar cells simply by analyzing the surface energy of components processed from different solvents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyu Xiao
- School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Nan Yi
- School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Ge Yao
- School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Jianing Lu
- School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Shifeng Leng
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Feng Liu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Ming Hu
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Zhongyi Yuan
- College of Chemistry, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
| | - Weihua Zhou
- School of Material Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
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Duan L, Uddin A. Progress in Stability of Organic Solar Cells. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2020; 7:1903259. [PMID: 32537401 PMCID: PMC7284215 DOI: 10.1002/advs.201903259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The organic solar cell (OSC) is a promising emerging low-cost thin film photovoltaics technology. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of OSCs has overpassed 16% for single junction and 17% for organic-organic tandem solar cells with the development of low bandgap organic materials synthesis and device processing technology. The main barrier of commercial use of OSCs is the poor stability of devices. Herein, the factors limiting the stability of OSCs are summarized. The limiting stability factors are oxygen, water, irradiation, heating, metastable morphology, diffusion of electrodes and buffer layers materials, and mechanical stress. The recent progress in strategies to increase the stability of OSCs is surveyed, such as material design, device engineering of active layers, employing inverted geometry, optimizing buffer layers, using stable electrodes and encapsulation materials. The International Summit on Organic Photovoltaic Stability guidelines are also discussed. The potential research strategies to achieve the required device stability and efficiency are highlighted, rendering possible pathways to facilitate the viable commercialization of OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leiping Duan
- School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy EngineeringUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNSW2052Australia
| | - Ashraf Uddin
- School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy EngineeringUniversity of New South WalesSydneyNSW2052Australia
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Fullerene Aggregation in Thin Films of Polymer Blends for Solar Cell Applications. MATERIALS 2018; 11:ma11112068. [PMID: 30360476 PMCID: PMC6266007 DOI: 10.3390/ma11112068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2018] [Revised: 10/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
We report on the effects of the film morphology on the fluorescence spectra for a thin film including a quinoxaline-based co-polymer (TQ1) and a fullerene derivative ([6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester-PC70BM). The ratio between the polymer and the fullerene derivative, as well as the processing solvent, were varied. Besides the main emission peak at 700 nm in the fluorescence spectra of thin films of this phase-separated blend, a broad emission band is observed with a maximum at 520⁻550 nm. The intensity of this emission band decreases with an increasing degree of mixing in the film and becomes most prominent in thicker films, films with high PC70BM content, and films that were spin-coated from solvents with lower PC70BM solubility. We assign this emission band to aggregated PC70BM.
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Hamngren Blomqvist C, Gebäck T, Altskär A, Hermansson AM, Gustafsson S, Lorén N, Olsson E. Interconnectivity imaged in three dimensions: Nano-particulate silica-hydrogel structure revealed using electron tomography. Micron 2017; 100:91-105. [PMID: 28558343 DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2017.04.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2017] [Revised: 04/27/2017] [Accepted: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We have used Electron Tomography (ET) to reveal the detailed three-dimensional structure of particulate hydrogels, a material category common in e.g. controlled release, food science, battery and biomedical applications. A full understanding of the transport properties of these gels requires knowledge about the pore structure and in particular the interconnectivity in three dimensions, since the transport takes the path of lowest resistance. The image series for ET were recorded using High-Angle Annular Dark Field Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (HAADF-STEM). We have studied three different particulate silica hydrogels based on primary particles with sizes ranging from 3.6nm to 22nm and with pore-size averages from 18nm to 310nm. Here, we highlight the nanostructure of the particle network and the interpenetrating pore network in two and three dimensions. The interconnectivity and distribution of width of the porous channels were obtained from the three-dimensional tomography studies while they cannot unambiguously be obtained from the two-dimensional data. Using ET, we compared the interconnectivity and accessible pore volume fraction as a function of pore size, based on direct images on the nanoscale of three different hydrogels. From this comparison, it was clear that the finest of the gels differentiated from the other two. Despite the almost identical flow properties of the two finer gels, they showed large differences concerning the accessible pore volume fraction for probes corresponding to their (two-dimensional) mean pore size. Using 2D pore size data, the finest gel provided an accessible pore volume fraction of over 90%, but for the other two gels the equivalent was only 10-20%. However, all the gels provided an accessible pore volume fraction of 30-40% when taking the third dimension into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Hamngren Blomqvist
- Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden; SuMo Biomaterials, VINN Excellence Centre, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - T Gebäck
- SuMo Biomaterials, VINN Excellence Centre, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden; Mathematical Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - A Altskär
- SuMo Biomaterials, VINN Excellence Centre, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden; Product Design and Perception, RISE Agrifood and Bioscience, Frans Perssons väg 6, S-402 29 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - A-M Hermansson
- SuMo Biomaterials, VINN Excellence Centre, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden; Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - S Gustafsson
- Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - N Lorén
- Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden; SuMo Biomaterials, VINN Excellence Centre, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden; Product Design and Perception, RISE Agrifood and Bioscience, Frans Perssons väg 6, S-402 29 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - E Olsson
- Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden; SuMo Biomaterials, VINN Excellence Centre, Chalmers University of Technology, S-412 96 Göteborg, Sweden.
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Bäcke O, Lindqvist C, de Zerio Mendaza AD, Gustafsson S, Wang E, Andersson MR, Müller C, Kristiansen PM, Olsson E. Enhanced thermal stability of a polymer solar cell blend induced by electron beam irradiation in the transmission electron microscope. Ultramicroscopy 2017; 176:23-30. [PMID: 28341555 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2017.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2016] [Revised: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
We show by in situ microscopy that the effects of electron beam irradiation during transmission electron microscopy can be used to lock microstructural features and enhance the structural thermal stability of a nanostructured polymer:fullerene blend. Polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunction thin films show great promise for use as active layers in organic solar cells but their low thermal stability is a hindrance. Lack of thermal stability complicates manufacturing and influences the lifetime of devices. To investigate how electron irradiation affects the thermal stability of polymer:fullerene films, a model bulk-heterojunction film based on a thiophene-quinoxaline copolymer and a fullerene derivative was heat-treated in-situ in a transmission electron microscope. In areas of the film that exposed to the electron beam the nanostructure of the film remained stable, while the nanostructure in areas not exposed to the electron beam underwent large phase separation and nucleation of fullerene crystals. UV-vis spectroscopy shows that the polymer:fullerene films are stable for electron doses up to 2000kGy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olof Bäcke
- Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden.
| | - Camilla Lindqvist
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | | | - Stefan Gustafsson
- Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Ergang Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Mats R Andersson
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Christian Müller
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Per Magnus Kristiansen
- Institute of Polymer Nanotechnology (INKA), FHNW University of Applied Science and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland; Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Eva Olsson
- Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden.
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Bäcke O, Lindqvist C, de Zerio Mendaza AD, Gustafsson S, Wang E, Andersson MR, Müller C, Kristiansen PM, Olsson E. Enhanced thermal stability of a polymer solar cell blend induced by electron beam irradiation in the transmission electron microscope. Ultramicroscopy 2016; 173:16-23. [PMID: 27902941 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultramic.2016.11.017] [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: 08/25/2016] [Revised: 11/17/2016] [Accepted: 11/18/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
We show by in situ microscopy that the effects of electron beam irradiation during transmission electron microscopy can be used to lock microstructural features and enhance the structural thermal stability of a nanostructured polymer:fullerene blend. Polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunction thin films show great promise for use as active layers in organic solar cells but their low thermal stability is a hindrance. Lack of thermal stability complicates manufacturing and influences the lifetime of devices. To investigate how electron irradiation affects the thermal stability of polymer:fullerene films, a model bulk-heterojunction film based on a thiophene-quinoxaline copolymer and a fullerene derivative was heat-treated in-situ in a transmission electron microscope. In areas of the film that exposed to the electron beam the nanostructure of the film remained stable, while the nanostructure in areas not exposed to the electron beam underwent large phase separation and nucleation of fullerene crystals. UV-vis spectroscopy shows that the polymer:fullerene films are stable for electron doses up to 2000kGy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olof Bäcke
- Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden.
| | - Camilla Lindqvist
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | | | - Stefan Gustafsson
- Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Ergang Wang
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Mats R Andersson
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Christian Müller
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Per Magnus Kristiansen
- Institute of Polymer Nanotechnology (INKA), FHNW University of Applied Science and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland; Laboratory for Micro- and Nanotechnology, Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
| | - Eva Olsson
- Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden.
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Abstract
This review highlights the factors limiting the stability of organic solar cells and recent developments in strategies to increase the stability of organic solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei Cheng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences and CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids
- Institute of Chemistry
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Beijing 100190
- 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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