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Kilbride RC, Spooner ELK, Burg SL, Oliveira BL, Charas A, Bernardo G, Dalgliesh R, King S, Lidzey DG, Jones RAL, Parnell AJ. The Nanoscale Structure and Stability of Organic Photovoltaic Blends Processed with Solvent Additives. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2311109. [PMID: 38597752 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202311109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Controlling the nanomorphology in bulk heterojunction photoactive blends is crucial for optimizing the performance and stability of organic photovoltaic (OPV) technologies. A promising approach is to alter the drying dynamics and consequently, the nanostructure of the blend film using solvent additives such as 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO). Although this approach is demonstrated extensively for OPV systems incorporating fullerene-based acceptors, it is unclear how solvent additive processing influences the morphology and stability of nonfullerene acceptor (NFA) systems. Here, small angle neutron scattering (SANS) is used to probe the nanomorphology of two model OPV systems processed with DIO: a fullerene-based system (PBDB-T:PC71BM) and an NFA-based system (PBDB-T:ITIC). To overcome the low intrinsic neutron scattering length density contrast in polymer:NFA blend films, the synthesis of a deuterated NFA analog (ITIC-d52) is reported. Using SANS, new insights into the nanoscale evolution of fullerene and NFA-based systems are provided by characterizing films immediately after fabrication, after thermal annealing, and after aging for 1 year. It is found that DIO processing influences fullerene and NFA-based systems differently with NFA-based systems characterized by more phase-separated domains. After long-term aging, SANS reveals both systems demonstrate some level of thermodynamic induced domain coarsening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel C Kilbride
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Sheffield, Dainton Building, Brook Hill, Sheffield, S3 7HF, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - Emma L K Spooner
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, United Kingdom
- The Photon Science Institute, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PY, United Kingdom
| | - Stephanie L Burg
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - Bárbara L Oliveira
- Instituto de Telecomunicações, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, Lisboa, P-1049-001, Portugal
| | - Ana Charas
- Instituto de Telecomunicações, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, Lisboa, P-1049-001, Portugal
| | - Gabriel Bernardo
- LEPABE - Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, 4200-465, Portugal
- ALiCE - Associate Laboratory in Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, 4200-465, Portugal
| | - Robert Dalgliesh
- ISIS Neutron and Muon Spallation Source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen King
- ISIS Neutron and Muon Spallation Source, Rutherford Appleton Laboratories, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - David G Lidzey
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - Richard A L Jones
- Department of Materials, The University of Manchester, Sackville Street Building, Manchester, M1 3BB, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew J Parnell
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Sheffield, Hicks Building, Hounsfield Road, Sheffield, S3 7RH, United Kingdom
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