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Stäter S, Woering EF, Lombeck F, Sommer M, Hildner R. Hexylation Stabilises Twisted Backbone Configurations in the Prototypical Low-Bandgap Copolymer PCDTBT. Chemphyschem 2024; 25:e202300971. [PMID: 38372667 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202300971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
Conjugated donor-acceptor copolymers hold great potential as materials for high-performance organic photovoltaics, organic transistors and organic thermoelectric devices. Their low optical bandgap is achieved by alternation of donor and acceptor moieties along the polymer chain, leading to a pronounced charge-transfer character of electronic excitations. However, the influence of appended side chains and of chemical defects of the backbone on their photophysical and conformational properties remains largely unexplored on the level of individual chains. Here, we employ room temperature single-molecule photoluminescence spectroscopy on four compounds based on the prototypical copolymer PCDTBT with systematically changed chemical structure. Our results show that an increasing density of statistically added hexyl chains to the TBT comonomer distorts the molecular conformation, likely through the increase of average dihedral angles along the backbone. We find that, although the conformation becomes more twisted with high hexyl density, the side chains appear to stabilize the backbone in this twisted conformation. In addition, we demonstrate that homocoupling defects along the backbone barely influence the PL spectra of single chains, and thus intra-chain electronic properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Stäter
- University of Groningen, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, 9747AG, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Erik F Woering
- University of Groningen, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, 9747AG, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Florian Lombeck
- Makromolekulare Chemie, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, Universität Freiburg, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
- Optoelectronics Group, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, CB3 0HE, UK
| | - Michael Sommer
- TU Chemnitz, Institute for Chemistry, Str. der Nationen 62, 09111, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Richard Hildner
- University of Groningen, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, 9747AG, Groningen, Netherlands
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2
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Feng K, Wang J, Jeong SY, Yang W, Li J, Woo HY, Guo X. High-Performance n-Type Organic Thermoelectrics Enabled by Synergistically Achieving High Electron Mobility and Doping Efficiency. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2023; 10:e2302629. [PMID: 37553779 PMCID: PMC10582446 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202302629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
n-Doped polymers with high electrical conductivity (σ) are still very scarce in organic thermoelectrics (OTEs), which limits the development of efficient organic thermoelectric generators. A series of fused bithiophene imide dimer-based polymers, PO8, PO12, and PO16, incorporating distinct oligo(ethylene glycol) side-chain to optimize σ is reported here. Three polymers show a monotonic electron mobility decrease as side-chain size increasing due to the gradually lowered film crystallinity and change of backbone orientation. Interestingly, polymer PO12 with a moderate side-chain size delivers a champion σ up to 92.0 S cm-1 and a power factor (PF) as high as 94.3 µW m-1 K-2 in the series when applied in OTE devices. The PF value is among the highest ones for the solution-processing n-doped polymers. In-depth morphology studies unravel that the moderate crystallinity and the formation of 3D conduction channel derived from bimodal orientation synergistically contribute to high doping efficiency and large charge carrier mobility, thus resulting in high performance for the PO12-based OTEs. The results demonstrate the great power of simple tuning of side chain in developing n-type polymers with substantial σ for improving organic thermoelectric performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kui Feng
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and TechnologyShenzhenGuangdong518055China
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary StudiesSouthern University of Science and TechnologyShenzhenGuangdong518055China
| | - Junwei Wang
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and TechnologyShenzhenGuangdong518055China
| | - Sang Young Jeong
- Department of ChemistryKorea UniversityAnamro 145Seoul02841Republic of Korea
| | - Wanli Yang
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and TechnologyShenzhenGuangdong518055China
| | - Jianfeng Li
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and TechnologyShenzhenGuangdong518055China
| | - Han Young Woo
- Department of ChemistryKorea UniversityAnamro 145Seoul02841Republic of Korea
| | - Xugang Guo
- Department of Materials Science and EngineeringSouthern University of Science and TechnologyShenzhenGuangdong518055China
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3
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Xiao C, Wang X, Zhong T, Zhou R, Zheng X, Liu Y, Hu T, Luo Y, Sun F, Xiao B, Liu Z, Yang C, Yang R. Hybrid Cycloalkyl-Alkyl Chain-Based Symmetric/Asymmetric Acceptors with Optimized Crystal Packing and Interfacial Exciton Properties for Efficient Organic Solar Cells. Adv Sci (Weinh) 2023; 10:e2206580. [PMID: 36592412 PMCID: PMC9982590 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202206580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Hybrid cycloalkyl-alkyl side chains are considered a unique composite side-chain system for the construction of novel organic semiconductor materials. However, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of the variations in the single-crystal structures as well as the optoelectronic and energetic properties generated by the introduction of hybrid side chains in electron acceptors. Herein, symmetric/asymmetric acceptors (Y-C10ch and A-C10ch) bearing bilateral and unilateral 10-cyclohexyldecyl are designed, synthesized, and compared with the symmetric acceptor 2,2'-((2Z,2'Z)-((12,13-bis(2-butyloctyl)-3,9 bis(ethylhexyl)-12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-e]thieno[2″,3″':4',5']thieno[2',3':4,5] pyrrolo[3,2-g]thieno[2',3':4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indole-2,10- diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile (L8-BO). The stepwise introduction of 10-cyclohexyldecyl side chains decreases the optical bandgap, deepens the energy level, and enables the acceptor molecules to pack closely in a regular manner. Crystallographic analysis demonstrates that the 10-cyclohexyldecyl chain endows the acceptor with a more planar skeleton and enforces more compact 3D network packing, resulting in an active layer with higher domain purity. Moreover, the 10-cyclohexyldecyl chain affects the donor/acceptor interfacial energetics and accelerates exciton dissociation, enabling a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of >18% in the 2,2'-((2Z,2'Z)-((12,13-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,9-diundecyl12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-e]thieno[2″,3″':4',5']thieno[2',3':4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-g]thieno[2',3':4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indole-2,10-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile (Y6) (PM6):A-C10ch-based organic solar cells (OSCs). Importantly, the incorporation of Y-C10ch as the third component of the PM6:L8-BO blend results in a higher PCE of 19.1%. The superior molecular packing behavior of the 10-cyclohexyldecyl side chain is highlighted here for the fabrication of high-performance OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education)School of Optoelectronic Materials and TechnologyJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
| | - Xunchang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education)School of Optoelectronic Materials and TechnologyJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
- State Key Laboratory of Fine BlastingJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
| | - Tian Zhong
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education)School of Optoelectronic Materials and TechnologyJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
| | - Ruixue Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education)School of Optoelectronic Materials and TechnologyJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
| | - Xufan Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education)School of Optoelectronic Materials and TechnologyJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
| | - Yirui Liu
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education)School of Optoelectronic Materials and TechnologyJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
| | - Tianyu Hu
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education)School of Optoelectronic Materials and TechnologyJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
| | - Yixuan Luo
- Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Optoelectronic and New Energy MaterialsWuhan Institute of TechnologyWuhan430205China
| | - Fengbo Sun
- Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Optoelectronic and New Energy MaterialsWuhan Institute of TechnologyWuhan430205China
| | - Biao Xiao
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education)School of Optoelectronic Materials and TechnologyJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
| | - Zhitian Liu
- Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center of Optoelectronic and New Energy MaterialsWuhan Institute of TechnologyWuhan430205China
| | - Chunming Yang
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation FacilityShanghai Advanced Research InstituteChinese Academy of SciencesShanghai201204China
| | - Renqiang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices (Ministry of Education)School of Optoelectronic Materials and TechnologyJianghan UniversityWuhan430056China
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D’Elia MF, Magni M, Trasatti SPM, Niederberger M, Caseri WR. Improving the Corrosion Protection of Poly(phenylene methylene) Coatings by Side Chain Engineering: The Case of Methoxy-Substituted Copolymers. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232416103. [PMID: 36555741 PMCID: PMC9784788 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232416103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Revised: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
This work aims to improve the corrosion protection features of poly(phenylene methylene) (PPM) by sidechain engineering inserting methoxy units along the polymer backbone. The influence of side methoxy groups at different concentrations (4.6% mol/mol and 9% mol/mol) on the final polymer properties was investigated by structural and thermal characterization of the resulting copolymers: co-PPM 4.6% and co-PPM 9%, respectively. Then, coatings were processed by hot pressing the polymers powder on aluminum alloy AA2024 and corrosion protection properties were evaluated exposing samples to a 3.5% w/v NaCl aqueous solution. Anodic polarization tests evidenced the enhanced corrosion protection ability (i.e., lower current density) by increasing the percentage of the co-monomer. Coatings made with co-PPM 9% showed the best protection performance with respect to both PPM blend and PPM co-polymers reported so far. Electrochemical response of aluminum alloy coated with co-PPM 9% was monitored over time under two "artificially-aged" conditions, that are: (i) a pristine coating subjected to potentiostatic anodic polarization cycles, and (ii) an artificially damaged coating at resting condition. The first scenario points to accelerating the corrosion process, the second one models damage of the coating potentially occurring either due to natural deterioration or due to any accidental scratching of the polymer layer. In both cases, an intrinsic self-healing phenomenon was indirectly argued by the time evolution of the impedance and of the current density of the coated systems. The degree of restoring to the "factory conditions" by co-polymer coatings after self-healing events is eventually discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco F. D’Elia
- Laboratory for Multifunctional Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
- Correspondence: (M.F.D.); (M.M.)
| | - Mirko Magni
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Universitá degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Correspondence: (M.F.D.); (M.M.)
| | - Stefano P. M. Trasatti
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Universitá degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Markus Niederberger
- Laboratory for Multifunctional Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Walter R. Caseri
- Laboratory for Multifunctional Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland
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Busireddy MR, Chen TW, Huang SC, Su YJ, Wang YM, Chuang WT, Chen JT, Hsu CS. PBDB-T-Based Binary-OSCs Achieving over 15.83% Efficiency via End-Group Functionalization and Alkyl-Chain Engineering of Quinoxaline-Containing Non-Fullerene Acceptors. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2022; 14:41264-41274. [PMID: 36041037 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c09614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Molecular backbone modification, alkyl-chain engineering, and end-group functionalization are promising strategies for developing efficient high-performance non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). Herein, two new NFAs, named TPQ-eC7-4F and TPQ-eC7-4Cl, are designed and synthesized. Both molecules have linear octyl chains on fused quinoxaline-containing heterocyclics as the central backbone and difluorinated (2F)/dichlorinated (2Cl) 1,1-dicyanomethylene-3-indanone (IC) as the end-group units. The influences of alkyl-chains on fused quinoxaline backbone and different halogenated end-groups on optical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic performances of organic solar cells (OSCs) are studied. In comparison with TPQ-eC7-4Cl, TPQ-eC7-4F exhibits blue-shifted absorptions with higher molar extinction coefficients in the film state as well as in the donor/acceptor (D/A) blend film state and up-shifting lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level. As a result, the OSC devices based on the PBDB-T:TPQ-eC7-4F display an outstanding power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.83% with a simultaneously increased open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.85 V, a short-circuit current-density (Jsc) of 25.89 mA cm-2, and a fill factor (FF) of 72.20%, whereas the PBDB-T:TPQ-eC7-4Cl-based OSC device shows a decent PCE of 14.48% with a Voc of 0.84 V, a Jsc of 24.56 mA/cm2, and an FF of 69.77%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest photovoltaic performance of PBDB-T-based single-junction binary-OSCs. In comparison, ascribed to the high crystallinity and low solubility of BTP-eC7-4Cl, the corresponding PBDB-T:BTP-eC7-4Cl-based OSC device shows poor photovoltaic performance (PCE of 11.87%). The experimental results demonstrate that fine-tuning the fused quinoxaline backbone with alkyl-chain and end-group functionalization are promising strategies to construct high-performance NFAs for PBDB-T-based single-junction binary-OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manohar Reddy Busireddy
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Wei Chen
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Ci Huang
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Jia Su
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Min Wang
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Tsung Chuang
- National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, 101 Hsin-Ann Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Jiun-Tai Chen
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Chain-Shu Hsu
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
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Su YJ, Nie H, Chang CF, Huang SC, Huang YH, Chen TW, Hsu KK, Lee TY, Shih HM, Ko CW, Chen JT, Hsu CS. Green-Solvent-Processable Organic Photovoltaics with High Performances Enabled by Asymmetric Non-Fullerene Acceptors. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:59043-59050. [PMID: 34865485 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c19627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In this work, two asymmetric non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), BTP-EHBO-4F and BTP-PHD-4F, are designed to be applied in green-solvent-processable organic photovoltaics (OPVs). BTP-EHBO-4F and BTP-PHD-4F show good solubilities in green solvent o-xylene. As a result, PM6:BTP-EHBO-4F-based devices exhibit outstanding photovoltaic performances using o-xylene as a solvent. By comparison, due to the poor solubility of Y6 in o-xylene, PM6:Y6-based devices show poor performances. Owing to the favorable phase separation, molecule packing, and orientation observed from atomic force microscopy (AFM) and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) measurements, PM6:BTP-PHD-4F-based devices demonstrate a PCE of 15.91% with a VOC of 0.87 V, a JSC of 25.64 mA/cm2, and an FF of 71.34%. Moreover, PM6:BTP-EHBO-4F-based devices exhibit an impressive PCE of 16.82% with a VOC of 0.85 V, a JSC of 26.12 mA/cm2, and an FF of 75.78%, which is outstanding for OPVs using o-xylene as a solvent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Jia Su
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Hebing Nie
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Feng Chang
- Ways Technical Corp., 326 Kaoching Road, Yangmei, Taoyuan 326023, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Ci Huang
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Hsuan Huang
- Ways Technical Corp., 326 Kaoching Road, Yangmei, Taoyuan 326023, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Wei Chen
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Kuo-Kai Hsu
- Ways Technical Corp., 326 Kaoching Road, Yangmei, Taoyuan 326023, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Yuan Lee
- Ways Technical Corp., 326 Kaoching Road, Yangmei, Taoyuan 326023, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Min Shih
- Ways Technical Corp., 326 Kaoching Road, Yangmei, Taoyuan 326023, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Wen Ko
- Ways Technical Corp., 326 Kaoching Road, Yangmei, Taoyuan 326023, Taiwan
| | - Jiun-Tai Chen
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Chain-Shu Hsu
- Department of Applied Chemistry, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 1001 University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
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Chen H, Xia X, Yuan J, Wei Q, Liu W, Li Z, Zhu C, Wang X, Guan H, Lu X, Li Y, Zou Y. Compatibility between Solubility and Enhanced Crystallinity of Benzotriazole-Based Small Molecular Acceptors with Less Bulky Alkyl Chains for Organic Solar Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:36053-36061. [PMID: 34293857 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c07254] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Optimizing the molecular structures of organic solar cell (OSC) materials and boosting the power conversion efficiencies are the eternal theme in the solar energy region. A series of fused benzotriazole (BTA)-based A-DA'D-A structures of nonfullerene acceptors (such as Y18) were developed for application in efficient OSCs, in which high quantum efficiencies and low voltage losses could be achieved because of the optimized electron-deficient core and specific molecular geometry. Here, based on the BTA core, the bulky alkyl chain on the BTA unit was further tailored to minimize the lateral alkyl chains and enhance the crystallinity while maintaining an adequate solubility. The resulting NFAs of BTA-C1, BTA-C5, and BTA-C6 are synthesized. Compared with the well-designed molecular Y18 (BTA-C8), we found that simply replacing the 2-ethylhexyl chain with a single methyl (BTA-C1) can easily improve the fill factor up to 77%, but its poor light absorption capacity and large domain size impeded further efficiency improvement. In particular, the BTA-C5, with a shortened branch alkyl chain of 2-methylbutyl, achieves suitable solubility and enhanced crystallinity. Significantly, owing to the balanced charge carrier mobility and suitable phase separation, the BTA-C5-based binary single-junction OSCs achieve a high efficiency of 17.11%, which is one of the top values in BTA-based OSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Honggang Chen
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China
| | - Xinxin Xia
- Department of Physics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Jun Yuan
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China
| | - Qingya Wei
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China
| | - Wei Liu
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China
| | - Zhe Li
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China
| | - Can Zhu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Xiaosha Wang
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China
| | - Huilan Guan
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China
| | - Xinhui Lu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Yongfang Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Yingping Zou
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China
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8
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Mooney M, Wang Y, Nyayachavadi A, Zhang S, Gu X, Rondeau-Gagné S. Enhancing the Solubility of Semiconducting Polymers in Eco-Friendly Solvents with Carbohydrate-Containing Side Chains. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:25175-25185. [PMID: 34006092 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c02860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Semiconducting polymers are at the forefront of next-generation organic electronics due to their robust mechanical and optoelectronic properties. However, their extended π-conjugation often leads to materials with low solubilities in common organic solvents, thus requiring processing in high-boiling-point and toxic halogenated solvents to generate thin-film devices. To address this environmental concern, a natural product-inspired side-chain engineering approach was used to incorporate galactose-containing moieties into semiconducting polymers toward improved processability in greener solvents. Novel isoindigo-based polymers with different ratios of galactose-containing side chains were synthesized to improve the solubilities of the organic semiconductors in alcohol-based solvents. The addition of carbohydrate-containing side chains to π-conjugated polymers was found to considerably impact the intermolecular aggregation of the materials and their microstructures in the solid state as confirmed by atomic force microscopy and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering. The charge transport characteristics of the new semiconductors were evaluated by the fabrication of organic field-effect transistors prepared from both toxic halogenated and greener alcohol-based solvents. Importantly, the incorporation of carbohydrate-containing side chains was shown to have very little detrimental impact on the electronic properties of the polymer when processed from green solvents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison Mooney
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Yunfei Wang
- School of Polymer Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406, United States
| | - Audithya Nyayachavadi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Song Zhang
- School of Polymer Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406, United States
| | - Xiaodan Gu
- School of Polymer Science and Engineering, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406, United States
| | - Simon Rondeau-Gagné
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
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9
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Zhu C, Meng L, Zhang J, Qin S, Lai W, Qiu B, Yuan J, Wan Y, Huang W, Li Y. A Quinoxaline-Based D-A Copolymer Donor Achieving 17.62% Efficiency of Organic Solar Cells. Adv Mater 2021; 33:e2100474. [PMID: 33914352 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202100474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Revised: 03/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Side-chain engineering has been an effective strategy in tuning electronic energy levels, intermolecular interaction, and aggregation morphology of organic photovoltaic materials, which is very important for improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, two D-A copolymers, PBQ5 and PBQ6, are designed and synthesized based on bithienyl-benzodithiophene (BDTT) as the donor (D) unit, difluoroquinoxaline (DFQ) with different side chains as the acceptor (A) unit, and thiophene as the π-bridges. PBQ6 with two alkyl-substituted fluorothiophene side chains on the DFQ units possesses redshifted absorption, stronger intermolecular interaction, and higher hole mobility than PBQ5 with two alkyl side chains on the DFQ units. The blend film of the PBQ6 donor with the Y6 acceptor shows higher and balanced hole/electron mobilities, less charge carrier recombination, and more favorable aggregation morphology. Therefore, the OSC based on PBQ6:Y6 achieves a PCE as high as 17.62% with a high fill factor of 77.91%, which is significantly higher than the PCE (15.55%) of the PBQ5:Y6-based OSC. The PCE of 17.62% is by far one of the highest efficiencies for the binary OSCs with polymer donor and Y6 acceptor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Can Zhu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Lei Meng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jinyuan Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Shucheng Qin
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Wenbin Lai
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Beibei Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Solid State Optoelectronic Devices of Zhejiang Province, College of Physics and Electronic Information Engineering, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang, 321004, China
| | - Jun Yuan
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China
| | - Yan Wan
- College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Wenchao Huang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
- Foshan Xianhu Laboratory of the Advanced Energy Science and Technology Guangdong Laboratory, Xianhu Hydrogen Valley, Foshan, 528216, China
| | - Yongfang Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China
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10
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Pan J, Shi Y, Yu J, Zhang H, Liu Y, Zhang J, Gao F, Yu X, Lu K, Wei Z. π-Extended Nonfullerene Acceptors for Efficient Organic Solar Cells with a High Open-Circuit Voltage of 0.94 V and a Low Energy Loss of 0.49 eV. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:22531-22539. [PMID: 33955726 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c04273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
A combination of high open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current density (Jsc) typically creates effective organic solar cells (OSCs). Y5, a member of the Y-series acceptors, can achieve high Voc of 0.94 V with PM6 but low Jsc of 12.8 mA cm-2. To maintain the high Voc while increasing the Jsc of devices, we developed a new nonfullerene acceptor, namely, BTP-C2C4-N, by extending the conjugation of a Y5 molecule with a naphthalene-based end acceptor. In comparison with Y5-based devices, PM6:BTP-C2C4-N-based devices exhibited significantly higher Jsc of 18.2 mA cm-2 followed by a high Voc. To further increase the photovoltaic properties of BTP-C2C4-N analogues, BTP-C4C6-N and BTP-C6C8-N molecules with better processability and film morphology are obtained by adjusting the alkyl branched chain length. The optimized OSCs based on BTP-C4C6-N with a moderate alkyl branched chain length exhibited the best PCE of 12.4% with a high Voc of 0.94 V and Jsc of 20.7 mA cm-2. Notably, the devices achieved a low energy loss of 0.49 eV (0.51 eV for Y5 system) accompanied by a small nonradiative energy loss. The results indicate that nonfullerene acceptors with extended terminal motifs and optimized branched chain lengths can effectively enhance the performance of OSCs and reduce energy loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junxiu Pan
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nano System and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Yanan Shi
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nano System and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Jianwei Yu
- Department of Physics Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Hao Zhang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nano System and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Yanan Liu
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nano System and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Jianqi Zhang
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nano System and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Feng Gao
- Department of Physics Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Xi Yu
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
| | - Kun Lu
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nano System and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Zhixiang Wei
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Nano System and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
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11
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Sharma A, Singh R, Kini GP, Hyeon Kim J, Parashar M, Kim M, Kumar M, Kim JS, Lee JJ. Side-Chain Engineering of Diketopyrrolopyrrole-Based Hole-Transport Materials to Realize High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021; 13:7405-7415. [PMID: 33534549 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c17583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The design and synthesis of a stable and efficient hole-transport material (HTM) for perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are one of the most demanding research areas. At present, 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis[N,N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)amino]-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-MeOTAD) is a commonly used HTM in the fabrication of high-efficiency PSCs; however, its complicated synthesis, addition of a dopant in order to realize the best efficiency, and high cost are major challenges for the further development of PSCs. Herein, various diketopyrrolopyrrole-based small molecules were synthesized with the same backbone but distinct alkyl side-chain substituents (i.e., 2-ethylhexyl-, n-hexyl-, ((methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl-, and (2-((2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl)acetamide, designated as D-1, D-2, D-3, and D-4, respectively) as HTMs. The variation in the alkyl chain has shown obvious effects on the optical and electrochemical properties as well as on the molecular packing and film-forming ability. Consequently, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the PSC under one sun illumination (100 mW cm-2) is shown to increase in the order of D-1 (8.32%) < D-2 (11.12%) < D-3 (12.05%) < D-4 (17.64%). Various characterization techniques reveal that the superior performance of D-4 can be ascribed to the well-aligned highest occupied molecular orbital energy level with the counter electrode, the more compact π-π stacking with a higher coherence length, and the excellent hole mobility of 1.09 × 10-3 cm2 V-1 s-1, thus providing excellent energetics for effective charge transport with minimal charge-carrier recombination. Furthermore, the addition of the dopant Li-TFSI in D-4 is shown to deliver a remarkable PCE of 20.19%, along with a short-circuit current density (JSC), open-circuit voltage (VOC), and fill factor (FF) of 22.94 mA cm-2, 1.14 V, and 73.87%, respectively, and superior stability compared to that of other HTMs. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of side-chain engineering for tailoring the properties of HTMs, thus offering new design tactics to fabricate for the synthesis of highly efficient and stable HTMs for PSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amit Sharma
- Department of Chemistry, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
- Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO), Sector 30, Chandigarh 160030, India
| | - Ranbir Singh
- Department of Energy & Materials Engineering, Research Center for Photoenergy, Harvesting & Conversion Technology (phct), Dongguk University, Seoul 04620, Republic of Korea
| | - Gururaj P Kini
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji Hyeon Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Mritunjaya Parashar
- Department of Energy & Materials Engineering, Research Center for Photoenergy, Harvesting & Conversion Technology (phct), Dongguk University, Seoul 04620, Republic of Korea
| | - Min Kim
- School of Chemical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 567, Baekje-daero, Jeonju 54896, Republic of Korea
| | - Manish Kumar
- Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, Pohang University of Science & Technology, Pohang 790-784, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong Seung Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Joon Lee
- Department of Energy & Materials Engineering, Research Center for Photoenergy, Harvesting & Conversion Technology (phct), Dongguk University, Seoul 04620, Republic of Korea
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12
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Richtar J, Ivanova L, Whang DR, Yumusak C, Wielend D, Weiter M, Scharber MC, Kovalenko A, Sariciftci NS, Krajcovic J. Tunable Properties of Nature-Inspired N, N'-Alkylated Riboflavin Semiconductors. Molecules 2020; 26:E27. [PMID: 33374613 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26010027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A series of novel soluble nature-inspired flavin derivatives substituted with short butyl and bulky ethyl-adamantyl alkyl groups was prepared via simple and straightforward synthetic approach with moderate to good yields. The comprehensive characterization of the materials, to assess their application potential, has demonstrated that the modification of the conjugated flavin core enables delicate tuning of the absorption and emission properties, optical bandgap, frontier molecular orbital energies, melting points, and thermal stability. Moreover, the thin films prepared thereof exhibit smooth and homogeneous morphology with generally high stability over time.
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13
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Piradi V, Zhang G, Li T, Zhang M, Peng Q, Zhan X, Zhu X. Side-Chain Engineering of Benzodithiophene-Bridged Dimeric Porphyrin Donors for All-Small-Molecule Organic Solar Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020; 12:41506-41514. [PMID: 32812417 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c11410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Two new A-D-A small-molecule donors (C8T-BDTDP and C8ST-BDTDP) are prepared from benzodithiophene (BDT)-linked dimeric porphyrin (DP), which differ in side chains of BDT linkers with 4,8-bis[5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (C8T-BDT) for the former and 4,8-bis{5-[(2-ethylhexyl)thio]-2-thienyl}benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene (C8ST-BDT) for the latter. Both dimeric porphyrin donors show strongly UV-visible to near-infrared absorption. Compared to C8T-BDTDP, C8ST-BDTDP with an alkylthiothienyl-substituted BDT linker exhibits more intense absorption bands in the film and a lower highest occupied molecular orbital energy level. The blend film of the electron acceptor 6TIC with the respective dimeric porphyrin donor displays a broad photon response from 400 to 900 nm, unfortunately, with an absorption valley at ca. 600 nm. The device based on C8ST-BDTDP/6TIC demonstrates a promising power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.39% with a high short-circuit current density (JSC) of 19.53 mA cm-2, whereas the device based on C8T-BDTDP/6TIC shows a slightly lower PCE of 8.73% with a JSC of 17.75 mA cm-2. The better performance for C8ST-BDTDP/6TIC is mainly attributed to efficient charge dissociation and transportation because of the smooth surface morphology and highly ordered crystalline packing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venkatesh Piradi
- Department of Chemistry and Institute of Advanced Materials, Hong Kong Baptist University, Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Guangjun Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan, China
| | - Tengfei Li
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Ming Zhang
- Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules and In Situ Center for Physical Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Qiang Peng
- Department of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610000, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiaowei Zhan
- Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xunjin Zhu
- Department of Chemistry and Institute of Advanced Materials, Hong Kong Baptist University, Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China
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14
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He X, Yang Y, Wu H, He G, Xu Z, Kong Y, Cao L, Shi B, Zhang Z, Tongsh C, Jiao K, Zhu K, Jiang Z. De Novo Design of Covalent Organic Framework Membranes toward Ultrafast Anion Transport. Adv Mater 2020; 32:e2001284. [PMID: 32715516 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202001284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The emergence of all-organic frameworks is of fundamental significance, and designing such structures for anion conduction holds great promise in energy conversion and storage applications. Herein, inspired by the efficient anion transport within organisms, a de novo design of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) toward ultrafast anion transport is demonstrated. A phase-transfer polymerization process is developed to acquire dense and ordered alignment of quaternary ammonium-functionalized side chains along the channels within the frameworks. The resultant self-standing COFs membranes exhibit one of the highest hydroxide conductivities (212 mS cm-1 at 80 °C) among the reported anion exchange membranes. Meanwhile, it is found that shorter, more hydrophilic side chains are favorable for anion conduction. The present work highlights the prospects of all-organic framework materials as the platform building blocks in designing ion exchange membranes and ion sieving membranes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueyi He
- Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Yi Yang
- College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Hong Wu
- Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Guangwei He
- Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Zhongxing Xu
- Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Yan Kong
- Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Li Cao
- Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Benbing Shi
- Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Zhenjie Zhang
- College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China
| | - Chasen Tongsh
- State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Kui Jiao
- State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Kongying Zhu
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Test Center, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
| | - Zhongyi Jiang
- Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China
- Joint School of National University of Singapore and Tianjin University, International Campus of Tianjin University, Binhai New City, Fuzhou, 350207, China
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15
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Qiu B, Chen Z, Qin S, Yao J, Huang W, Meng L, Zhu H, Yang YM, Zhang ZG, Li Y. Highly Efficient All-Small-Molecule Organic Solar Cells with Appropriate Active Layer Morphology by Side Chain Engineering of Donor Molecules and Thermal Annealing. Adv Mater 2020; 32:e1908373. [PMID: 32270545 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201908373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2019] [Revised: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
It is very important to fine-tune the nanoscale morphology of donor:acceptor blend active layers for improving the photovoltaic performance of all-small-molecule organic solar cells (SM-OSCs). In this work, two new small molecule donor materials are synthesized with different substituents on their thiophene conjugated side chains, including SM1-S with alkylthio and SM1-F with fluorine and alkyl substituents, and the previously reported donor molecule SM1 with an alkyl substituent, for investigating the effect of different conjugated side chains on the molecular aggregation and the photophysical, and photovoltaic properties of the donor molecules. As a result, an SM1-F-based SM-OSC with Y6 as the acceptor, and with thermal annealing (TA) at 120 °C for 10 min, demonstrates the highest power conversion efficiency value of 14.07%, which is one of the best values for SM-OSCs reported so far. Besides, these results also reveal that different side chains of the small molecules can distinctly influence the crystallinity characteristics and aggregation features, and TA treatment can effectively fine-tune the phase separation to form suitable donor-acceptor interpenetrating networks, which is beneficial for exciton dissociation and charge transportation, leading to highly efficient photovoltaic performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beibei Qiu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Zeng Chen
- Center for Chemistry of High-Performance & Novel Materials, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Shucheng Qin
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Jia Yao
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Wenchao Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia
| | - Lei Meng
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Haiming Zhu
- Center for Chemistry of High-Performance & Novel Materials, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Yang Michael Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Modern Optical Instrumentation, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Zhi-Guo Zhang
- College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Yongfang Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
- School of Chemical Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Laboratory of Advanced Optoelectronic Materials, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China
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16
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Schmode P, Savva A, Kahl R, Ohayon D, Meichsner F, Dolynchuk O, Thurn-Albrecht T, Inal S, Thelakkat M. The Key Role of Side Chain Linkage in Structure Formation and Mixed Conduction of Ethylene Glycol Substituted Polythiophenes. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020; 12:13029-13039. [PMID: 32066232 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b21604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Functionalizing conjugated polymers with polar ethylene glycol side chains enables enhanced swelling and facilitates ion transport in addition to electronic transport in such systems. Here, we investigate three polythiophene homopolymers (P3MEET, P3MEEMT, and P3MEEET) having differently linked (without spacer and with methyl and ethyl spacer, respectively) diethylene glycol side chains. All the polymers were tested in organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). They show drastic differences in the device performance. The highest μOECT C* product of 11.5 F/cm·V·s was obtained for ethyl-spaced P3MEEET. How the injection and transport of ions is influenced by the side-chain linkage was studied with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, which shows a dramatic increase in volumetric capacitance from 80 ± 9 up to 242 ± 17 F/cm3 on going from P3MEET to P3MEEET. Thus, ethyl-spaced P3MEEET exhibits one of the highest reported volumetric capacitance values among p-type polymers. Moreover, P3MEEET exhibits in dry thin films an organic field-effect transistor (OFET) hole mobility of 0.005 cm2/V·s, highest among the three, which is one order of magnitude higher than that for P3MEEMT. The extracted hole mobility from OECT (oxidized swollen state) and the hole mobility in solid-state thin films (OFET) show contradictory trends for P3MEEMT and P3MEEET. In order to understand exactly the properties in the hydrated and dry states, the crystal structure of the polymers was investigated with wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and grazing incidence WAXS, and the water uptake under applied potential was monitored using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (E-QCMD). These measurements reveal an amorphous state for P3MEET and a semicrystalline state for P3MEEMT and P3MEEEET. On the other hand, E-QCMD confirms that P3MEEET swells 10 times more than P3MEEMT in the oxidized state. Thus, the importance of the ethyl spacer toward crystallinity and mixed-conduction properties was clearly demonstrated, emphasizing the impact of side chain linkage of diethylene glycol. This detailed study offers a better understanding of how to design high-performance organic mixed conductors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Schmode
- Applied Functional Polymers, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Achilleas Savva
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Robert Kahl
- Experimental Polymer Physics Group, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Danckelmann-Platz 3, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - David Ohayon
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Florian Meichsner
- Applied Functional Polymers, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Oleksandr Dolynchuk
- Experimental Polymer Physics Group, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Danckelmann-Platz 3, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Thomas Thurn-Albrecht
- Experimental Polymer Physics Group, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Von-Danckelmann-Platz 3, 06120 Halle, Germany
| | - Sahika Inal
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mukundan Thelakkat
- Applied Functional Polymers, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Bavarian Polymer Institute, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
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17
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Löhrer FC, Körstgens V, Semino G, Schwartzkopf M, Hinz A, Polonskyi O, Strunskus T, Faupel F, Roth SV, Müller-Buschbaum P. Following in Situ the Deposition of Gold Electrodes on Low Band Gap Polymer Films. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2020; 12:1132-1141. [PMID: 31829550 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b17590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Metal top electrodes such as gold are widely used in organic solar cells. The active layer can be optimized by modifications of the polymer band gap via side-chain engineering, and low band gap polymers based on benzodithiophene units such as PTB7 and PTB7-Th are successfully used. The growth of gold contacts on PTB7 and PTB7-Th films is investigated with in situ grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) and grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) during the sputter deposition of gold. From GIWAXS, the crystal structure of the gold film is determined. Independent of the type of side chain, gold crystals form in the very early stages and improve in quality during the sputter deposition until the late stages. From GISAXS, the nanoscale structure is determined. Differences in terms of gold cluster size and growth phase limits for the two polymers are caused by the side-chain modification and result in a different surface coverage in the early phases. The changes in the diffusion and coalescence behavior of the forming gold nanoparticles cause differences in the morphology of the gold contact in the fully percolated regime, which is attributed to the different amount of thiophene rings of the side chains acting as nucleation sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska C Löhrer
- Physik-Department, Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien , Technische Universität München , James-Franck-Str. 1 , 85748 Garching , Germany
| | - Volker Körstgens
- Physik-Department, Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien , Technische Universität München , James-Franck-Str. 1 , 85748 Garching , Germany
| | - Gabriele Semino
- Physik-Department, Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien , Technische Universität München , James-Franck-Str. 1 , 85748 Garching , Germany
| | | | - Alexander Hinz
- Institut für Materialwissenschaft, Lehrstuhl für Materialverbunde , Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel , Kaiserstraße 2 , 24143 Kiel , Germany
| | - Oleksandr Polonskyi
- Institut für Materialwissenschaft, Lehrstuhl für Materialverbunde , Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel , Kaiserstraße 2 , 24143 Kiel , Germany
| | - Thomas Strunskus
- Institut für Materialwissenschaft, Lehrstuhl für Materialverbunde , Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel , Kaiserstraße 2 , 24143 Kiel , Germany
| | - Franz Faupel
- Institut für Materialwissenschaft, Lehrstuhl für Materialverbunde , Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel , Kaiserstraße 2 , 24143 Kiel , Germany
| | - Stephan V Roth
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) , Notkestrasse 85 , 22607 Hamburg , Germany
- Department of Fiber and Polymer Technology , KTH Royal Institute of Technology , Teknikringen 56-58 , 10044 Stockholm , Sweden
| | - Peter Müller-Buschbaum
- Physik-Department, Lehrstuhl für Funktionelle Materialien , Technische Universität München , James-Franck-Str. 1 , 85748 Garching , Germany
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Zentrum , Lichtenbergstr. 1 , 85748 Garching , Germany
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18
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Tu B, Wang Y, Chen W, Liu B, Feng X, Zhu Y, Yang K, Zhang Z, Shi Y, Guo X, Li HF, Tang Z, Djurišić AB, He Z. Side-Chain Engineering of Donor-Acceptor Conjugated Small Molecules As Dopant-Free Hole-Transport Materials for Efficient Normal Planar Perovskite Solar Cells. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019; 11:48556-48563. [PMID: 31786921 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b17386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Simultaneously improving efficiency and stability, which are particularly crucial factors for the commercialization of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), remains a major challenge. For high-efficiency normal PSCs, the development of stable dopant-free hole-transport materials (HTMs) seems imperative. Here, we developed potential donor-acceptor small molecules (BTTI) as HTMs for normal planar PSCs. Through tailoring its alkyl side-chain length as BTTI-C6, BTTI-C8, and BTTI-C12, our results show that upon shortening the side chain of BTTI, the hole mobility, film-forming capability, and resultant device performance were remarkably improved, with the device conversion efficiencies of 19.69% for BTTI-C6, 18.89% for BTTI-C8, and 17.49% for BTTI-C12. Meanwhile, compared to those made with the routine doped Spiro-OMeTAD, devices based on our dopant-free HTMs exhibited significantly improved stability. This work paves the way to the development of effective dopant-free HTMs for high-performance PSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bao Tu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
- Joint Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering , University of Macau , Avenida da Universidade , Taipa , Macau SAR 999078 , China
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
- Department of Physics , University of Hong Kong , Pokfulam , Hong Kong SAR 999077 , China
| | - Bin Liu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
| | - Xiyuan Feng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
- Joint Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering , University of Macau , Avenida da Universidade , Taipa , Macau SAR 999078 , China
| | - Yudong Zhu
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
- Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering , Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay , Kowloon , Hong Kong SAR 999077 , China
| | - Kun Yang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
| | - Zheng Zhang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
| | - Yongqiang Shi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
| | - Xugang Guo
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
| | - Hai-Feng Li
- Joint Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering , University of Macau , Avenida da Universidade , Taipa , Macau SAR 999078 , China
| | - Zikang Tang
- Joint Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering , University of Macau , Avenida da Universidade , Taipa , Macau SAR 999078 , China
| | - Aleksandra B Djurišić
- Department of Physics , University of Hong Kong , Pokfulam , Hong Kong SAR 999077 , China
| | - Zhubing He
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Full Spectral Solar Electricity Generation (FSSEG) , Southern University of Science and Technology , No. 1088, Xueyuan Rd. , Shenzhen 518055 , Guangdong , China
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19
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Liu F, Zhang J, Wang Y, Chen S, Zhou Z, Yang C, Gao F, Zhu X. Modulating Structure Ordering via Side-Chain Engineering of Thieno[3,4- b]thiophene-Based Electron Acceptors for Efficient Organic Solar Cells with Reduced Energy Losses. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019; 11:35193-35200. [PMID: 31405275 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b10641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Nonfullerene-based organic solar cells (OSCs) have made a huge breakthrough in the recent years. Introducing a proper side chain on the π-conjugated backbone plays a vital role for further improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of OSCs due to easy tuning of the physical properties of the molecule such as absorption, energetic level, solid-state stacking, and charge transportation. More importantly, the side chain significantly affected the blend film's morphology and thus determined the PCEs of the devices. In this work, two low-band-gap nonfullerene acceptors, ATT-4 and ATT-5, with an alkyl or branched alkyl substitute on indacenodithiophene (IDT) and thieno[3,4-b]thiophene (TbT) backbone were synthesized for investigating the effect of the substituent on the performance of the nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs). In comparison to ATT-1 with p-hexylphenyl-substituted IDT and n-octyl-substituted TbT moieties, ATT-4 and ATT-5 exhibit better crystallinity with shorter interchain distance and ordered molecular structure in neat and the corresponding blend films. The tailored ATT-5 exhibits a high PCE of 12.36% with a Voc of 0.93 V, Jsc of 18.86 mA cm-2, and fill factor (FF) of 0.71, blending with a wide-band-gap polymer donor PBDB-T. Remarkably, although ATT-4 and ATT-5 exhibit broader light absorption, the devices obtained higher Voc than that of ATT-1 mainly due to the reduced nonradiative recombination in the blend films. These results implied that side-chain engineering is an efficient approach to regulate the electronic structure and molecular packing of NFAs, which can well match with polymer donor, and obtain high PCEs of the OSCs with improved Voc, Jsc, and FF, simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Liu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190 , China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Jianyun Zhang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190 , China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Yuming Wang
- Department of Physics Chemistry and Biology (IFM) , Linköping University , Linköping SE-581 83 , Sweden
| | - Shanshan Chen
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Low Dimensional Carbon Material Center , Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology , Ulsan 689-798 , South-Korea
| | - Zichun Zhou
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190 , China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
| | - Changduk Yang
- Department of Energy Engineering, School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Low Dimensional Carbon Material Center , Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology , Ulsan 689-798 , South-Korea
| | - Feng Gao
- Department of Physics Chemistry and Biology (IFM) , Linköping University , Linköping SE-581 83 , Sweden
| | - Xiaozhang Zhu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190 , China
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100049 , China
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20
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Guo Y, Liu Y, Zhu Q, Li C, Jin Y, Puttisong Y, Chen W, Liu F, Zhang F, Ma W, Li W. Effect of Side Groups on the Photovoltaic Performance Based on Porphyrin-Perylene Bisimide Electron Acceptors. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2018; 10:32454-32461. [PMID: 30168315 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b10955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we developed four porphyrin-based small molecular electron acceptors for non-fullerene organic solar cells, in which different side groups attached to the porphyrin core were selected in order to achieve optimized performance. The molecules contain porphyrin as the core, perylene bisimides as end groups, and the ethynyl unit as the linker. Four side groups, from 2,6-di(dodecyloxy)phenyl to (2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl, pentadecan-7-yl, and 3,5-di(dodecyloxy)phenyl unit, were applied into the electron acceptors. The new molecules exhibit broad absorption spectra from 300 to 900 nm and high molar extinction coefficients. The molecules as electron acceptors were applied into organic solar cells, showing increased power conversion efficiencies from 1.84 to 5.34%. We employed several techniques, including photoluminescence spectra, electroluminescence spectra, atomic force microscopy, and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray to probe the blends to find the effects of the side groups on the photovoltaic properties. We found that the electron acceptors with 2,6-di(dodecyloxy)phenyl units show high-lying frontier energy levels, good crystalline properties, and low nonradiative recombination loss, resulting in possible large phase separation and low energy loss, which is responsible for the low performance. Our results provide a detailed study about the side groups of non-fullerene materials, demonstrating that porphyrin can be used to design electron acceptors toward near-infrared absorption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiting Guo
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 10090 , China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 10049 , People's Republic of China
| | - Yanfeng Liu
- Biomolecular and Organic Electronics, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology , Linköping University , SE-581 83 Linköping , Sweden
| | - Qinglian Zhu
- State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials , Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an 710049 , P. R. China
| | - Cheng Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 10090 , China
| | - Yingzhi Jin
- Biomolecular and Organic Electronics, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology , Linköping University , SE-581 83 Linköping , Sweden
| | - Yuttapoom Puttisong
- Biomolecular and Organic Electronics, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology , Linköping University , SE-581 83 Linköping , Sweden
| | - Weimin Chen
- Biomolecular and Organic Electronics, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology , Linköping University , SE-581 83 Linköping , Sweden
| | - Feng Liu
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Science , Hebei University , Baoding 071002 , People's Republic of China
| | - Fengling Zhang
- Biomolecular and Organic Electronics, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology , Linköping University , SE-581 83 Linköping , Sweden
| | - Wei Ma
- State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials , Xi'an Jiaotong University , Xi'an 710049 , P. R. China
| | - Weiwei Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 10090 , China
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21
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Raithel D, Simine L, Pickel S, Schötz K, Panzer F, Baderschneider S, Schiefer D, Lohwasser R, Köhler J, Thelakkat M, Sommer M, Köhler A, Rossky PJ, Hildner R. Direct observation of backbone planarization via side-chain alignment in single bulky-substituted polythiophenes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:2699-2704. [PMID: 29483262 PMCID: PMC5856543 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1719303115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The backbone conformation of conjugated polymers affects, to a large extent, their optical and electronic properties. The usually flexible substituents provide solubility and influence the packing behavior of conjugated polymers in films or in bad solvents. However, the role of the side chains in determining and potentially controlling the backbone conformation, and thus the optical and electronic properties on the single polymer level, is currently under debate. Here, we investigate directly the impact of the side chains by studying the bulky-substituted poly(3-(2,5-dioctylphenyl)thiophene) (PDOPT) and the common poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), both with a defined molecular weight and high regioregularity, using low-temperature single-chain photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and quantum-classical simulations. Surprisingly, the optical transition energy of PDOPT is significantly (∼2,000 cm-1 or 0.25 eV) red-shifted relative to P3HT despite a higher static and dynamic disorder in the former. We ascribe this red shift to a side-chain induced backbone planarization in PDOPT, supported by temperature-dependent ensemble PL spectroscopy. Our atomistic simulations reveal that the bulkier 2,5-dioctylphenyl side chains of PDOPT adopt a clear secondary helical structural motif and thus protect conjugation, i.e., enforce backbone planarity, whereas, for P3HT, this is not the case. These different degrees of planarity in both thiophenes do not result in different conjugation lengths, which we found to be similar. It is rather the stronger electronic coupling between the repeating units in the more planar PDOPT which gives rise to the observed spectral red shift as well as to a reduced calculated electron-hole polarization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Raithel
- Experimental Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Lena Simine
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005
| | - Sebastian Pickel
- Experimental Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Konstantin Schötz
- Experimental Physics II, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Fabian Panzer
- Experimental Physics II, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | | | - Daniel Schiefer
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ruth Lohwasser
- Applied Functional Polymers, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Jürgen Köhler
- Experimental Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Mukundan Thelakkat
- Applied Functional Polymers, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Michael Sommer
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Anna Köhler
- Experimental Physics II, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Peter J Rossky
- Department of Chemistry, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005
| | - Richard Hildner
- Experimental Physics IV, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany;
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22
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Gumyusenge A, Zhao X, Zhao Y, Mei J. Attaining Melt Processing of Complementary Semiconducting Polymer Blends at 130 °C via Side-Chain Engineering. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2018; 10:4904-4909. [PMID: 29338181 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b19847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Complementary semiconducting polymer blends (c-SPBs) have been proposed and tested to achieve melt-processed high-performance organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Prior to this study, melt processing requires temperatures as high as 180 °C. To implement this technique into low-cost and large-area thin-film manufacturing for flexible organic electronics, semiconducting materials meltable at temperatures tolerable by ubiquitous plastic substrates are still needed. We report here the design and melt processing of a c-SPB consisting of a matrix polymer (DPP-C5) and its fully conjugated analogue. By utilizing a siloxane-terminated alkyl chain and a branched alkyl chain as solubilizing groups, the matrix polymer DPP-C5 presents a melting temperature of 115 °C. The resulting c-SPB containing as low as 5% of the fully conjugated polymer could be melt-processed at 130 °C. The obtained OFET devices exhibit hole mobility approaching 1.0 cm2/(V s), threshold voltages below 5 V, and ION/IOFF around 105. This combination of efficient charge-carrier transport and considerably low processing temperatures bode well for melt processing of semiconducting polymer-based organic electronics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aristide Gumyusenge
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University , 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Xikang Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University , 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Yan Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University , 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Jianguo Mei
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University , 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
- Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University , 1205 W State Street, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906, United States
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23
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Lee MH, Kim J, Kang M, Kim J, Kang B, Hwang H, Cho K, Kim DY. Precise Side-Chain Engineering of Thienylenevinylene-Benzotriazole-Based Conjugated Polymers with Coplanar Backbone for Organic Field Effect Transistors and CMOS-like Inverters. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2017; 9:2758-2766. [PMID: 28004581 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b14701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Two donor-acceptor (D-A) alternating conjugated polymers based on thienylenevinylene-benzotriazole (TV-BTz), PTV6B with a linear side chain and PTVEhB with a branched side chain, were synthesized and characterized for organic field effect transistors (OFETs) and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS)-like inverters. According to density functional theory (DFT), polymers based on TV-BTz exhibit a coplanar and rigid structure with no significant twists, which could cause to an increase in charge-carrier mobility in OFETs. Alternating alkyl side chains of the polymers impacted neither the band gap nor the energy level. However, it significantly affected the morphology and crystallinity when the polymer films were thermally annealed. To investigate the effect of thermal annealing on the morphology and crystallinity, we characterized the polymer films using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and 2D-grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (2D-GIWAXD). Fibrillary morphologies with larger domains and increased crystallinity were observed in the polymer films after thermal annealing. These polymers exhibited improved charge-carrier mobilities in annealed films at 200 °C and demonstrated optimal OFET device performance with p-type transport characteristics with charge-carrier mobilities of 1.51 cm2/(V s) (PTV6B) and 2.58 cm2/(V s) (PTVEhB). Furthermore, CMOS-like inorganic (ZnO)-organic (PTVEhB) hybrid bilayer inverter showed that the inverting voltage (Vinv) was positioned near the ideal switching point at half (1/2) of supplied voltage (VDD) due to fairly balanced p- and n-channels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min-Hye Lee
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology , 123, Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
| | - Juhwan Kim
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Irvine , Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | - Minji Kang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology , 123, Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
| | - Jihong Kim
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology , 123, Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
| | - Boseok Kang
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Center for Advanced Soft Electronics, Pohang University of Science and Technology , 77, Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Hansu Hwang
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology , 123, Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
| | - Kilwon Cho
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Center for Advanced Soft Electronics, Pohang University of Science and Technology , 77, Cheongam-ro, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 37673, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong-Yu Kim
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology , 123, Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
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24
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Lee C, Kang H, Lee W, Kim T, Kim KH, Woo HY, Wang C, Kim BJ. High-performance all-polymer solar cells via side-chain engineering of the polymer acceptor: the importance of the polymer packing structure and the nanoscale blend morphology. Adv Mater 2015; 27:2466-2471. [PMID: 25735644 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201405226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2014] [Revised: 01/23/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The effectiveness of side-chain engineering is demonstrated to produce highly efficient all-polymer solar cells (efficiency of 5.96%) using a series of naphthalene diimide-based polymer acceptors with controlled side chains. The dramatic changes in the polymer packing, blend morphology, and electron mobility of all-polymer solar cells elucidate clear trends in the photovoltaic performances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changyeon Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, 305-701, Republic of Korea
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25
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Zhou Y, Kurosawa T, Ma W, Guo Y, Fang L, Vandewal K, Diao Y, Wang C, Yan Q, Reinspach J, Mei J, Appleton AL, Koleilat GI, Gao Y, Mannsfeld SCB, Salleo A, Ade H, Zhao D, Bao Z. High performance all-polymer solar cell via polymer side-chain engineering. Adv Mater 2014; 26:3767-3772. [PMID: 24664632 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201306242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2013] [Revised: 02/18/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhou
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA
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