Charge-transfer (CT) states, bound combinations of an electron and a hole on separate molecules, play a crucial role in organic optoelectronic devices. We report direct nanoscale imaging of the transport of long-lived CT states in molecular organic donor-acceptor blends, which demonstrates that the bound electron-hole pairs that form the CT states move geminately over distances of 5-10 nm, driven by energetic disorder and diffusion to lower energy sites. Magnetic field dependence reveals a fluctuating exchange splitting, indicative of a variation in electron-hole spacing during diffusion. The results suggest that the electron-hole pair of the CT state undergoes a stretching transport mechanism analogous to an 'inchworm' motion, in contrast to conventional transport of Frenkel excitons. Given the short exciton lifetimes characteristic of bulk heterojunction organic solar cells, this work confirms the potential importance of CT state transport, suggesting that CT states are likely to diffuse farther than Frenkel excitons in many donor-acceptor blends.

Two-dimensional (2D) π-conjugated metal–organic frameworks (πMOFs) are a new class of designer electronic materials that are porous and tunable through the constituent organic molecules and choice of metal ions. Unlike typical MOFs, 2D πMOFs exhibit high conductivity mediated by delocalized π-electrons and have promising applications in a range of electrical devices as well as exotic physical properties. Here, we develop a growth method that generates single-crystal plates with lateral dimensions exceeding 10 μm, orders of magnitude bigger than previous methods. Synthesis of large single crystals eliminates a significant impediment to the fundamental characterization of the materials, allowing determination of the intrinsic conductivity and mobility along the 2D plane of πMOFs. A representative 2D πMOF, Ni-CAT-1, exhibits a conductivity of up to 2 S/cm, and Hall measurement reveals the origin of the high conductivity. Characterization of crystalline 2D πMOFs creates the foundation for developing electronic applications of this promising and highly diverse class of materials.

Large-scale production of high-quality tungsten disulfide (WS ) monolayers is a prerequisite for potential device applications using this promising transition metal dichalcogenide semiconductor. The most researched technique is chemical vapor deposition, typically involving the reaction of sulfur vapors with tungsten oxide. Other techniques such as physical vapor deposition have been explored with some success, but low vapor pressures make growth difficult. This study demonstrates a growth process that relies on halide-driven vapor transport commonly utilized in bulk crystal growth. Using a small amount of sodium chloride salt as a source of chlorine, nonvolatile WS can react to form gaseous tungsten chloride and sulfur. With an open tube system, a controlled reaction generates mono and few-layer WS crystals. Optical and physical characterization of the monolayer material shows good uniformity and triangular domains over 50 µm in length. Photoluminescence transient measurements show similar nonlinear exciton dynamics as exfoliated flakes, attributed to multiparticle physics. Requiring only the powder of the desired crystal and appropriate halide salt as precursors, the technique has the potential to realize other layered materials that are challenging to grow with current processes.

We report on defect densities, performance, and stability of organic/inorganic hybrid solar cells produced using n-doped inorganic amorphous silicon-carbide layers as the electron transport layer (ETL). The organic material was poly-3-hexyl-thiophene (P3HT) and heterojunction was formed using phenyl-C71-Butyric-Acid-Methyl Ester (PCBM). For comparison, inverted solar cells fabricated using Cs2CO3 as ETL were fabricated. Defect densities and subgap quantum efficiency curves were found to be nearly identical for both types of cells. The cells were subjected to 2xsun illumination and it was found that the cells produced using doped a-Si as ETL were much more stable than the cells produced using Cs2CO3.

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