The device performance of organic polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells strongly depends on the interpenetrating network of the involved donor and acceptor materials in the active layer. Since morphology formation depends on the conditions of film preparation, the final morphology varies for different deposition methods. In order to understand and optimize industrial coating processes and, therefore, the performance of the solar cells produced, a deeper understanding of structure formation is important. In situ measurements of slot‐die printed polymer:fullerene active layers are presented that reveal insights into the evolution of the structure. Polymer crystallization and ordering is monitored by in situ grazing incidence wide angle X‐ray scattering (GIWAXS), and in situ grazing incidence small‐angle X‐ray scattering (GISAXS). The development of the morphology exhibits five stages independent of the drying conditions. Two growth rates are observed, an initial slow formation of poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) crystallites in well‐aligned edge‐on orientation followed by a rapid crystal growth. By combining the GIWAXS and GISAXS measurements, a five‐stage growth and assembly process is found and described in detail along with a proposed model of the structural evolution. The findings are an important step in tailoring the assembly process.

Highly stable poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT): phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) bulk heterojunction solar cells are fabricated by using an inverted geometry. The direct correlation between the morphology of the active layer and the device performance during continuous operation under illumination is revealed by in-operando grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) 10 and I-V measurements. Other than in devices with normal geometry, it is found that the P3HT:PCBM active layer shows a stable morphology during early operation times, which leads to an improved stability of the short circuit current and accordingly of the power conversion efficiency of the inverted solar cell. Furthermore, the inverted P3HT:PCBM solar cells are long-term stable without encapsulation if they are stored in ambient dark condition. It reveals that the power conversion efficiency preserves around 88% of 15 the initial value after more than 150 days.

Aggregates -that is short-ranged ordered moieties in the solid-state of p-conjugated polymers -play an important role in the photophysics and performance of various optoelectronic devices. We have previously shown that many polymers change from a disordered to a more ordered conformation when cooling a solution below a characteristic critical temperature T c . Using in situ time-resolved absorption spectroscopy on the prototypical semiconducting polymers P3HT, PFO, PCPDTBT, and PCE11 (PffBT4T-2OD), we show that spincoating at a temperature below T c can enhance the formation of aggregates with strong intra-chain coupling. An analysis of their time-resolved spectra indicates that the formation of nuclei in the initial stages of film formation for substrates held below T c seems responsible for this. We observe that the growth rate of the aggregates is thermally activated with an energy of 310 meV, which is much more than that of the solvent viscosity (100 meV). From this we conclude that the rate controlling step is the planarization of a chain that is associated with its attachment to a nucleation center. The success of our approach for the rather dynamic deposition method of spin-coating holds promise for other solution-based deposition methods.So far, however, only limited approaches have been reported to induce aggregate formation in a controlled fashion, including slow solidification in marginal solvents, 26-29 control of entanglements and sonication, 30-34 and blending 35 -many using poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) as model system and many relying on relatively time-consuming methodologies. Approaches to control the formation of aggregates during the solution deposition should ideally be based on considering thermodynamics of the solution as well as by taking the kinetics of film formation into account. 9 In particular with respect to the latter, several methods have been reported, such as varying the boiling point of the solvent, 9,21,36 varying Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article.

The degradation of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)− titania-based solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (ssDSSCs) is studied to better understand device aging mechanisms. The correlation of temporal evolution between P3HT crystallite structures and device performance is discussed for the first time using in situ measurements. For comparison, two types of mesoporous titania photoanodes with different pore sizes are prepared. Grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering is used in situ under continuous solar illumination to obtain information about the impact of pore size on P3HT crystalline order and on temporal evolution of the P3HT crystallites. The development of the photovoltaic characteristics is explored in parallel. The lattice constants, crystal sizes, and volume fraction of crystalline P3HT in the large-pore active layer remain stable over 30 min, while the volume fraction of crystalline P3HT decreases in the small-pore active layer. Thus, the pore size of titania photoanodes is important for the stability of P3HT−titania-based ssDSSCs.

Additives are frequently used to enhance material properties. The addition of the processing additive 5‐aminovaleric acid iodide (5‐AVAI) into printed mesoscopic perovskite solar cells is shown to have a strong impact on the device performance and stability. Although it is difficult to understand the impact of 5‐AVAI as a processing additive by examining only the final thin films, the evolution of morphology with and without 5‐AVAI reveals that 5‐AVAI influences the crystallization behavior of the perovskite. In situ grazing incidence wide angle X‐ray scattering (GIWAXS) is performed to follow the perovskite formation within the printable all‐porous TiO2/ZrO2/carbon architecture and investigate the influence of 5‐AVAI on the perovskite crystallization within the scaffold. Using such time‐resolved measurements, the suppression of large crystalline perovskite grains is identified early in the fabrication process when 5‐AVAI is present, resulting in improved material backfilling. These observations highlight the importance of 5‐AVAI in the precursor solution for reliable fabrication of printed perovskite solar cells relying on the infiltration of a scaffold structure.

Highly efficient poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) bulk heterojunction solar cells are achieved by using an inverted geometry. The development of the morphology is investigated as a function of the multilayer stack assembling during the inverted solar cell preparation. Atomic force microscopy is used to reveal the surface morphology of each stack, and the inner structure is probed with grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering. It is found that the smallest domain size of P3HT is introduced by replicating the fluorine-doped tin oxide structure underneath. The structure sizes of the P3HT:PCBM active layer are further optimized after thermal annealing. Compared to devices with standard geometry, the P3HT:PCBM layer in the inverted solar cells shows smaller domain sizes, which are much closer to the exciton diffusion length in the polymer. The decrease in domain sizes is identified as the main reason for the improvement of the device performance.

Titania nanoparticles are produced by laser ablation in liquid in order to initiate functionalization of titania with the polymer for the active layer. By combining these titania nanoparticles and water-soluble poly[3-(potassium-6-hexanoate)thiophene-2,5-diyl] (P3P6T) hybrid solar cells are realized.

We address the correlation between the crystalline state of photoactive materials in a model organic solar cell based on poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl):phenyl-C-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) and the photovoltage in an in-operando investigation. I-V curves are simultaneously measured together with grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering probing the crystalline state of the device active layer as a function of the operation time. The results show a high degree of correlation between open-circuit voltage V and the crystalline state of P3HT.