High Charge‐Carrier Mobility of 2.5 cm2 V−1 s−1 from a Water‐Borne Colloid of a Polymeric Semiconductor via Smart Surfactant Engineering

Cho, Jangwhan; Cheon, Kwang Hee; Ahn, Hyungju; Park, Kwang Hun; Kwon, Soon‐Ki; Kim, Yun‐Hi; Chung, Dae Sung

doi:10.1002/adma.201503122

Cited by 35 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…5 and Note 2). Therefore, the cs-NP dispersion based on this CMC-switching strategy is expected to give films with highest possible purity, which we already have evidenced to be beneficial for the performance of optoelectronic devices 36 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Overcoming efficiency and stability limits in water-processing nanoparticular organic photovoltaics by minimizing microstructure defects

et al. 2018

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There is a strong market driven need for processing organic photovoltaics from eco-friendly solvents. Water-dispersed organic semiconducting nanoparticles (NPs) satisfy these premises convincingly. However, the necessity of surfactants, which are inevitable for stabilizing NPs, is a major obstacle towards realizing competitive power conversion efficiencies for water-processed devices. Here, we report on a concept for minimizing the adverse impact of surfactants on solar cell performance. A poloxamer facilitates the purification of organic semiconducting NPs through stripping excess surfactants from aqueous dispersion. The use of surfactant-stripped NPs based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) / non-fullerene acceptor leads to a device efficiency and stability comparable to the one from devices processed by halogenated solvents. A record efficiency of 7.5% is achieved for NP devices based on a low-band gap polymer system. This elegant approach opens an avenue that future organic photovoltaics processing may be indeed based on non-toxic water-based nanoparticle inks.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Overcoming efficiency and stability limits in water-processing nanoparticular organic photovoltaics by minimizing microstructure defects

et al. 2018

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“…Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis monitored the residual amount of SDS by quantitatively evaluating the asymmetric SO stretching of SDS located at 1185–1210 cm −1 (Figure S2, Supporting Information). Five times washing removed 82% of SDS and ten times washing removed 92% of SDS . We decided to carry on with five times washed NP dispersions as they showed superior stability for over 2 months (Figure S3, Supporting Information).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Encouraged by the findings for the 5x washed NPs we turned our attention to the NPs with further reduced SDS content. PDPP5T‐2:PC 71 BM‐bNP solar cells were optimized for a batch of NP containing only 8% SDS (as determined by FTIR, Figure S2, Supporting Information) to minimize the impact of the insulating surfactant on charge transport . 10x washed dispersions showed colloidal stability of few days without sedimentation, which was sufficient for device processing.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overcoming Microstructural Limitations in Water Processed Organic Solar Cells by Engineering Customized Nanoparticulate Inks

Xie

Classen

Späth

et al. 2018

Advanced Energy Materials

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The application of conjugated polymer and fullerene water‐based nanoparticles (NP) as ecofriendly inks for organic photovoltaics (OPVs) is reported. A low bandgap polymer diketopyrrolopyrrole–quinquethiophene (PDPP5T‐2) and the methanofullerene PC71BM are processed into three types of nanoparticles: pristine fullerene NPs, pristine polymer NPs, and mixed polymer:fullerene NPs, allowing the formation of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) composites with different domain sizes. Mild thermal annealing is required to melt the nanospheres and enable the formation of interconnected pathways within mixed phases. This BHJ is accompanied by a shrinkage of film, whereas the more compact layers show enhanced mobility. Consistently reduced recombination and better performance are found for mixed NP, containing both, the polymer and the fullerene within a single NP. The optimized solar cell processed by ultrasmall NPs delivers a power conversion efficiency of about 3.4%. This is among the highest values reported for aqueous processed OPVs but still lacks performance compared to those being processed from halogenated solvents. Incomplete crystallization is identified as the main root for reduced efficiency. It is nevertheless believed that postprocessing does not cut attraction from printing aqueous organic NP inks as a trendsetting strategy for the reliable and ecofriendly production of organic solar cells.

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“…As af inal challenge, charge-separationc haracterization was performed by measuring photocurrent devicesw ith an annealed P3HT:PEG-C60 NPs active layer.B efore performing the experiments, we examined P3HT:PC 61 BM NPs prepared using SDS and decaethylene glycol hexadecyl ether (C 16 E 10 )s urfactants for systematic comparison with our resultsS DS and C 16 E 10 are representative ionic and nonionic surfactants, [6][7][8][9]37] respectively,f or water-borne organic semiconductor NPs, and their chemical structures are shown in Figure 15 a. Upon synthesizing the colloidsu nder the same conditions as the P3HT:PEG-C60 NPs (P3HT:0 .5 mg mL À1 ,P C 61 BM:2 0mgmL À1 , surfactant:2 0mgp er 8mL; we refer to this as the "L-concentration"i nt his section), they did not form perfect water beads, which is confirmed in the enlarged images of the bottom of vials and the TEM images of the colloidal solutions ( Figure 15 b and c).…”

Section: Effects Of Co-solvents On P3ht:peg-c60 Npsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unique p–n Heterostructured Water‐Borne Nanoparticles Exhibiting Impressive Charge‐Separation Ability

Kim

Lee

2018

ChemSusChem

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The ecofriendly synthesis of organic semiconductors with heterojunctions is of interest and requires surfactants to stabilize colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) in aqueous solution. The use of conventional surfactants results in p-n heterostructured NPs, in which both p- and n-type semiconductors are phase separated and confined within a core surrounded by the surfactant shell. The performances of these devices, however, are not comparable to those of solid organic semiconductor films. Further efforts are required to understand and control the morphological structure of the nanoparticles to improve their performances. Here, by using a new class of polyethyleneglycol-based surfactant, PEG-C60, we synthesized unique p-n heterostructured water-borne NPs that comprise a p-type semiconductor core and an n-type PEG-C60 shell. We demonstrate that the morphology gives rise to charge separation superior to conventional water-borne NPs. These PEG-C60-based water-borne NPs can, thus, provide a new paradigm in the current field of water-based organic semiconductor colloids.

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High Charge‐Carrier Mobility of 2.5 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ from a Water‐Borne Colloid of a Polymeric Semiconductor via Smart Surfactant Engineering

Cited by 35 publications

References 19 publications

Overcoming efficiency and stability limits in water-processing nanoparticular organic photovoltaics by minimizing microstructure defects

Overcoming efficiency and stability limits in water-processing nanoparticular organic photovoltaics by minimizing microstructure defects

Overcoming Microstructural Limitations in Water Processed Organic Solar Cells by Engineering Customized Nanoparticulate Inks

Unique p–n Heterostructured Water‐Borne Nanoparticles Exhibiting Impressive Charge‐Separation Ability

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