P3HT/PCBM bulk heterojunction solar cells: Relation between morphology and electro-optical characteristics

Vanlaeke, Peter; Swinnen, Ann; Haeldermans, I.; Vanhoyland, G.; Aernouts, Tom; Cheyns, David; Deibel, Carsten; D’Haen, Jan; Heremans, Paul; Poortmans, Jef; Manca, Jean

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2006.02.010

Cited by 355 publications

(261 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In the case of organic solar cells, several studies report an improvement in the FF with increasing mobilities, [1][2][3] however, these variations are usually concomitant with other significant variations, e.g., of the morphology. In addition, both the hole and electron mobilities usually change simultaneously, which obscures the fundamental relationship between the mobility and FF.…”

Section: Introduction a Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobility and fill factor correlation in geminate recombination limited solar cells

Andersson¹,

Müller²,

Badada³

et al. 2011

Journal of Applied Physics

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Empirical data for the fill factor as a function of charge carrier mobility for two different polymer:fullerene systems is presented and analyzed. The results indicate that charge extraction depth limitations and space charge effects are inconsistent with the observed behavior, and the decrease in the fill factor is, instead, attributed to the field-dependent charge separation and geminate recombination. A solar cell photocurrent limited by the Onsager-Braun charge transfer exciton dissociation is shown to be able to accommodate the experimental observations. Charge dissociation limited solar cells always benefit from increased mobilities, and the negative contribution from the reduced charge separation is shown to be much more important for the fill factor in these material systems than any adverse effects from charge carrier extraction depth limitations or space charge effects due to unbalanced mobilities. The logarithmic dependence of the fill factor on the mobility for such a process is also shown to imply that simply increasing the mobilities is an impractical way to reach very high fill factors under these conditions since unrealistically high mobilities are required. A more controlled morphology is, instead, argued to be necessary for high performance.

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Section: Introduction a Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobility and fill factor correlation in geminate recombination limited solar cells

Andersson¹,

Müller²,

Badada³

et al. 2011

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…A distinct peak at a 2θ value of 5.3˝was observed from the XRD profiles of both films. The peak at the 2θ value of 5.3˝is related to the ordering of P3HT chains along the (110) direction and corresponds to the spacing between the P3HT lamellae [22,23]. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the peak from the P3HT(CB-CN) film (0.44 Å) is narrower than that from the P3HT(CB) (0.49 Å), which implies that the domain size of the ordered P3HT in the P3HT(CB-CN) is larger than that of the P3HT(CB).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roughening Conjugated Polymer Surface for Enhancing the Charge Collection Efficiency of Sequentially Deposited Polymer/Fullerene Photovoltaics

et al. 2015

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A method that enables the formation of a rough nano-scale surface for conjugated polymers is developed through the utilization of a polymer chain ordering agent (OA). 1-Chloronaphthalene (1-CN) is used as the OA for the poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) layer. The addition of 1-CN to the P3HT solution improves the chain ordering of the P3HT during the film formation process and increases the surface roughness of the P3HT film compared to the film prepared without 1-CN. The roughened surface of the P3HT film is utilized to construct a P3HT/fullerene bilayer organic photovoltaic (OPV) by sequential solution deposition (SqSD) without thermal annealing process. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the SqSD-processed OPV utilizing roughened P3HT layer is 25% higher than that utilizing a plain P3HT layer. It is revealed that the roughened surface of the P3HT increases the heterojunction area at the P3HT/fullerene interface and this resulted in improved internal charge collection efficiency, as well as light absorption efficiency. This method proposes a novel way to improve the PCE of the SqSD-processed OPV, which can be applied for OPV utilizing low band gap polymers. In addition, this method allows for the reassessment of polymers, which have shown insufficient performance in the BSD process.

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“…This also occurred in the film produced with a higher loading of PCBM (1:4), which displayed an amorphous phase before annealing [89]. Despite prolonged heat treatment, trace amounts of the casting solvents could still be found in the active layer [90,91].…”

Section: Effects Of Thermal and Solvent Annealing On The Active-layermentioning

confidence: 90%

“…TEM diffraction patterns of P3HT:PCBM 1:2 blend before and after annealing. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier [89].…”

Section: Effects Of Thermal and Solvent Annealing On The Active-layermentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Approaches to Controlling the Nanoscale Morphology of Polymer-Based Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells

et al. 2013

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Abstract:The need for clean, inexpensive and renewable energy has increasingly turned research attention towards polymer photovoltaic cells. However, the performance efficiency of these devices is still low in comparison with silicon-based devices. The recent introduction of new materials and processing techniques has resulted in a remarkable increase in power-conversion efficiency, with a value above 10%. Controlling the interpenetrating network morphology is a key factor in obtaining devices with improved performance. This review focuses on the influence of controlled nanoscale morphology on the overall performance of bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic cells. Strategies such as the use of solvents, solvent annealing, polymer nanowires (NWs), and donor-acceptor (D-A) blend ratios employed to control the active-layer morphologies are all discussed.

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P3HT/PCBM bulk heterojunction solar cells: Relation between morphology and electro-optical characteristics

Cited by 355 publications

References 23 publications

Mobility and fill factor correlation in geminate recombination limited solar cells

Mobility and fill factor correlation in geminate recombination limited solar cells

Roughening Conjugated Polymer Surface for Enhancing the Charge Collection Efficiency of Sequentially Deposited Polymer/Fullerene Photovoltaics

Recent Approaches to Controlling the Nanoscale Morphology of Polymer-Based Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells

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