Small- and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering Characterization of Bulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells with Different Fullerene Derivatives

Huang, Yu‐Ching; Tsao, Cheng‐Si; Chuang, Chih-Min; Lee, Chia-Hsin; Hsu, Fan-Hsuan; Cha, Hou‐Chin; Chen, Charn-Ying; Lin, Tsung-Han; Su, Chun‐Jen; Jeng, U‐Ser; Su, Wei‐Fang

doi:10.1021/jp210140j

Cited by 64 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…P3HT is among the most studied model systems of conjugated polymers. It is extensively studied as a homopolymer and in blends with electron acceptor materials such as the fullerene derivative [6,6]‐phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) . Today, the active layer material P3HT:PCBM is still among the most frequently studied materials in OPV, although other combinations of conjugated polymers and electron acceptor materials have shown much higher solar cell efficiencies .…”

Section: Probing the Active Layer Morphology With Giwaxsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the crystal structure of P3HT is well‐known and revisited in many studies, which include pure P3HT homopolymer as a reference system . Typically, it is important if the polymer consists of repeat units which are derived from a random isomer of the monomer (regiorandom) or of the same isomer (regioregular).…”

Section: Probing the Active Layer Morphology With Giwaxsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Active Layer Morphology of Organic Solar Cells Probed with Grazing Incidence Scattering Techniques

2014

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Grazing incidence X-ray scattering (GIXS) provides unique insights into the morphology of active materials and thin film layers used in organic photovoltaic devices. With grazing incidence wide angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) the molecular arrangement of the material is probed. GIWAXS is sensitive to the crystalline parts and allows for the determination of the crystal structure and the orientation of the crystalline regions with respect to the electrodes. With grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) the nano-scale structure inside the films is probed. As GISAXS is sensitive to length scales from nanometers to several hundred nanometers, all relevant length scales of organic solar cells are detectable. After an introduction to GISAXS and GIWAXS, selected examples for application of both techniques to active layer materials are reviewed. The particular focus is on conjugated polymers, such as poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT).

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Section: Probing the Active Layer Morphology With Giwaxsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Probing the Active Layer Morphology With Giwaxsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Active Layer Morphology of Organic Solar Cells Probed with Grazing Incidence Scattering Techniques

2014

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“…By fitting the GISAXS plots using a combination of the Debye–Anderson–Brumberger equation (DAB model) and the polydisperse spheres having Schultz size distribution with the hard‐sphere interaction between the PCBM clusters, detailed structural information can be deduced, as shown in Figure f. In a following study, Su and co‐workers further studied the system of P3HT/PCBM, and found that partial attachment between the PCBM clusters has a negative effect on the charge transport, leading to a reduction of the device performance.…”

Section: Characterizing the Lateral Phase Separation In Bhj Thin Filmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphology Characterization of Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

et al. 2018

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Revealing the nanostructure of bulk‐heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic blends is a critical task in the field of organic photovoltaics. The complicated morphology, ranging from binary blends to ternary mixtures, shows quite varied structural details that need to be fully characterized in terms of correlating them with device performance. The nonequilibrium nature of the BHJ thin‐film morphology makes the structure optimization difficult, and fundamental principles that relate to chemical structure, processing methods, and device performances have not yet been fully understood. On the other hand, various high‐powered techniques ranging from in‐house instrumentation to synchrotron techniques have been applied to this tremendously difficult research topic. More structural details, including length scale of phase separation, structural ordering, chain/molecular orientation, surface topology, etc., can be obtained in a quantitative manner, which finally allows the structure–property relationships to be determined. Here, the most important characterization techniques in understanding the morphology of BHJ solar cells are summarized, targeting chemists and materials scientists.

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“…6 The P3HT:60PCBM blend exhibits one of the most robust microstructures within OPV. [7][8][9] However, it has a limited open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Jsc) in photovoltaic devices. 10 We have recently shown that solar cells using an alternative small molecule non-fullerene acceptor (NFA), IDTBR, when mixed with P3HT, can achieve power conversion efficiencies of up to 6.4%.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing the efficiency–stability–cost gap of organic photovoltaics with highly efficient and stable small molecule acceptor ternary solar cells

et al. 2016

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Technological deployment of organic photovoltaic modules requires improvements in device light-conversion efficiency and stability while keeping material costs low. Here we demonstrate highly efficient and stable solar cells using a ternary approach, wherein two non-fullerene acceptors are combined with both a scalable and affordable donor polymer, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), and a high efficiency, low band-gap polymer in a single-layer bulk-heterojunction devices. The addition of a strongly absorbing small molecule acceptor into a P3HT-based non-fullerene blend increases the device efficiency up to 7.7 ± 0.1% without any solvent additives. The improvement is assigned to changes in microstructure that reduces charge recombination and increases the photovoltage, and to improved light harvesting across the visible region. The stability of P3HT-based devices in ambient conditions is also significantly improved relative to polymer:fullerene devices. Combined with a low band gap donor polymer (PBDTTT-EFT, also known as PCE10), the two mixed acceptors also lead to solar cells with 11.0 ± 0.4% efficiency and a high open-circuit voltage of 1.03 ± 0.01V.Currently, the materials used in organic photovoltaics (OPV) are dominated by fullerene acceptors in combination with low band gap donor polymers which typically require complex and multi-step syntheses. [1][2][3][4][5] However, the commercialization of OPV requires the availability of inexpensive materials in large quantities such as poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). P3HT is readily scalable via flow or micro-reactor synthesis, even using 'green' solvents, whilst retaining a high degree of control over molecular weight and regioregularity. 6 The P3HT:60PCBM blend exhibits one of the most robust microstructures within OPV. [7][8][9] However, it has a limited open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Jsc) in photovoltaic devices. 10 We have recently shown that solar cells using an alternative small molecule non-fullerene acceptor (NFA), IDTBR, when mixed with P3HT, can achieve power conversion efficiencies of up to 6.4%. 11 These results have revived interest in the use of P3HT for high performing devices and non-fullerene acceptors. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] The combination of stability, cost and performance for P3HT:NFA devices, make them a compelling choice for commercialization of OPV compared to devices using fullerenes, for which the high costs and energy involved are prohibitive for large scale production.Recently, multi-component heterojunctions (ternary or more) have emerged as a promising strategy to overcome the power conversion efficiency (PCE) bottleneck associated with binary bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells. 3,4,[19][20][21][22][23]24 However, simultaneous increase in the Voc, Jsc and FF is a challenge in the ternary approach because of the trade-off between photocurrent and voltage. 23,25,26 Reports show ternary blends using fullerene acceptors, where the Voc is increased using a second acceptor (A2) with a higher electron affin...

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Small- and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering Characterization of Bulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells with Different Fullerene Derivatives

Cited by 64 publications

References 35 publications

The Active Layer Morphology of Organic Solar Cells Probed with Grazing Incidence Scattering Techniques

The Active Layer Morphology of Organic Solar Cells Probed with Grazing Incidence Scattering Techniques

Morphology Characterization of Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

Reducing the efficiency–stability–cost gap of organic photovoltaics with highly efficient and stable small molecule acceptor ternary solar cells

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