Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) were fabricated with blended active layers of poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl][3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl]]:[6,6]-phenylC71-butyric acid methyl ester (PTB7:PC71BM). The active layers were prepared in chlorobenzene (CB) with different additives of 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) and 1,8-dibromooctane and different concentrations using a wet process with spin coating. The effects of different solvent additives were studied with respect to photovoltaic parameters such as fill factor, short circuit current density, and power conversion efficiency. The absorption and surface morphology of the active layers were investigated by UV-visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), respectively. The results indicated that structural and morphological changes were induced by the solvent additives. The polymer solar cells (PSCs) of PTB7/PC71BM prepared by a spin coating method using DIO and 1,8-dibromooctane showed more improved PCE of 6.76%. The enhancement of performance of PSCs could be mainly attributed to the absorption enhancement and the improved charge carrier transportation.

Alternative low-temperature solution-processed hole-transporting materials (HTMs) without dopant are critical for highly efficient perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, two novel small molecule HTMs with linear π-conjugated structure, 4,4'-bis(4-(di-p-toyl)aminostyryl)biphenyl (TPASBP) and 1,4'-bis(4-(di-p-toyl)aminostyryl)benzene (TPASB), are applied as hole-transporting layer (HTL) by low-temperature (sub-100 °C) solution-processed method in p-i-n PSCs. Compared with standard poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) HTL, both TPASBP and TPASB HTLs can promote the growth of perovskite (CH NH PbI ) film consisting of large grains and less grain boundaries. Furthermore, the hole extraction at HTL/CH NH PbI interface and the hole transport in HTL are also more efficient under the conditions of using TPASBP or TPASB as HTL. Hence, the photovoltaic performance of the PSCs is dramatically enhanced, leading to the high efficiencies of 17.4% and 17.6% for the PSCs using TPASBP and TPASB as HTL, respectively, which are ≈40% higher than that of the standard PSC using PEDOT:PSS HTL.

The impact of two kinds of additives, such as 1,8-octanedithiol (ODT), 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO), diphenylether (DPE), and 1-chloronaphthalene (CN), on the performance of poly[(5,6-difluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazol-4,7-diyl)-alt-(3,3‴-di(2-octyldodecyl)2,2';5',2″;5″,2‴-quaterthiophen-5,5‴-diyl)] (PffBT4T-2OD):[6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) based polymer solar cell are investigated. The polymer solar cells (PSCs) of PffBT4T-2OD:PC71BM by using CN show a more improved PCE of 10.23%. The solubility difference of PffBT4T-2OD in DIO and CN creates the fine transformation in phase separation and favorable nanoscale morphology. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) data clearly shows molecular stacking and orientation of the active layer. Interestingly, DIO and CN have different functions on the effect of the molecular orientation. These interesting studies provide important guidance to optimize and control complicated molecular orientations and nanoscale morphology of PffBT4T-2OD based thick films for the application in PSCs.

No abstract

PSS with higher transmittance, which is of benefit to the light absorption of the active layer in PSCs.