Relation between absorption and crystallinity of poly(3-hexylthiophene)/fullerene films for plastic solar cells

Zhokhavets, Uladzimir; Erb, Tobias; Gobsch, G.; Al‐Ibrahim, Maher; Ambacher, O.

doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2005.11.020

Cited by 205 publications

(160 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

146

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…[ 22 ] The intensity of this shoulder has been associated with the degree of polymer crystallinity. [ 23 ] These observations suggest that the photocrosslinking process causes few additional chemical or conformational chain defects in the polymer structure. After annealing the NR of the crosslinked P3HT/PCBM bilayer was measured again with the data shown in Figure 4 a.…”

Section: Full Papermentioning

confidence: 97%

Controlling Hierarchy in Solution‐processed Polymer Solar Cells Based on Crosslinked P3HT

Tao

Aljada

Shaw

et al. 2012

Advanced Energy Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding and controlling the morphology of donor/acceptor blends is critical for the development of solution processable organic solar cells. By crosslinking a poly(3‐n‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) (P3HT) film we have been able to spin‐coat [6,6]‐phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) onto the film to form a structure that is close to a bilayer, thus creating an ideal platform for investigating interdiffusion in this model system. Neutron reflectometry (NR) demonstrates that without any thermal treatment a smaller amount of PCBM percolates throughout the crosslinked P3HT when compared to a non‐crosslinked P3HT film. Using time‐resolved NR we also show thermal annealing increases the rate of diffusion, resulting in a near‐uniform distribution of PCBM throughout the polymer film. XPS measurements confirm the presence of both P3HT and PCBM at the annealed film's surface indicating that the two components are intermixed. Photovoltaic devices fabricated using this bilayer approach and suitable annealing conditions yielded comparable power conversion efficiencies to bulk heterojunction devices made from the same materials. The crosslinking procedure has also enabled the formation of patterned P3HT films by photolithography. Pillars with feature sizes down to 2 μm were produced and after subsequent deposition of PCBM and thermal annealing devices with efficiencies of up to 1.4% were produced.

show abstract

Section: Full Papermentioning

confidence: 97%

Controlling Hierarchy in Solution‐processed Polymer Solar Cells Based on Crosslinked P3HT

Tao

Aljada

Shaw

et al. 2012

Advanced Energy Materials

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thermal annealing of such films has been demonstrated by optical absorption, X-ray diffraction, and atomic force or electron beam microscopy measurements to result in morphological changes leading to much larger, well-organized domains. [5][6][7][8][9]13,14,[17][18][19]28] The situation is particularly complex for PCBM-polymer blends, in which both components can undergo substantial structural reorganization. The positive effects of thermal annealing on device performance have been attributed to the resulting improvements in charge-transport pathways.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Negative Effect of High‐Temperature Annealing on Charge‐Carrier Lifetimes in Microcrystalline PCBM

et al. 2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The fullerene derivative, phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) has been the subject of intense recent study as the electron-acceptor component in heterojunction blends for all-organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] and as the electron-transport layer in organic field-effect transistors (FETs). [11][12][13][14][15][16] In most of the studies referenced, the effect of high-temperature annealing has been investigated and has usually been found to have a positive influence on device characteristics, including the external quantum efficiency of OPVs and the electron mobility in FETs. This has been attributed to reorganization and/or aggregation within the initially amorphous or nanocrystalline spin-cast films resulting in the formation of larger well-organized domains. The occurrence of PCBM aggregation to form microcrystallites on annealing of spin-cast films has been well-documented by atomic force and electron beam microscopy studies of polymer blends with high PCBM content [7][8][9]17,18] and pure PCBM films.

show abstract

“…advanced organic chemistry, large area synthesis and, most importantly, ecofriendly nature. In addition to the numerous favourable properties that may begin an era of low-cost PV, organic PV is now facing signicant challenges for developing highly efficient polymer-based devices because of the bulk recombination losses and low carrier diffusion length, causing less efficient charge separation and transport to respective electrodes, [1][2][3][4][5][6] as well as limitations in the device architecture.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ZnO anchored graphene hydrophobic nanocomposite-based bulk heterojunction solar cells showing enhanced short-circuit current

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hydrophobic and surfactant-free ZnO nanoparticles and ZnO decorated graphene nanocomposite (Z@G) with narrow and uniform size distribution were synthesized by a time-efficient microwave-assisted hydrothermal reaction that can be used specifically for application in hybrid photovoltaics. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles and Z@G nanocomposite showed stable and clear dispersion in chloroform and methanol (with volume ratio of 9 : 1) and chloroform and ethanol (volume ratio 9 : 1).Being hydrophobic, these inorganic samples blend very well with organic polymer solution in chlorobenzene, which is a prerequisite to cast smooth and undisrupted film for hybrid solar cell application. The introduction of these hydrophobic nanoparticles into PCPDTBT:PCBM-based bulkheterojunction polymer solar cells resulted in significant improvement in solar cell J-V characteristics with enhancement in open circuit voltage (V OC ), short circuit current density (J SC ) and thereby overall improvement in cell efficiency. With the optimization of the weight ratio of polymer, fullerene and synthesized ZnO nanoparticles/Z@G nanocomposite, the power conversion efficiencies 1.76% and 3.65% were achieved.

show abstract

Relation between absorption and crystallinity of poly(3-hexylthiophene)/fullerene films for plastic solar cells

Cited by 205 publications

References 11 publications

Controlling Hierarchy in Solution‐processed Polymer Solar Cells Based on Crosslinked P3HT

Controlling Hierarchy in Solution‐processed Polymer Solar Cells Based on Crosslinked P3HT

The Negative Effect of High‐Temperature Annealing on Charge‐Carrier Lifetimes in Microcrystalline PCBM

ZnO anchored graphene hydrophobic nanocomposite-based bulk heterojunction solar cells showing enhanced short-circuit current

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About