Surfactant Free P3HT ∕ PCBM Nanoparticles for Organic Photovoltaics (OPV)

Darwis, Darmawati; Elkington, Daniel; Sesa, Elisa; Cooling, Nathan A.; Bryant, Glenn; Zhou, Xiaojing; Belcher, Warwick J.; Dastoor, Paul C.; Iskandar, Ferry; Abdullah, Mikrajuddin

doi:10.1063/1.3667236

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have throughout the last decade gained a lot of attention due to the potential for facile fabrication, flexible devices, roll-to-roll processing, and low production costs. − The field of OPV has seen three clear leaps in power conversion efficiencies due to the evolution of active layer materials . The first clear leap came with regioregular P3HT:PCBM bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) cells, yielding power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) up to 5%. , P3HT was then superseded by a new generation of donor–acceptor (D–A)-type copolymers where a series of structural modification led to PCEs of over 10%. − The third stage saw the development of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) that quickly propelled the PCE to new heights, further opening up the design of acceptor compounds to structural modification. PCEs of over 16% − have now been reported for D–A-type copolymer:NFA active layer polymer solar cells since 2019, with a current record of 19% for single-junction solar cells …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Achieving High-Efficiency Organic Photovoltaics from a New Completely Amorphous Donor Polymer

et al. 2022

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The development of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) such as ITIC and Y6 has greatly improved the efficiency of polymer solar cells. Therefore, focus should now shift towards the design of donor polymers with better compatibility with these NFAs to attempt to push efficiencies to higher levels. The indacenodithienothiophene (IDT) unit has up till now been typically incorporated into donor polymers for fullerene-based solar cells; however, the application of IDT-based polymers in NFA solar cells is rare. In order to increase the number of donor polymer candidates, we have synthesized two new polymers PIDT-T8BT and PIDT-T12BT conjugating IDT and perfluorinated benzothiadiazole moieties through octyl and dodecyl thiophene bridging units, respectively. These polymers were studied and revealed to be completely amorphous without aggregates, and their glass transition temperatures were distinct owing to the different lengths of the alkyl groups attached to the thiophene units. In addition, the length of the side groups greatly affects the solar cell performance. The longer dodecyl side groups in the polymer PIDT-T12BT resulted in a lower glass transition temperature and favorable thermal annealing conditions of the active layer blend with Y6. A promising power conversion efficiency of over 12% was achieved for PIDT-T12BT when paired with the Y6 acceptor and thermally annealed at 170 °C, which is the highest reported value so far for IDT-based donor polymers.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Achieving High-Efficiency Organic Photovoltaics from a New Completely Amorphous Donor Polymer

et al. 2022

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“…The first successful attempt to use the precipitation method for NP-OPV synthesis was reported by our group in 2011. 10 However, the precipitation method produces dispersions that are intrinsically unstable. This problem can be solved by the miniemulsion process, which is a common and powerful strategy for synthesizing stable aqueous-processed nanoparticle inks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surfactant Engineering and Its Role in Determining the Performance of Nanoparticulate Organic Photovoltaic Devices

et al. 2022

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The fabrication of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) from non-hazardous nanoparticulate (NP) inks offers considerable promise for the development of eco-friendly large-scale printed solar modules. However, the typical NP core–shell morphology (driven by the different donor/acceptor affinities for the surfactant used in NP synthesis) currently hinders the photovoltaic performance. As such, surfactant engineering offers an elegant approach to synthesizing a more optimal intermixed NP morphology and hence an improved photovoltaic performance. In this work, the morphology of conventional sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 2-(3-thienyl) ethyloxybutylsulfonate (TEBS)-stabilized poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) donor:phenyl-C 61 -butyric acid methyl ester (PC 61 BM) acceptor NPs is probed using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. While the SDS-stabilized NPs exhibit a size-independent core–shell morphology, this work reveals that TEBS-stabilized NPs deliver an intermixed morphology, the extent of which depends on the particle size. Consequently, by optimizing the TEBS-stabilized NP size and distribution, NP-OPV devices with a power conversion efficiency that is ∼50% higher on average than that of the corresponding SDS-based NP-OPV devices are produced.

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“…Some groups have worked on the dispersion of nanoparticles in alcoholic medium but this will not be covered in this review. 11,12,[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Figure 3 illustrates the records of efficiency for the three categories previously described to achieve the deposition of the active layer: from chlorinated solvents, from non-chlorinated solvents, and finally from aqueous dispersions of nanoparticles based on conjugated polymers. Even though chlorinated solvent processed solar cells are leading the race for PCE, 9 non-chlorinated solvents and aqueous nanoparticle dispersion based solar cells are very promising, with a PCE of 17.3 % and 7.5 %, respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In brief, due to their insolubility in water, the polymers/molecules are dispersed in water in the form of nanoparticles. Some groups have worked on the dispersion of nanoparticles in alcoholic medium but this will not be covered in this review. ,,− Figure illustrates the records of efficiency for the three categories previously described to achieve the deposition of the active layer: from chlorinated solvents, from nonchlorinated solvents, and finally from aqueous dispersions of nanoparticles based on conjugated polymers. Even though chlorinated solvent processed solar cells are leading the race for PCE, nonchlorinated solvents and aqueous nanoparticle dispersion-based solar cells are very promising, with a PCE of 17.3% and 7.5%, respectively. , Considering the recent efficiency record, as well as the safe and sustainable processability of water-based solar cells, aqueous nanoparticle dispersions are already a prospective way of manufacturing organic solar cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Waterborne Organic Semiconductor Colloids for Photovoltaics

et al. 2021

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Development of carbon neutral and sustainable energy sources should be considered as a top priority solution for the growing worldwide energy demand. Photovoltaics are a strong candidate, and more specifically organic photovoltaics (OPV), enabling the design of flexible, light-weight, semi-transparent and low-cost solar cells. However, the active layer of OPV is, for now, mainly deposited from chlorinated solvents, harmful for the environment and for human health. Active layers processed from health and environmentally friendly solvents have over recent years formed a key focus topic of research, with the creation of aqueous dispersions of conjugated polymer nanoparticles arising. These nanoparticles are formed from organic semi-conductors (molecules and macromolecules) initially designed for organic solvents. The topic of nanoparticle OPV has gradually garnered more attention, up to a point where in 2018 it was identified as a "trendsetting strategy" by leaders in the international OPV research community. Hence, this review has been prepared to provide a timely roadmap of the formation and application of aqueous nanoparticle dispersions of active layer components for OPV. We provide a thorough synopsis of recent developments in both nanoprecipitation and miniemulsion for preparing photovoltaic inks, facilitating readers in acquiring a deep understanding of the crucial synthesis parameters affecting particle size, colloidal concentration, ink stability, and more. This review also showcases the experimental levers for identifying and optimizing the internal donor-acceptor morphology of the nanoparticles, featuring cutting-edge X-ray spectromicroscopy measurements reported over the past decade. The different strategies to improve the incorporation of these inks into OPV devices and to increase their efficiency (to the current record of 7.5%) are reported, in addition to critical design choices of surfactant type and the advantages of single-component vs. binary nanoparticle populations. The review naturally culminates by presenting the upscaling strategies in practice for this environmentally friendly and safer production of solar cells.

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Surfactant Free P3HT ∕ PCBM Nanoparticles for Organic Photovoltaics (OPV)

Cited by 10 publications

References 11 publications

Achieving High-Efficiency Organic Photovoltaics from a New Completely Amorphous Donor Polymer

Achieving High-Efficiency Organic Photovoltaics from a New Completely Amorphous Donor Polymer

Surfactant Engineering and Its Role in Determining the Performance of Nanoparticulate Organic Photovoltaic Devices

Review of Waterborne Organic Semiconductor Colloids for Photovoltaics

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