Effects of Alkoxy and Fluorine Atom Substitution of Donor Molecules on the Morphology and Photovoltaic Performance of All Small Molecule Organic Solar Cells

Two benzothiadiazole (BT)-based small-molecule donors, SM-BT-2OR with alkoxy side chain and SM-BT-2F with fluorine atom substitution, were designed and synthesized for investigating the effect of the substituents on the photovoltaic performance of the donor molecules in all smallmolecule organic solar cells (SM-OSCs). Compared to SM-BT-2OR, the film of SM-BT-2F exhibited red-shifted absorption and deeper HOMO level of -5.36 eV. When blending with n-type organic semiconductor (n-OS) acceptor IDIC, the as-cast devices displayed similar PCE values of 2.33 and 2.76% for the SM-BT-2OR and SM-BT-2F-based devices, respectively. The SM-BT-2OR-based devices with thermal annealing (TA) at 120 degrees C for 10 min showed optimized PCE of 7.20%, however, the SM-BT-2F-based device displayed lower PCE after the TA treatment, which should be ascribed to the undesirable morphology and molecular orientation. Our results reveal that for the SM-OSCs, the substituent groups of small molecule donors have great impact on the film morphology, as well as the photovoltaic performance

Rapid precipitation : an alternative to solvent casting for organic solar cells

Rapid precipitation, immersion of a liquid formulation into a nonsolvent, is compared with drop casting for fabricating organic solar cells. Blends comprising poly‐3‐hexylthiophene (P3HT), phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), and chlorobenzene were processed into bulk samples by using two distinct routes: rapid precipitation and drop casting. The resulting structure, phases, and crystallinity were analyzed by using small‐angle neutron scattering, X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and muon spin resonance. Rapid precipitation was found to induce a finely structured phase separation between PCBM and P3HT, with 65 wt % crystallinity in the P3HT phase. In contrast, solvent casting resulted in a mixed PCBM/P3HT phase with only 43 wt % P3HT crystallinity. The structural advantages conferred by rapid precipitation were shown to persist following intense thermal treatments

Direct arylation polycondensation for synthesis of optoelectronic materials

Direct arylation polycondensation has been investigated to develop efficient methods for the preparation of conjugated polymeric materials for use in optoelectronic applications. The reaction conditions have been examined to achieve high molecular weights and minimal structural defects in the recurring structures. Under optimal conditions, the direct arylation method has several advantages over conventional methods, e.g., it has fewer synthetic steps and yields a high-molecular-weight and high-purity polymer. The high-quality polymeric materials that were obtained exhibited superior performance to those obtained using a conventional method when used in optoelectronic devices such as organic photovoltaics and field-effect transistors. Recent developments in C–H/C–H coupling polycondensation are also described

P3HT-Based Solar Cells: Structural Properties and Photovoltaic Performance

Each year we are bombarded with B.Sc. and Ph.D. applications from students that want to improve the world. They have learned that their future depends on changing the type of fuel we use and that solar energy is our future. The hope and energy of these young people will transform future energy technologies, but it will not happen quickly. Organic photovoltaic devices are easy to sketch, but the materials, processing steps, and ways of measuring the properties of the materials are very complicated. It is not trivial to make a systematic measurement that will change the way other research groups think or practice. In approaching this chapter, we thought about what a new researcher would need to know about organic photovoltaic devices and materials in order to have a good start in the subject. Then, we simplified that to focus on what a new researcher would need to know about poly-3-hexylthiophene:phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester blends (P3HT: PCBM) to make research progress with these materials. This chapter is by no means authoritative or a compendium of all things on P3HT:PCBM. We have selected to explain how the sample fabrication techniques lead to control of morphology and structural features and how these morphological features have specific optical and electronic consequences for organic photovoltaic device applications

Loss analysis of the power conversion efficiency of organic bulk heterojunction solar cells

Plastic solar cells have attracted enormous attention due to their potential in attributing to the energy production, being light weighted, flexible and produced in a cheap and environmentally friendly way. Especially the bulk-heterojunction solar cells, consisting of blends of conjugated polymers or of conjugated polymers and small molecules, are promising for this purpose. In this thesis the power conversion efficiency and lifetime of bulk heterojunction solar cells are analyzed. The electrical and optical losses are investigated for one representative material combination using two models for the bulk heterojunction solar cells. These models allow the simulation of current-voltage characteristics of the solar cells. The deficiencies of the bulk heterojunction are analyzed and experiments for enhancing the efficiency are tested. The lifetime of bulk heterojunction solar cells is analyzed under working condition using elevated temperature for accelerating the degradation. The degradation mechanisms are analyzed using the two models