给受体共混质量比对P3HT∶PCBM薄膜结构和器件性能的影响

以聚3-己基噻吩(P3HT)为给体、[6,6]-苯基-C61-丁酸甲酯(PCBM)为受体的光伏体系作为研究对象,采用溶剂退火的后处理方法制备薄膜样品,利用紫外-可见(UV-Vis)吸收光谱、原子力显微镜(AFM)、X射线衍射(XRD)等测试手段分别对共混膜样品的形貌和结构进行表征,同时利用熵值统计方法对AFM形貌图像进行分析处理.并在此基础上制备太阳能电池器件,其结构为氧化铟锡导电玻璃/聚3,4-乙撑二氧噻吩∶聚苯乙烯磺酸盐/聚3-己基噻吩:[6,6]-苯基-C61-丁酸甲酯/金属铝(ITO/PEDOT∶PSS/P3HT∶PCBM/Al),研究了给受体共混比例(质量比)对活性层薄膜以及电池性能的影响.结果表明,受体PCBM含量的增加会影响P3HT给体相的有序结晶,当给受体比例为1∶1时,活性层薄膜具有较宽的紫外-可见吸收特征,且具有较好的相分离和结晶度,基于该样品制备的电池器件其光电转换效率达到三种比例的最大值(2.77％).表明退火条件下,改变给受体比例可以影响活性层的微纳米结构而最终影响电池的光电转换效率.     

基底温度对刮涂制备的P3HT:PCBM薄膜形貌和光伏电池性能的影响

研究了刮涂制备P3HT:PCBM(P3HT:聚3-己基噻吩,PCBM:[6,6]-苯基-C61-丁酸甲酯)活性层的过程中,基底温度对P3HT:PCBM活性层薄膜性质和电池性能的影响.结果表明,提高基底温度在缩短薄膜干燥时间的同时,抑制了PCBM相的大尺度聚集,并改善了P3HT:PCBM薄膜中P3HT在(100)方向上的结晶程度,但降低了π-π共轭方向上的有序度.制备的光伏电池经过进一步退火处理后可形成良好的互穿网络结构,能量转换效率可达3.93％.     

利用相容剂调控聚噻吩/富勒烯共混薄膜形貌

选择含有噻吩环的富勒烯衍生物([6,6]-噻吩基-C61-丁酸甲酯(TCBM-Cn,n代表在噻吩环5位的烷基链碳原子数))作为聚3-己基噻吩(P3HT)和[6,6]-苯基-C61-丁酸甲酯(PCBM)共混体系的相容剂,讨论了结晶能力不同的TCBM-Cn分子对共混体系相容性和P3HT结晶行为的影响.当使用强结晶性的相容剂TCBM-C0时,虽然不能完全抑制PCBM的聚集,但由于分子中噻吩环结构的存在,少量的相容剂即可提高P3HT的结晶度.而对于弱结晶性的相容剂TCBM-C6,虽然可以完全抑制PCBM的聚集,但是只有当其含量超过PCBM时,最终才能达到促进P3HT结晶的目的.     

喷涂法制备大面积倒置聚合物光伏器件

采用喷涂工艺制备了结构为ITO/ZnO/P3HT∶PCBM/V2O5/Ag(P3HT:聚噻吩;PCBM:6,6-苯基-C61-丁酸甲酯)的大面积倒置光伏器件,有效面积为1.0×1.1 cm2。 光谱测试结果表明,退火处理后,P3HT∶PCBM薄膜吸收显著增强,并且产生一定程度的红移。 采用ZnO和V2O5代替LiF和PEDOT∶PSS(聚(3,4-乙撑二氧噻吩)∶聚苯乙烯磺酸盐)作为器件修饰层,避免了PEDOT∶PSS对ITO的腐蚀和LiF潮解,采用Ag代替Al作为金属背电极避免了Al被氧化。 经过后退火处理器件的效率从1.1%提升至1.65%。 器件的稳定性相对于传统结构有了大幅提升,8周后器件效率只衰减10%。     

有机半导体材料聚(3-己基噻吩)及[6,6]-苯基-C60丁酸甲酯在氯苯溶液中粒径研究

以聚(3-己基噻吩)(P3HT)为电子给体,[6,6]-苯基-C60丁酸甲酯(PCBM)为电子受体材料,制备了不同浓度活性层材料(P3HT:PCBM)的聚合物太阳能电池.通过对比电池性能参数,活性层表面形貌,进一步分析了氯苯溶剂中有机半导体材料的分散规律,并讨论了溶液温度和浓度对溶质粒径的影响,以及粒径大小对器件性能的影响.结果表明,溶液中溶质直径在4000 nm左右的粒子占有较大比例,溶液的浓度和温度对溶液中粒子的粒径有明显的影响,浓度较低时,溶质粒径受温度影响较大.相反,温度对高浓度溶液中的溶质粒径的影响作用减小.溶液浓度为12.67 mg/mL时,分散效果最好,具有最优的填充因子,浓度为19.00 mg/mL时,具有最优的短路电流和能量转换效率.     

用CdSe/ZnS量子点提高体异质结有机太阳电池的效率

通过掺杂吸收光谱在可见光波段的量子点可提高聚合物对可见光的吸收,因此掺杂CdSe/ZnS核-壳结构量子点(CQDs)能提高聚(3-己基噻吩):[6,6]-苯基-C61-丁酸甲酯(P3HT:PCBM)体异质结太阳电池的能量转换效率.本文研究了CdSe/ZnS量子点在P3HT:PCBM中的不同掺杂比例及其表面配体对太阳电池光伏性能的影响,优化器件ITO(氧化铟锡)/PEDOT:PSS(聚(3,4-乙撑二氧噻吩:聚苯乙烯磺酸)/P3HT:PCBM:(CdSe/ZnS)/Al的能量转换效率达到了3.99%,与相同条件下没有掺杂量子点的参考器件ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/Al相比,其能量转换效率提高了45.1%.     

加入NPB提高P3HT:PCBM聚合物太阳能电池光伏性能

研究了在聚3-己基噻吩(P3HT)和[6,6]-苯基-C61-丁酸甲酯(PCBM)共混薄膜中加入第三组分N,N’-二苯基-N,N’-(1-萘基)-1,1’-联苯-4,4’-二胺(NPB)对器件性能的影响。实验发现:加入NPB可以促进P3HT:PCBM本体异质结的生长,进而提高器件的光伏性能,当NPB浓度为0.4mg/mL时,能量转换效率(PCE)从1.05%提高到1.64%。NPB的加入使P3HT在可见光范围内吸收增强,特别是在560nm和610nm处的吸收强度明显增大;扫描电子显微镜(SEM)研究结果表明,NPB的加入增大了P3HT与PCBM的相分离程度,提高了激子分离的几率;空穴单极性电流-电压曲线证明适量NPB的加入改善了薄膜空穴传输性能。     

新型给体-受体型聚合物的合成及其在本体异质结聚合物太阳能电池中的应用

设计、合成了侧链含有强吸电结构的丙二酸二丁酯受体单元与苯并[1,2-b:4,5-b′]二噻吩给体单元交替共聚物PBDTDT,研究了其热学、光学、电化学性质以及与受体PC71BM([6,6]-苯基C71丁酸甲酯)共混作为活性层制备成本体异质结聚合物有机太阳能电池的光伏性质,考察了PBDTDT与PC71BM不同比例时的光伏性能,当聚合物PBDTDT和PC71BM质量比为1∶3制备的器件,其开路电压达到了0.82 V,能量转换效率(PCE)为0.90%,短路电流为3.25 mA/cm2,填充因子FF为0.338,同时将其与同等工艺制备的poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT)太阳能电池的光伏性能进行比较,相同工艺下制备的P3HT电池的开路电压仅为0.55 V,由PBDTDT制备的电池开路电压比P3HT电池的开路电压高出0.29V,同时分析了PBDTDT能量转换效率较P3HT低的原因.     

改善有机光伏器件性能的新型缓冲层

通过热蒸发在ITO阳极和聚3,4-乙撑二氧噻吩:聚苯乙烯磺酸(PEDOT:PSS)层之间引入一层聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）缓冲层,研究聚四氟乙烯缓冲层对基于聚3-己基噻吩:6,6-苯基-C61丁酸甲酯(P3HT:PCBM)的有机光伏器件光电特性影响。与使用PEDOT:PSS作为缓冲层的器件相比,使用聚四氟乙烯缓冲层的有机光伏器件开路电压、短路电流和光电转换效率均有所提高。器件光电性能提高的原因是由于PTFE缓冲层大量带负电荷的氟离子在ITO/PTFE界面处形成偶极子层, 改善了内建电场,从而使得空穴电荷的收集更加有利。     

平面型给-受体共轭聚合物的合成及在体异质结聚合物太阳能电池中的应用

设计合成了主链为聚2,8-{5,11-二烷基吲哚[3,2-b]咔唑}-4,7[2,5-噻吩]-二-5,6-二烷氧基-2,1,3-苯并噻二唑, 具有不同侧链的2种平面型给-受体共轭聚合物(QP-2和QP-3), 研究了其热学、光物理和光伏性质. 用聚合物-PC₇₁BM([6,6]-苯基C₇₁丁酸甲酯)共混物作为活性层构筑了本体异质结聚合物太阳能电池. 其中以QP-3为给体、以PC₇₁BM为受体的光伏电池能量转换效率最高达到2.59%, 开路电压为0.72 V, 短路电流为9.24 mA/cm², 填充因子为0.38. XRD结果表明, 平面型共轭聚合物具有较好的结晶性, 原子力显微镜(AFM)显示平面型共轭聚合物易于发生微观相分离.     

Van der Waals effects on structure and optical properties in organic photovoltaics

We have recently reported that dispersion forces can have drastic effects on the structure and charge separation in organic photovoltaics (OPVs) (Martinez et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 121, 20 134 [2017]). Here we investigate dimer complexes formed by the polymer P3HT and the fullerene derivative PCBM. We show how van der Waals (vdW) interactions affect the geometrical structure, which has strong effects on the electronic structure and UV-Vis absorption spectrum. Time-dependent density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the experimentally observed blue-shift of the absorption maximum of P3HT/PCBM OPV cells with respect to pure P3HT results mainly from distortions in P3HT due to vdW interactions between donor and acceptor fragments. Reduced absorption in the red region of the UV-Vis spectrum results from distortions of P3HT and small charge transfer between P3HT and PCBM. These results are in qualitative agreement with experiments and recent theoretical results on the corresponding solid-state films.     

Effect of multiple adduct fullerenes on charge generation and transport in photovoltaic blends with poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl)

The effect of replacing [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) by its multiadduct analogs (bis‐PCBM and tris‐PCBM) in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells with poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) (P3HT) is studied in terms of blend film microstructure, photophysics, electron transport properties, and device performance. Although the power conversion efficiency of the blend with bis‐PCBM is similar to the blend with PCBM, the performance of the devices with tris‐PCBM is considerably lower as a result of small photocurrent. Despite the lower electron affinity of the fullerene multiadducts, μs‐ms transient absorption measurements show that the charge generation efficiency is similar for all three fullerenes. The annealed blend films with multiadducts show a lower degree of fullerene aggregation and lower P3HT crystallinity than the annealed blend films with PCBM. We conclude that the reduction in performance is due largely to poorer electron transport in the blend films from higher adducts, due to the poorer fullerene network formation as well as the slower electron transport within the fullerene phase, confirmed here by field effect transistor measurements. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2010     

Impact of Alkoxyl Tail of Fullerene Dyad Acceptor on Crystalline Microstructure for Efficient External Treatment-free Polymer Solar Cells with Poly(3-hexylthiophene) as Donor

A series of tri(alkoxyl)benzene-fullerene dyads(PCBB-Cn, n=4, 6, 8, 10, 12) with varied tri(alkoxyl) chain lengths was designed, synthesized and used as acceptor materials in polymer solar cells(PSCs). The five fullerene dyads possess similar absorption spectra in dilute solution, decreased glass-transition temperature(T_g) and gradually elevated lowest unoccupied molecular orbital(LUMO) energy levels from -3.87 eV to -3.73 eV with the increase of the alkoxy chain length. In the fabrication of PSCs with poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT) as donor and the fullerene dyads as acceptor, PCBB-Cn with longer tri(alkoxyl) chains and lower T_g can induce crystalline structure of P3HT during spin-coating the photoactive layer at room temperature and form nanoscale phase separated interpenetrating network of P3HT:PCBB-Cn blend films, which results in the improvement of photovoltaic performance of PSCs. A power conversion efficiency of 3.03% for the PSCs based on P3HT:PCBB-C10 was obtained without thermal annealing or solvent annealing. The thermal and solvent annealing-free fabrication using the fullerene dyads as acceptor is very important for the roll to roll production of PSCs with flexible large area.     

In situ thermo-optical studies of polymer:fullerene blend films

Optical properties of a blend thin film (1:1 wt) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) exposed to a stepwise heating and cooling, have been reported and compared with the properties of pure PCBM and P3HT films. The UV–Vis(T) absorption measurements were performed in situ, during annealing and cooling runs, at the precisely defined temperatures, in a range of 20–210 °C. It was demonstrated that this new method allows to observe the changes of absorption coefficient spectra and absorption edge parameters: the energy gap (E_G) and the Urbach energy (E_U), connected with the length of conjugation and structural disorder of thin film, respectively. Several stages, during annealing/cooling runs, were distinguished for the P3HT:PCBM blend film and related to the following processes, as an increase of P3HT crystallinity in the blend, the orderly stacking of polymer chains, thermally induced structural defects and the phase separation, caused by an aggregation of PCBM in the polymer matrix. These changes were also observed on the P3HT:PCBM film surface, by means to the microscopic studies.     

Synthesis of all‐conjugated poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐block‐ poly(3‐(4′‐(3″,7″‐dimethyloctyloxy)‐3′‐pyridinyl)thiophene) and its blend for photovoltaic applications

New all‐conjugated block copolythiophene, poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐block‐poly(3‐(4′‐(3″,7″‐dimethyloctyloxy)‐3′‐pyridinyl)thiophene) (P3HT‐b‐P3PyT) was successfully prepared by Grignard metathesis polymerization. The supramolecular interaction between [6,6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and P3PyT was proposed to control the aggregated size of PCBM and long‐term thermal stability of the photovoltaic cell, as evidenced by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and optical microscopy. The effect of different solvents on the electronic and optoelectronic properties was studied, including chloroform (CL), dichlorobenzene (DCB), and mixed solvent of CL/DCB. The optimized bulk heterojunction solar cell devices using the P3HT‐b‐P3PyT/PCBM blend showed a power conversion efficiency of 2.12%, comparable to that of P3HT/PCBM device despite the fact that former had a lower crystallinity or absorption coefficient. Furthermore, P3HT‐b‐P3PyT could be also used as a surfactant to enhance the long‐term thermal stability of P3HT/PCBM‐based solar cells by limiting the aggregated size of PCBM. This study represents a new supramolecular approach to design all‐conjugated block copolymers for high‐performance photovoltaic devices. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011.     

Effect of solvent additives on bulk heterojunction morphology of organic photovoltaics and their impact on device performance

Morphology of the active layer in an organic photovoltaic (OPV) device is known to have a significant impact on the device performance. It is, however, difficult to characterize nanoscale morphologies in detail, especially at the ensemble level. Herein, we report the utilization of small angle neutron scattering (SANS) to investigate variations in the nanoscale morphologies of the active layer of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl):[6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) bulk heterojunction OPV depending on the composition of casting solvent. Both the power law and the poly hard sphere model were utilized to characterize the state of the donor and acceptor components, respectively, from the obtained SANS data. Furthermore, the relationship between the nanoscale morphology and device performance is outlined. It was found that the use of 2-chlorophenol, a poor solvent for P3HT and, at the same time, a very good solvent for PCBM, leads to nanomorphology featuring ordered, highly crystalline P3HT and small (15.2 nm) PCBM domains. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 128–134     

Impact of side‐chain length on the phase structures of P3ATs and P3AT:PCBM films as revealed by SSNMR and FTIR

It is known that poly(3‐alkylthiophene) (P3AT) side‐chain length notably influences the photovoltaic performances of relating devices. However, comprehensively study on its impact on the structures of P3ATs and their blends with [6, 6]‐phenyl‐C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) is insufficient. By using solid‐state NMR and FTIR techniques, four P3ATs and their PCBM blends are investigated in this work, focusing on the phase structures as modulated by side‐chain length. Recently, we revealed multiple crystalline main‐chain packings of packing a and b together with a mesophase in poly(3‐butylthiophene) (P3BT) films (DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.6b01828). Here, the semicrystalline structures are investigated on poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT), poly(3‐octylthiophene) (P3OT), and poly(3‐dodecylthiophene) (P3DDT) with traditional form I modification, where packing a and the amorphous phase are probed. Furthermore, crystallized side chain within packing a is detected in both P3OT and P3DDT films, which shows a FTIR absorption at 806 cm⁻¹. Structural studies are also conducted on P3AT:PCBM blends. Compared with the pure P3ATs, the polymer crystallinities of the blends show reduction of about 40% for P3OT and P3DDT, whereas only about 10% for P3HT. Moreover, in P3BT:PCBM and P3HT:PCBM, the crystalline polymers and PCBM are phase separated, while in P3OT:PCBM and P3DDT:PCBM, blend components are mostly miscible. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 751–761     

The Effect of Substrate on the Properties of Non-volatile Ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE)/P3HT Memory Devices

Ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE))/semiconducting poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) blend systems have drawn great attention with their potential use for electronic applications, particularly non-volatile memory devices. It is essential to grasp a full understanding of the crystallization habits of the two polymers on different substrates for purposeful control of the structures of the blend and therefore the properties of the devices. Here, the effects of structure and morphology of the blend films generated at different substrate surfaces on the ferroelectric and switching properties of related devices are reported. It is identified that P(VDF-TrFE)/P3HT blend films prepared on graphene substrate show not only an obvious optimization in the ferroelectric behavior of P(VDF-TrFE), but also an enhancement of the charge transport within P3HT domains. By employing sandwich structure constructed by silver electrode and P3HT/P(VDF-TrFE) blend film on graphene substrate, high-performance ferroelectric memory devices have been obtained, which exhibit a great electrical switching behavior with high ON/OFF ratio of about 1000 and low coercive voltage of approximately 5 V. These findings provide useful guidance for fabricating high-performance ferroelectric memory devices.

     

Unsymmetrical zinc phthalocyanines containing thiophene and amine groups as donor for bulk heterojunction solar cells

Photovoltaic technology is an alternative resource for renewable and sustainable energy and low costs organic photovoltaic devices such as bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, which are selective candidates for the effective conversion of solar energy into electricity. Asymmetric phthalocyanines containing electron acceptor and donor groups create high photovoltaic conversion efficiency in dye sensitized solar cells. In this study, a new unsymmetrical zinc phthalocyanine was designed and synthesized including thiophene and amine groups at peripherally positions for BHJ solar cell. The structure of the targeted compound (4) was characterized comprehensively by FT-IR, UV–Vis, ¹H-NMR, and MALDI-TOF MS spectroscopies. The potential of this compound in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic devices as donor was also researched as function of blend ratio (blend ratio was varied from 0.5 to 4). For this purpose, a series of BHJ devices with the structure of fluorine doped indium tin oxide (FTO)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)/ ZnPc:[6,6]- phenyl-C61- butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend/Al with identical thickness of ZnPc:PCBM layer were fabricated and characterized. Photo current measurements in 4 revealed that the observed photo current maximum is consistent with UV-vis spectra of the compound of 4. Preliminary studies showed that the blend ratio has a critical effect on the BHJ device performance parameters. Photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 6.14% was achieved with 4 based BHJ device.