Efficient ternary blend bulk heterojunction solar cells with tunable open-circuit voltage

To explore the potential of ternary blend bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaics as a general platform for increasing the attainable performance of organic solar cells, a model system based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as the donor and two soluble fullerene acceptors, phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PC(61)BM) and indene-C(60) bisadduct (ICBA), was examined. In all of the solar cells, the overall ratio of polymer to fullerene was maintained at 1:1, while the composition of the fullerene component (PC(61)BM:ICBA ratio) was varied. Photovoltaic devices showed high short-circuit current densities (J(sc)) and fill factors (FF) (>0.57) at all fullerene ratios, while the open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) was found to vary from 0.61 to 0.84 V as the fraction of ICBA was increased. These results indicate that the V(oc) in ternary blend BHJ solar cells is not limited to the smallest V(oc) of the corresponding binary blend solar cells but can be varied between the extreme V(oc) values without significant effect on the J(sc) or FF. By extension, this result suggests that ternary blends provide a potentially effective route toward maximizing the attainable J(sc)V(oc) product (which is directly proportional to the solar cell efficiency) in BHJ solar cells and that with judicious selection of donor and acceptor components, solar cells with efficiencies exceeding the theoretical limits for binary blend solar cells could be possible without sacrificing the simplicity of a single active-layer processing step.     

Compositional dependence of the open-circuit voltage in ternary blend bulk heterojunction solar cells based on two donor polymers

Ternary blend bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells containing as donor polymers two P3HT analogues, high-band-gap poly(3-hexylthiophene-co-3-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophene) (P3HT(75)-co-EHT(25)) and low-band-gap poly(3-hexylthiophene-thiophene-diketopyrrolopyrrole) (P3HTT-DPP-10%), with phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PC(61)BM) as an acceptor were studied. When the ratio of the three components was varied, the open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) increased as the amount of P3HT(75)-co-EHT(25) increased. The dependence of V(oc) on the polymer composition for the ternary blend regime was linear when the overall polymer:fullerene ratio was optimized for each polymer:polymer ratio. Also, the short-circuit current densities (J(sc)) for the ternary blends were bettter than those of the binary blends because of complementary polymer absorption, as verified using external quantum efficiency measurements. High fill factors (FF) (>0.59) were achieved in all cases and are attributed to high charge-carrier mobilities in the ternary blends. As a result of the intermediate V(oc), increased J(sc) and high FF, the ternary blend BHJ solar cells showed power conversion efficiencies of up to 5.51%, exceeding those of the corresponding binary blends (3.16 and 5.07%). Importantly, this work shows that upon optimization of the overall polymer:fullerene ratio at each polymer:polymer ratio, high FF, regular variations in V(oc), and enhanced J(sc) are possible throughout the ternary blend composition regime. This adds to the growing evidence that the use of ternary blends is a general and effective strategy for producing efficient organic photovoltaics manufactured in a single active-layer processing step.     

Fabrication of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells and Fluorescence Quenching Study Using Thiophene Based Copolymers

Photovoltaic performance of dye sensitized solar cells fabricated with a commercially available thiophene based copolymer was investigated. Poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(bithiophene)], a highly soluble polythiophene, was used as a sensitizer. An open-circuit voltage of 0.64 V and a short-circuit current density of 0.36 mA/cm² were measured. The incident photon to current conversion efficiency for the polymer was measured. Fluorescence from the other polythiophene, poly(3,3′-didodecyl quarter thiophene) was found to be quenched when blended with phenyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) (1:1 wt ratio), indicating the charge transfer from the conjugated polymer to PCBM.     

Broadening the absorption of conjugated polymers by "click" functionalization with phthalocyanines

Conjugated copolymer derivatives of poly[2-methoxy-5-(3',7'-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MDMO-PPV) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) containing 10% of alkyne functionalities in the side chains have been prepared using the sulfinyl precursor route and the Rieke method, respectively. With the aim of expanding the absorption range of these conjugated polymers for their use in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer:fullerene solar cells, appropriate phthalocyanine (Pc) molecules have been covalently bound through a post-polymerization "click chemistry" reaction between the alkyne functionalities in the side chains of the copolymers and a Pc functionalized with an azide moiety. The resulting poly(p-phenylenevinylene)-Pc (PPV-Pc) material holds a 9 mol% content of Pcs, while the polythiophene-Pc material (PT-Pc) contains a 8 mol% of Pc-functionalization in the side chains. As expected, the presence of the Pc contributes to the extension of the absorption up to 700 nm. BHJ solar cells have been prepared using PPV-Pc and PT-Pc materials in combination with PCBM. Although the Pc absorption contributes to the generation of photocurrent, the overall power conversion efficiencies (PCE) obtained from these cells are lower than those obtained with BHJ P3HT:PCBM (1:1) and MDMO-PPV:PCBM (1:4) solar cells. A plausible explanation could be the moderate solubility of the PPV-Pc and PT-Pc materials that limits the processing into thin films.     

Parallel-like bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells

Here we demonstrate a conceptually new approach, the parallel-like bulk heterojunction (PBHJ), which maintains the simple device configuration and low-cost processing of single-junction BHJ cells while inheriting the major benefit of incorporating multiple polymers in tandem cells. In this PBHJ, free charge carriers travel through their corresponding donor-polymer-linked channels and fullerene-enriched domain to the electrodes, equivalent to a parallel-like connection. The short-circuit current (J(sc)) of the PBHJ solar cell is nearly identical to the sum of those of the individual "subcells", while the open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) is between those of the "subcells". Preliminary optimization of the PBHJ devices gives improvements of up to 40% in J(sc) and 30% in overall efficiency (η) in comparison with single-junction BHJ devices.     

Synthesis, characterization and photovoltaic properties of a low-bandgap platinum(II) polyyne functionalized with a 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-benzothiadiazole hybrid spacer

The synthesis, characterization and optical spectroscopy of a deep blue platinum(II) polyyne functionalized with the (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-benzothiadiazole hybrid spacer (P1) and its dinuclear platinum molecular model complex (M1) are described. This metalated polymer P1 exhibits good thermal stability and possesses a narrow bandgap of 1.76 eV. Optical spectroscopic measurements of these materials reveal a substantial donor-acceptor interaction along the rigid backbone of the organometallic polyynes through the interaction of metal center and the conjugated tricyclic ligand. Preliminary study shows that P1: methanofullerene acceptor blend can be used as an active layer of bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells. Photoexcitation of this blend layer in some yet-to-be optimized cells results in a photo-induced electron transfer from the π-conjugated metallopolyyne electron donor to [6,6]-phenyl C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) close to 0.30% under air mass (AM1.5) simulated solar illumination. The power dependencies of the solar cell parameters (including the short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, fill-factor and PCE) were also studied.     

All‐Polymer Solar Cells: Recent Progress,Challenges, and Prospects

For over two decades bulk‐heterojunction polymer solar cell (BHJ‐PSC) research was dominated by donor:acceptor BHJ blends based on polymer donors and fullerene molecular acceptors. This situation has changed recently, with non‐fullerene PSCs developing very rapidly. The power conversion efficiencies of non‐fullerene PSCs have now reached over 15 %, which is far above the most efficient fullerene‐based PSCs. Among the various non‐fullerene PSCs, all‐polymer solar cells (APSCs) based on polymer donor‐polymer acceptor BHJs have attracted growing attention, due to the following attractions: 1) large and tunable light absorption of the polymer donor/polymer acceptor pair; 2) robustness of the BHJ film morphology; 3) compatibility with large scale/large area manufacturing; 4) long‐term stability of the cell to external environmental and mechanical stresses. This Minireview highlights the opportunities offered by APSCs, selected polymer families suitable for these devices with optimization to enhance the performance further, and discusses the challenges facing APSC development for commercial applications.     

Time-resolved structural evolution of additive-processed bulk heterojunction solar cells

Solution deposition using high-boiling-point additives such as octanedithiol (ODT) provides a simple and widely used fabrication option for improving the power conversion efficiencies of solar cells composed of narrow-band-gap conjugated polymer donor/fullerene acceptor blends. Previous examination of the resulting device active layers has shown that the use of additives influences the degree of phase segregation within the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) blend and also improves ordering within the polymeric domains. In this work, in situ grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering as a function of time was used to explore the dynamics of the BHJ evolution. These studies showed that a small percentage of ODT in chlorobenzene (CB) induced the nucleation of polymeric crystallites within 2 min of deposition, increased the orientational order of specific polymorphs, and promoted further crystallite nucleation over a period longer than 40 min after casting. Similar structural changes did not occur when the same BHJ blend was cast from pure CB.     

In situ current voltage measurements for optimization of a novel fullerene acceptor in bulk heterojunction photovoltaics

The evaluation of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of new materials for organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaics is difficult due to the large number of processing parameters possible. An efficient procedure to determine the optimum conditions for thermal treatment of polymer‐based bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices using in situ current‐voltage measurements is presented. The performance of a new fullerene derivative, 1,9‐dihydro‐64,65‐dihexyloxy‐1,9‐(methano[1,2] benzomethano)fullerene[60], in BHJ photovolatics with poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was evaluated using this methodology. The device characteristics of BHJs obtained from the in situ method were found to be in good agreement with those from BHJs annealed using a conventional process. This fullerene has similar performance to 1‐(3‐methoxycarbonyl)propyl‐1‐phenyl‐[6,6]‐methano fullerene in BHJs with P3HT after thermal annealing. For devices with thickness of 70 nm, the short circuit current was 6.24 mA/cm² with a fill factor of 0.53 and open circuit voltage of 0.65 V. The changes in the current‐voltage measurements during thermal annealing suggest that the ordering process in P3HT dominates the improvement in power conversion efficiency. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

基于4,7-二噻吩苯并噻二唑和异靛单元的受体-受体共轭聚合物的合成与光伏性质

利用微波协助的Stille缩合聚合反应方法合成了基于双噻吩苯并噻二唑和异靛单元的受体-受体聚合物HFTBT-DA865,并对其热稳定性、光物理性能、电化学性质和本体异质结太阳能电池性能进行了研究.该聚合物易溶于邻二氯苯和邻二甲苯等溶剂,具有优异的溶液加工性能.5%热分解温度为389℃,玻璃化转变温度为168℃,说明其具有较好的热稳定性能.对旋涂速度和温度进行优化,所得太阳能电池器件的光电转换效率为2.28%,开路电压为0.83 V,短路电流为-5.70 mA/cm^2,填充因子为48.9%.电化学性能和密度泛函理论估算结果表明,聚合物与受体材料PC71BM相近的最低未占分子轨道(LUMO)值及其平面性可能是影响光伏性质的重要因素.通过调控共聚单体或优化受体材料,器件性能可进一步提高.对受体-受体(A-A)类聚合物材料太阳能电池性能的研究表明,此类材料是一类潜在的聚合物太阳能电池材料.     

Synthesis and photovoltaic properties of a phenylenevinylene copolymer with dithienylbenzothiadiazole and bis(di(p-tolyl)phenylamino)phenylene units

A novel phenylenevinylene copolymer (JP) with 4,7-dithien-5-yl-2,1,3-benzodiathiazole (DTBT) moiety along the backbone and di(p-tolyl)phenylamine (p-TPA) unit as side groups was synthesized and applied in polymer solar cells (PSCs). Introduction of DTBT and p-TPA moieties is beneficial to lowering the band gap, broadening the absorption spectrum and improving the photovoltaic properties of the copolymer. The effects of DTBT and p-TPA moieties on the thermal, photophysical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties of the copolymer are investigated. The bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells based on JP and PC₆₁BM (1:3, w/w) showed a maximum power conversion efficiency of 1.09% with an open-circuit voltage of 0.75 V, a short-circuit current of 3.69 mA cm⁻², and a fill factor of 0.50.     

Vertical phase separation of conjugated polymer and fullerene bulk heterojunction films induced by high pressure carbon dioxide treatment at ambient temperature

The morphology of bulk-heterojunctions (BHJ) is critically important for conjugated polymer and fullerene blend solar cells. To alter the morphology, high pressure (gas phase) carbon dioxide (CO(2)) treatment is applied to poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend films under ambient temperature. This process can achieve vertically phase separated morphology such that PCBM distributes toward the film surface, which is suggested by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and cross-sectional scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies. While pristine P3HT films do not show a significant change upon CO(2) treatment, pristine PCBM films are plasticized in high pressure CO(2). Thus, PCBM is selectively plasticized by CO(2) in the blend film and is drawn towards the surface due to depressed surface energy, although P3HT tends to distribute around the surface without CO(2). This stratification process can enhance solar cell performance. 55% improvement is achieved in the power conversion efficiency of the CO(2) treated device compared to the untreated one, indicating that CO(2) treatment can be a good candidate for optimizing the morphology and enhancing the performance of BHJ polymer solar cells.     

Bulk heterojunction solar cells based on self-assembling disc-shaped liquid crystalline material

In this article, effect of addition of disc-shaped liquid crystalline material, namely 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11-hexabutyloxytriphenylene, in poly (3-hexylthiophene): [6, 6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester containing bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells has been investigated. These disc-shaped molecules organise into ordered columnar hexagonal structures through intermolecular π ? π interactions as monitored by polarised light optical microscopy. Current–voltage characteristics of the device prepared with liquid crystal layer exhibited a short-circuit current of 10.5 mA cm^?2 and a fill factor of 35%. The resultant power conversion efficiency (PCE) was 1.54%. The influence of varying the thickness of liquid crystal layer and annealing on these solar cells was also studied. The short circuit current and PCE of 12.9 mA cm^?2 and 2.3% was achieved for these BHJ solar cells containing self-organised discotic liquid crystals in the active layer under one sun condition after annealing.     

Influence of fullerene photodimerization on the PCBM crystallization in polymer: Fullerene bulk heterojunctions under thermal stress

For an increased lifetime of polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, an understanding of the chemical and morphological degradation phenomena taking place under operational conditions is crucial. Phase separation between polymer and fullerene induced by thermal stress has been pointed out as a major issue to overcome. While often the effect of thermal stress on the morphology of polymer:fullerene BHJ is investigated in the darkness, here we observe that light exposure slows down fullerene crystallization and phase separation induced at elevated temperatures. The observed photo‐stabilizing effect on active layer morphology is quite independent on the polymer and is attributed to light‐induced dimerization of the fullerene. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013 , 51, 1209–1214     

含二噻吩并[3,2-b:2',3'-d]氧膦杂环戊二烯共轭聚合物的合成及其在薄膜晶体管和体异质结太阳能电池中的应用

采用Stille缩聚反应,合成了3,5-二烷基-二噻吩并[3,2-b:2',3'-d]氧膦杂环戊二烯与二联噻吩的共聚物P1和P2,系统研究了它们的热性能、电化学性质和光物理性质.结果表明,这2个聚合物具有良好的热稳定性,热分解温度均大于400℃;薄膜的最大吸收峰位于590 nm,光学带隙为1.76 eV.将P1和P2作为活性层制备了薄膜晶体管和体异质结太阳能电池,发现带有较长烷基链的P2的器件性能较好.在底栅、顶接触结构的薄膜晶体管中,P2的空穴迁移率最高达到0.0077 cm2V-1s-1;在AM 1.5 G 100 mW/cm2光照条件下,P2的光伏电池的开路电压为0.68 V,短路电流为7.9 mA/cm2,填充因子为52%,能量转换效率为2.8%.     

Heavy metal complex containing organic/polymer materials for bulk-heterojunction photovoltaic devices

The application of heavy-metal complexes in bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells is a promising new research field which has attracted increasing attention, due to their strong spin-orbit coupling for efficient singlet to triplet intersystem crossing. This review article focuses on recent advances of heavy metal complex containing organic and polymer materials as photovoltaic donors in BHJ solar cells. Platinum-acetylide containing oligomersor and polymers have been firstly illustrated due to the good solubility, square planar structure, as well as the fairly strong Pt-Pt interaction. Then the cyclometalated Pt or Ir complex containing conjugated oligomers and polymers are presented in which the triplet organometallic compounds are embedded into the organic/polymer backbone either through cyclometalated main ligand or the auxiliary ligand. Pure triplet small molecular cyclometalated Ir complex are also briefly introduced. Besides the chemical modification, physical doping of cyclometalated heavy metal complexes as additives into the photovoltaic active layers is finally demonstrated.     

An isoindigo-based low band gap polymer for efficient polymer solar cells with high photo-voltage

A new low band gap polymer (E(g) = 1.6 eV) with alternating thiophene and isoindigo units was synthesized and characterized. A PCE of 3.0% and high open-circuit voltage of 0.89 V were realized in polymer solar cells, which demonstrated the promise of isoindigo as an electron deficient unit in the design of donor-acceptor conjugated polymers for polymer solar cells.     

Layer-by-layer deposition of rhenium-containing hyperbranched polymers and fabrication of photovoltaic cells

Multilayer thin films were prepared by the layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition method using a rhenium-containing hyperbranched polymer and poly[2-(3-thienyl)ethoxy-4-butylsulfonate] (PTEBS). The radii of gyration of the hyperbranched polymer in solutions with different salt concentrations were measured by laser light scattering. A significant decrease in molecular size was observed when sodium trifluoromethanesulfonate was used as the electrolyte. The conditions of preparing the multilayer thin films by LBL deposition were studied. The growth of the multilayer films was monitored by absorption spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry, and the surface morphologies of the resulting films were studied by atomic force microscopy. When the pH of a PTEBS solution was kept at 6 and in the presence of salt, polymer films with maximum thickness were obtained. The multilayer films were also fabricated into photovoltaic cells and their photocurrent responses were measured upon irradiation with simulated air mass (AM) 1.5 solar light. The open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, fill factor, and power conversion efficiency of the devices were 1.2 V, 27.1 mu A cm(-2), 0.19, and 6.1x10(-3) %, respectively. The high open-circuit voltage was attributed to the difference in the HOMO level of the PTEBS donor and the LUMO level of the hyperbranched polymer acceptor. A plot of incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency versus wavelength also suggests that the PTEBS/hyperbranched polymer junction is involved in the photosensitization process, in which a maximum was observed at approximately 420 nm. The relatively high capacitance, determined from the measured photocurrent rise and decay profiles, can be attributed to the presence of large counter anions in the polymer film.     

Chirality induction of π-conjugated chains through chiral complexation

Chirality induction of π-conjugated polyanilines through chiral complexation with the chiral palladium(II) complexes was demonstrated to afford the chiral conjugated polymer complexes. Complexation of the emeraldine base of poly(o-toluidine) (POT) with the chiral palladium(II) complex bearing one labile coordination site led to the formation of the chiral conjugated polymer complex, which exhibited an induced circular dichroism (ICD) based on the chirality induction into a π-conjugated backbone. The mirror image of the CD signal was observed with the chiral conjugated polymer complex, which was obtained from the chiral palladium(II) complex possessing the opposite configuration. The chirality of the podand ligand moieties of the palladium complex is considered to induce a propeller twist of the π-conjugated molecular backbone. The crystal structure of the chiral conjugated complex of N-bis(4′-dimethylaminophenyl)-1,4-benzoquinonediimine (L³) as a model compound of the polyaniline revealed a chiral propeller twist conformation of the π-conjugated backbone. Furthermore, chiral complexation with the cationic palladium(II) complexes provided the ionic chiral conjugated complexes.     

Aggregation-dependent photovoltaic properties of squaraine/PC61BM bulk heterojunctions

In this study, we investigated bulk-heterojunction solar cells composed of PC(61)BM and squaraine dyes with different donor subunits. Both, H- and J-aggregates, have been observed for the squaraine dyes in the mixture, even for the same dye depending on the annealing conditions of the blends. Supramolecular organization of the squaraine dyes noticeably affects solar cell performance. The J-aggregate exhibits a red-shift of the absorption maximum that results in a significant increase in the short-circuit current and decrease in the open-circuit voltage compared to the as-cast device. The H-aggregate shows a blue-shift in the absorption maximum and concomitantly only a moderate increase in the short-circuit current as well as an increase in the open-circuit voltage. The course of domain growth during annealing was monitored by local photocurrent mapping.