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Acocella A, Höfinger S, Haunschmid E, Pop SC, Narumi T, Yasuoka K, Yasui M, Zerbetto F. Structural determinants in the bulk heterojunction. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:5708-5720. [PMID: 29410990 DOI: 10.1039/c7cp08435h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Photovoltaics is one of the key areas in renewable energy research with remarkable progress made every year. Here we consider the case of a photoactive material and study its structural composition and the resulting consequences for the fundamental processes driving solar energy conversion. A multiscale approach is used to characterize essential molecular properties of the light-absorbing layer. A selection of bulk-representative pairs of donor/acceptor molecules is extracted from the molecular dynamics simulation of the bulk heterojunction and analyzed at increasing levels of detail. Significantly increased ground state energies together with an array of additional structural characteristics are identified that all point towards an auxiliary role of the material's structural organization in mediating charge-transfer and -separation. Mechanistic studies of the type presented here can provide important insights into fundamental principles governing solar energy conversion in next-generation photovoltaic devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Acocella
- Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", University of Bologna, via F. Selmi 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
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2
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Grévin B, Schwartz PO, Biniek L, Brinkmann M, Leclerc N, Zaborova E, Méry S. High-resolution noncontact AFM and Kelvin probe force microscopy investigations of self-assembled photovoltaic donor-acceptor dyads. BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF NANOTECHNOLOGY 2016; 7:799-808. [PMID: 27335768 PMCID: PMC4902083 DOI: 10.3762/bjnano.7.71] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2016] [Accepted: 05/22/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Self-assembled donor-acceptor dyads are used as model nanostructured heterojunctions for local investigations by noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). With the aim to probe the photo-induced charge carrier generation, thin films deposited on transparent indium tin oxide substrates are investigated in dark conditions and upon illumination. The topographic and contact potential difference (CPD) images taken under dark conditions are analysed in view of the results of complementary transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments. After in situ annealing, it is shown that the dyads with longer donor blocks essentially lead to standing acceptor-donor lamellae, where the acceptor and donor groups are π-stacked in an edge-on configuration. The existence of strong CPD and surface photo-voltage (SPV) contrasts shows that structural variations occur within the bulk of the edge-on stacks. SPV images with a very high lateral resolution are achieved, which allows for the resolution of local photo-charging contrasts at the scale of single edge-on lamella. This work paves the way for local investigations of the optoelectronic properties of donor-acceptor supramolecular architectures down to the elementary building block level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Grévin
- University Grenoble Alpes, INAC-SPrAM, 38000 Grenoble, France
- CNRS Alpes, INAC-SPrAM, 38000 Grenoble, France
- CEA, INAC-SPrAM, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Pierre-Olivier Schwartz
- Institut de Physique et de Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS UMR 7504, 23 rue du Loess, BP 43, 67034 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
- Institut für Organische Chemie II und Neue Materialien, Ulm Universität, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, Ulm, Germany
| | - Laure Biniek
- Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 23 rue du Loess, BP 84047, 67034 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
| | - Martin Brinkmann
- Institut Charles Sadron, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 23 rue du Loess, BP 84047, 67034 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
| | - Nicolas Leclerc
- Institut de Chimie et Procédés pour l’Energie, l’Environnement et la santé (ICPEES), Université de Strasbourg, CNRS UMR 7515, ECPM, 25 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
| | - Elena Zaborova
- Institut de Chimie et Procédés pour l’Energie, l’Environnement et la santé (ICPEES), Université de Strasbourg, CNRS UMR 7515, ECPM, 25 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
| | - Stéphane Méry
- Institut de Physique et de Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS UMR 7504, 23 rue du Loess, BP 43, 67034 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
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Schwartz PO, Biniek L, Zaborova E, Heinrich B, Brinkmann M, Leclerc N, Méry S. Perylenediimide-Based Donor–Acceptor Dyads and Triads: Impact of Molecular Architecture on Self-Assembling Properties. J Am Chem Soc 2014; 136:5981-92. [DOI: 10.1021/ja4129108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Olivier Schwartz
- Institut
de Physique et de Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504,
CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 23 rue du Loess, BP 43, 67034 Strasbourg, Cedex 2, France
| | - Laure Biniek
- Institut Charles Sadron, UPR22 CNRS, 23 rue du Loess, BP 84047, 67034 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
| | - Elena Zaborova
- Institut
de Chimie et Procédés pour l'Energie, l'Environnement
et la Santé, UMR 7515, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, ECPM,
25 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
| | - Benoît Heinrich
- Institut
de Physique et de Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504,
CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 23 rue du Loess, BP 43, 67034 Strasbourg, Cedex 2, France
| | - Martin Brinkmann
- Institut Charles Sadron, UPR22 CNRS, 23 rue du Loess, BP 84047, 67034 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
| | - Nicolas Leclerc
- Institut
de Chimie et Procédés pour l'Energie, l'Environnement
et la Santé, UMR 7515, CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, ECPM,
25 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
| | - Stéphane Méry
- Institut
de Physique et de Chimie des Matériaux de Strasbourg, UMR 7504,
CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 23 rue du Loess, BP 43, 67034 Strasbourg, Cedex 2, France
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Politakos N, Grana E, Zalakain I, Katsigiannopoulos D, Eceiza A, Kortaberria G, Avgeropoulos A. Structural, optical, and conductive properties of a poly(styrene)-b-poly(thiophene) copolymer doped with fullerenes under different conditions. J Appl Polym Sci 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/app.40084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nikolaos Politakos
- “Materials + Technologies” Group; Polytechnic School, Dpto. Ingeniería Química y M. Ambiente, Universidad País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Universitatea; Pza. Europa 1 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian Spain
| | - Eftychia Grana
- Department of Materials Science Engineering; University of Ioannina; University Campus; Ioannina 45110 Greece
- Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques (LCPO); - UMR5629, Université Bordeaux, CNRS; IPB-ENSCBP, 16 Avenue Pey Berland 33607 Pessac Cedex France
| | - Iñaki Zalakain
- “Materials + Technologies” Group; Polytechnic School, Dpto. Ingeniería Química y M. Ambiente, Universidad País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Universitatea; Pza. Europa 1 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian Spain
| | - Dimitrios Katsigiannopoulos
- Department of Materials Science Engineering; University of Ioannina; University Campus; Ioannina 45110 Greece
| | - Arantxa Eceiza
- “Materials + Technologies” Group; Polytechnic School, Dpto. Ingeniería Química y M. Ambiente, Universidad País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Universitatea; Pza. Europa 1 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian Spain
| | - Galder Kortaberria
- “Materials + Technologies” Group; Polytechnic School, Dpto. Ingeniería Química y M. Ambiente, Universidad País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Universitatea; Pza. Europa 1 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian Spain
| | - Apostolos Avgeropoulos
- Department of Materials Science Engineering; University of Ioannina; University Campus; Ioannina 45110 Greece
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Yi Y, Coropceanu V, Brédas JL. A comparative theoretical study of exciton-dissociation and charge-recombination processes in oligothiophene/fullerene and oligothiophene/perylenediimide complexes for organic solar cells. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1039/c0jm02467h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Izawa S, Hashimoto K, Tajima K. Efficient charge generation and collection in organic solar cells based on low band gap dyad molecules. Chem Commun (Camb) 2011; 47:6365-7. [DOI: 10.1039/c1cc11387a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Tajima K, Hashimoto K. Nanostructure control in polymer solar cells by self-organization. CHEM REC 2010; 11:8-17. [DOI: 10.1002/tcr.201000015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2010] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Lee JU, Jung JW, Emrick T, Russell TP, Jo WH. Morphology control of a polythiophene-fullerene bulk heterojunction for enhancement of the high-temperature stability of solar cell performance by a new donor-acceptor diblock copolymer. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2010; 21:105201. [PMID: 20154377 DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/21/10/105201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
A well defined diblock copolymer (P3HT-b-C(60)) based on regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) was synthesized via two controlled polymerization steps and used as a compatibilizer for the P3HT/PCBM blend, which has widely been used as an active layer in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells. The addition of a small amount of P3HT-b-C(60) results in not only the reduction of phase size of P3HT/PCBM blend but also the suppression of macrophase separation for long-time thermal annealing owing to the preferential location of the diblock copolymers at the interface between P3HT and PCBM phases. The morphology change with the annealing time is closely related to the change of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of solar cells: the PCE of P3HT/PCBM greatly decreases with increasing annealing time while the addition of P3HT-b-C(60) significantly reduces the decrease of PCE for long-time thermal annealing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jea Uk Lee
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Korea
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Miyanishi S, Zhang Y, Tajima K, Hashimoto K. Fullerene attached all-semiconducting diblock copolymers for stable single-component polymer solar cells. Chem Commun (Camb) 2010; 46:6723-5. [DOI: 10.1039/c0cc01819h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Nishizawa T, Lim HK, Tajima K, Hashimoto K. Efficient dyad-based organic solar cells with a highly crystalline donor group. Chem Commun (Camb) 2009:2469-71. [DOI: 10.1039/b902060h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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