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Dash A, Guchait S, Scheunemann D, Vijayakumar V, Leclerc N, Brinkmann M, Kemerink M. Spontaneous Modulation Doping in Semi-Crystalline Conjugated Polymers Leads to High Conductivity at Low Doping Concentration. Adv Mater 2023:e2311303. [PMID: 38118058 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202311303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
The possibility to control the charge carrier density through doping is one of the defining properties of semiconductors. For organic semiconductors, the doping process is known to come with several problems associated with the dopant compromising the charge carrier mobility by deteriorating the host morphology and/or introducing Coulomb traps. While for inorganic semiconductors these factors can be mitigated through (top-down) modulation doping, this concept has not been employed in organics. Here, this work shows that properly chosen host/dopant combinations can give rise to spontaneous, bottom-up modulation doping, in which the dopants preferentially sit in an amorphous phase, while the actual charge transport occurs predominantly in a crystalline phase with an unaltered microstructure, spatially separating dopants and mobile charges. Combining experiments and numerical simulations, this work shows that this leads to exceptionally high conductivities at relatively low dopant concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditya Dash
- Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 225, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Shubhradip Guchait
- Institute Charles Sadron, UPR022, CNRS - Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67034, France
| | - Dorothea Scheunemann
- Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 225, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Vishnu Vijayakumar
- Institute Charles Sadron, UPR022, CNRS - Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67034, France
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström, Physical Chemistry, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 75120, Sweden
| | - Nicolas Leclerc
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, ICPEES UMR 7515, Strasbourg, F-67087, France
| | - Martin Brinkmann
- Institute Charles Sadron, UPR022, CNRS - Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67034, France
| | - Martijn Kemerink
- Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 225, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
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Untilova V, Hynynen J, Hofmann AI, Scheunemann D, Zhang Y, Barlow S, Kemerink M, Marder SR, Biniek L, Müller C, Brinkmann M. High Thermoelectric Power Factor of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) through In-Plane Alignment and Doping with a Molybdenum Dithiolene Complex. Macromolecules 2020; 53:6314-6321. [PMID: 32913375 PMCID: PMC7472519 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
We report a record thermoelectric power factor of up to 160 μW m-1 K-2 for the conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). This result is achieved through the combination of high-temperature rubbing of thin films together with the use of a large molybdenum dithiolene p-dopant with a high electron affinity. Comparison of the UV-vis-NIR spectra of the chemically doped samples to electrochemically oxidized material reveals an oxidation level of 10%, i.e., one polaron for every 10 repeat units. The high power factor arises due to an increase in the charge-carrier mobility and hence electrical conductivity along the rubbing direction. We conclude that P3HT, with its facile synthesis and outstanding processability, should not be ruled out as a potential thermoelectric material.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonna Hynynen
- Department
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers
University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Anna I. Hofmann
- Department
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers
University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Dorothea Scheunemann
- Department
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers
University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Yadong Zhang
- School
of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and
Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Stephen Barlow
- School
of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and
Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Martijn Kemerink
- Centre
for Advanced Materials, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Seth R. Marder
- School
of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and
Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Laure Biniek
- CNRS,
ICS UPR 22, Université de Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Christian Müller
- Department
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers
University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
| | - Martin Brinkmann
- CNRS,
ICS UPR 22, Université de Strasbourg, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
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3
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Rath T, Scheunemann D, Canteri R, Amenitsch H, Handl J, Wewerka K, Kothleitner G, Leimgruber S, Knall AC, Haque SA. Ligand-free preparation of polymer/CuInS 2 nanocrystal films and the influence of 1,3-benzenedithiol on their photovoltaic performance and charge recombination properties. J Mater Chem C Mater 2019; 7:943-952. [PMID: 30774956 PMCID: PMC6350655 DOI: 10.1039/c8tc05103h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Bulk heterojunction solar cells based on conjugated polymer donors and fullerene-derivative acceptors have received much attention in the last decade. Alternative acceptors like organic non-fullerene acceptors or inorganic nanocrystals have been investigated to a lesser extent; however, they also show great potential. In this study, one focus is set on the investigation of the in situ growth of copper indium sulfide nanocrystals in a conjugated polymer matrix. This preparation method allows the fabrication of a hybrid active layer without long-chain ligands, which could hinder charge separation and transport. In contrast, surfactants for the passivation of the nanocrystal surface are missing. To tackle this problem, we modified the absorber layer with 1,3-benzenedithiol and investigated the influence on charge transfer and solar cell performance. Using ToF-SIMS measurements, we could show that 1,3-benzenedithiol is successfully incorporated and homogeneously distributed in the absorber layer, which significantly increases the power conversion efficiency of the corresponding solar cells. This can be correlated to an improved charge transfer between the nanocrystals and the conjugated polymer as revealed by transient absorption spectroscopy as well as prolonged carrier lifetimes as disclosed by transient photovoltage measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Rath
- Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials (ICTM) , NAWI Graz , Graz University of Technology , Stremayrgasse 9 , 8010 Graz , Austria .
| | - Dorothea Scheunemann
- Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory , Department of Physics , Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg , Carl-von-Ossietzky-Strasse 9-11 , 26129 Oldenburg , Germany
| | - Roberto Canteri
- Fondazione Bruno Kessler - Center for Materials and Microsystems , Via Sommarive 18 , I-38123 Povo (Trento) , Italy
| | - Heinz Amenitsch
- Institute for Inorganic Chemistry , NAWI Graz , Graz University of Technology , Stremayrgasse 9 , 8010 Graz , Austria
| | - Jasmin Handl
- Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials (ICTM) , NAWI Graz , Graz University of Technology , Stremayrgasse 9 , 8010 Graz , Austria .
| | - Karin Wewerka
- Institute for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis and Center for Electron Microscopy , Graz University of Technology , NAWI Graz , Steyrergasse 17 , 8010 Graz , Austria
| | - Gerald Kothleitner
- Institute for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis and Center for Electron Microscopy , Graz University of Technology , NAWI Graz , Steyrergasse 17 , 8010 Graz , Austria
| | - Simon Leimgruber
- Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials (ICTM) , NAWI Graz , Graz University of Technology , Stremayrgasse 9 , 8010 Graz , Austria .
| | - Astrid-Caroline Knall
- Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials (ICTM) , NAWI Graz , Graz University of Technology , Stremayrgasse 9 , 8010 Graz , Austria .
| | - Saif A Haque
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Plastic Electronics , Imperial College London , Imperial College Road , London , SW7 2AZ , UK
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Abstract
Heterojunction solar cells based on colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) have shown remarkable improvements in performance in the last decade, but this progress is limited to merely two materials, PbS and PbSe. However, solar cells based on other material systems such as copper-based compounds show lower power conversion efficiencies and much less effort has been made to develop a better understanding of factors limiting their performance. Here, we study charge carrier loss mechanisms in solution-processed CuInS2/ZnO NC solar cells by combining steady-state measurements with transient photocurrent and photovoltage measurements. We demonstrate the presence of an extraction barrier at the CuInS2/ZnO interface, which can be reduced upon illumination with UV light. However, trap-assisted recombination in the CuInS2 layer is shown to be the dominant decay process in these devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Scheunemann
- Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Straße 9-11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany.
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Eck M, Pham CV, Züfle S, Neukom M, Sessler M, Scheunemann D, Erdem E, Weber S, Borchert H, Ruhstaller B, Krüger M. Improved efficiency of bulk heterojunction hybrid solar cells by utilizing CdSe quantum dot-graphene nanocomposites. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2015; 16:12251-60. [PMID: 24820059 DOI: 10.1039/c4cp01566e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We present a significant efficiency enhancement of hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells by utilizing CdSe quantum dots attached to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as the electron accepting phase, blended with the PCPDTBT polymer. The quantum dot attachment to rGO was achieved following a self-assembly approach, recently developed, using thiolated reduced graphene oxide (TrGO) to form a TrGO-CdSe nanocomposite. Therefore, we are able to obtain TrGO-CdSe quantum dot/PCPDTBT bulk-heterojunction hybrid solar cells with power conversion efficiencies of up to 4.2%, compared with up to 3% for CdSe quantum dot/PCPDTBT devices. The improvement is mainly due to an increase of the open-circuit voltage from 0.55 V to 0.72 V. We found evidence for a significant change in the heterojunction donor-acceptor blend nanomorphology, observable by a more vertical alignment of the TrGO-quantum dot nanocomposites in the z-direction and a different nanophase separation in the x-y direction compared to the quantum dot only containing device. Moreover, an improved charge extraction and trap state reduction were observed for TrGO containing hybrid solar cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Eck
- Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF), University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 21, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany.
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Wilken S, Wilkens V, Scheunemann D, Nowak RE, von Maydell K, Parisi J, Borchert H. Semitransparent polymer-based solar cells with aluminum-doped zinc oxide electrodes. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2015; 7:287-300. [PMID: 25495167 DOI: 10.1021/am5061917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
With the use of two transparent electrodes, organic polymer-fullerene solar cells are semitransparent and may be combined to parallel-connected multijunction devices or used for innovative applications like power-generating windows. A challenging issue is the optimization of the electrodes, to combine high transparency with adequate electric properties. In the present work, we study the potential of sputter-deposited aluminum-doped zinc oxide as an alternative to the widely used but relatively expensive indium tin oxide (ITO) as cathode material in semitransparent polymer-fullerene solar cells. Concerning the anode, we utilized an insulator-metal-insulator structure based on ultrathin Au films embedded between two evaporated MoO3 layers, with the outer MoO3 film (capping layer) serving as a light coupling layer. The performance of the ITO-free semitransparent polymer-fullerene solar cells was systematically studied as dependent on the thickness of the capping layer and the active layer as well as the illumination direction. These variations were found to have strong impact on the obtained photocurrent densities. We performed optical simulations of the electric field distribution within the devices using the transfer-matrix method, to analyze the origin of the current density variations in detail and provide deep insight into the device physics. With the conventional absorber materials studied here, optimized ITO-free and semitransparent devices reached 2.0% power conversion efficiency and a maximum optical transmission of 60%, with the device concept being potentially transferable to other absorber materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Wilken
- Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg , Carl-von-Ossietzky-Strasse 9-11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
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7
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Abstract
Abstract
Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals with tunable optical properties
are promising materials for light harvesting in solar cells. So far,
in particular cadmium and lead chalcogenide nanocrystals were
intensively studied in this respect, and the device performance has
made rapid progress in recent years. In contrast, less research
efforts were undertaken to develop solar cells based on Cd- and
Pb-free nanoparticles as absorber material. In the present work, we
report on Schottky solar cells with the absorber layer made of
colloidal copper indium disulfide nanocrystals. Absorber films with up
to ∼ 500 nm thickness were realized by a solution-based
layer-by-layer deposition technique. The device performance was
systematically studied dependent on the absorber layer
thickness. Decreasing photocurrent densities with increasing thickness
revealed charge transport to be a limiting factor for the device
performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holger Borchert
- Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Department of Physics, Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9–11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Dorothea Scheunemann
- Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Department of Physics, Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9–11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Katja Frevert
- Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Department of Physics, Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9–11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Florian Witt
- Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Department of Physics, Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9–11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Klein
- Technische Universität Darmstadt, Department of Materials and Geosciences, Surface Science Division, Jovanka-Bontschits-Straße 2, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Jürgen Parisi
- Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Department of Physics, Energy and Semiconductor Research Laboratory, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Str. 9–11, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
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Scheunemann D, Lehmann W, Briem D, Stork A, Windolf J, Rueger JM, Linhart W. [Clinical relevance of "bone bruise" detected by MRI following spinal injuries in children]. Unfallchirurg 2005; 108:638-44. [PMID: 16133296 DOI: 10.1007/s00113-005-0934-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND MRI is a sensitive diagnostic tool, which is especially suited for the diagnosis of vertebral injuries in children since no radiation has to be applied to gonads or blood-producing organs. An indirect sign of vertebral injury is the presence of "bone bruise," an edema of the vertebral body without other bony lesions. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the clinical significance of "bone bruise" following vertebral trauma in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between 1998 and 2003 a total of 66 children with vertebral injuries were treated at our institution; 34 of these patients initially underwent MRI. In this retrospective study 20 of these children who were diagnosed with a vertebral injury based on the presence of a "bone bruise" in an MRI on admission were examined clinically as well as by follow-up MRI. RESULTS All 20 patients stated they felt no limitations in daily activities. On examination there were no significant pathologic findings. We did not note persistence of a "bone bruise" or a collapse of the affected bone in the follow-up MRI. CONCLUSION If a "bone bruise" is detected in the MRI after vertebral trauma in children, it usually has a good prognosis. With adequate therapy, which in our regimen consists of bedrest and early mobilization, we did not note any secondary collapse of the affected vertebrae.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Scheunemann
- Zentrum für Operative Medizin, Klinik und Poliklinik für Unfall-, Hand- und Wiederherstellungschirurgie, Universitätsklinikum, Hamburg-Eppendorf
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Abstract
When male paranoid schizophrenic subjects attended to a dichotic oddball task requiring target discrimination, their 100-ms latency left hemisphere magnetic auditory sources did not increase in strength, and their source geometry appeared to be degraded, rather than enhanced, compared with normal control subjects, implicating abnormal processing in the superior temporal gyrus.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Linnville
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, USA
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