Highly efficient p-i-n perovskite solar cells that endure temperature variations.

Daily temperature variations induce phase transitions and lattice strains in halide perovskites, challenging their stability in solar cells. We stabilized the perovskite black phase and improved solar cell performance using the ordered dipolar structure of ß-poly(1,1-difluoroethylene) to control perovskite film crystallization and energy alignment. We demonstrated p-i-n perovskite solar cells with a record power conversion efficiency of 24.6% over 18 square millimeters and 23.1% over 1 square centimeter, which retained 96 and 88% of the efficiency after 1000 hours of 1-sun maximum power point tracking at 25° and 75°C, respectively. Devices under rapid thermal cycling between -60° and +80°C showed no sign of fatigue, demonstrating the impact of the ordered dipolar structure on the operational stability of perovskite solar cells.

A combined transient photovoltage and impedance spectroscopy approach for a comprehensive study of interlayer degradation in non-fullerene acceptor organic solar cells.

Organic solar cells utilise thin interlayer materials between the active layer and metal electrodes to improve stability and performance. In this work, we combine transient photovoltage (TPV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements to study how degradation affects both the active layer and the interlayer. We show that neither technique alone can provide a complete insight into both of these regions: TPV is more suited to studying degradation of the active layer; EIS clearly identifies the properties of the interlayer. By analysing both of these approaches we are able to assess how different interlayers impact the stability of the active layer, as well as how the interlayers themselves degrade and severely limit device performance. EIS measurements are also able to resolve the impact of the interlayer on series resistance even when it is not apparent from standard current-voltage (JV) measurements. The technique could therefore be valuable for the optimisation of all devices.

Toward Improved Environmental Stability of Polymer:Fullerene and Polymer:Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells: A Common Energetic Origin of Light- and Oxygen-Induced Degradation.

With the emergence of nonfullerene electron acceptors resulting in further breakthroughs in the performance of organic solar cells, there is now an urgent need to understand their degradation mechanisms in order to improve their intrinsic stability through better material design. In this study, we present quantitative evidence for a common root cause of light-induced degradation of polymer:nonfullerene and polymer:fullerene organic solar cells in air, namely, a fast photo-oxidation process of the photoactive materials mediated by the formation of superoxide radical ions, whose yield is found to be strongly controlled by the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels of the electron acceptors used. Our results elucidate the general relevance of this degradation mechanism to both polymer:fullerene and polymer:nonfullerene blends and highlight the necessity of designing electron acceptor materials with sufficient electron affinities to overcome this challenge, thereby paving the way toward achieving long-term solar cell stability with minimal device encapsulation.

One-step growth of thin film SnS with large grains using MOCVD.

Thin film tin sulphide (SnS) films were produced with grain sizes greater than 1 µm using a one-step metal organic chemical vapour deposition process. Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) was used as the substrate, having a similar work function to molybdenum typically used as the back contact, but with potential use of its transparency for bifacial illumination. Tetraethyltin and ditertiarybutylsulphide were used as precursors with process temperatures 430-470 °C to promote film growth with large grains. The film stoichiometry was controlled by varying the precursor partial pressure ratios and characterised with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to optimise the SnS composition. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to determine the phases that were present in the film and revealed that small amounts of ottemannite Sn2S3 was present when SnS was deposited on to the ITO using optimised growth parameters. Interaction at the SnS/ITO interface to form Sn2S3 was deduced to have resulted for all growth conditions.

Impact of Aggregation on the Photochemistry of Fullerene Films: Correlating Stability to Triplet Exciton Kinetics.

The photochemistry and stability of fullerene films is found to be strongly dependent upon film nanomorphology. In particular, PC61BM blend films, dispersed with polystyrene, are found to be more susceptible to photobleaching in air than the more aggregated neat films. This enhanced photobleaching correlated with increased oxygen quenching of PC61BM triplet states and the appearance of a carbonyl FTIR absorption band indicative of fullerene oxidation, suggesting PC61BM photo-oxidation is primarily due to triplet-mediated singlet oxygen generation. PC61BM films were observed to undergo photo-oxidation in air for even modest (≤40 min) irradiation times, degrading electron mobility substantially, indicative of electron trap formation. This conclusion is supported by observation of red shifts in photo- and electro-luminescence with photo-oxidation, shown to be in agreement with time-dependent density functional theory calculations of defect generation. These results provide important implications on the environmental stability of PC61BM-based films and devices.

Interfacial Chemical Composition and Molecular Order in Organic Photovoltaic Blend Thin Films Probed by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Organic electronic devices invariably involve transfer of charge carriers between the organic layer and at least one metal electrode, and they are sensitive to the local properties of the organic film at those interfaces. Here, we demonstrate a new approach for using an advanced technique called surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS) to quantitatively probe interfacial properties relevant to charge injection/extraction. Exploiting the evanescent electric field generated by a ∼7 nm thick layer of evaporated silver, Raman scattering from nearby molecules is enhanced by factors of 10-1000× and limited by a distance dependence with a measured decay length of only 7.6 nm. When applied to the study of an all-polymer 1:1 blend of P3HT and F8TBT used in organic solar cells, we find that the as-cast film is morphologically suited to charge extraction in inverted devices, with a top (anode) interface very rich in hole-transporting P3HT (74.5%) and a bottom (cathode) interface slightly rich in electron-transporting F8TBT (55%). While conventional, uninverted P3HT:F8TBT devices are reported to perform poorly compared to inverted devices, their efficiency can be improved by thermal annealing but only after evaporation of a metallic top electrode. This is explained by changes in composition at the top interface: annealing prior to silver evaporation leads to a greater P3HT concentration at the top interface to 83.3%, exaggerating the original distribution that favored inverted devices, while postevaporation annealing increases the concentration of F8TBT at the top interface to 34.8%, aiding the extraction of electrons in a conventional device. By nondestructively probing buried interfaces, SERS is a powerful tool for understanding the performance of organic electronic devices.

In situ formation of organic-inorganic hybrid nanostructures for photovoltaic applications.

The performance of hybrid (organic-inorganic) photovoltaic devices is critically dependent on the thin film morphology. This work studies the film formation process using the in situ thermal decomposition of a soluble precursor to form a well-distributed network of CdS nanoparticles within a poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) polymer matrix. Resonant Raman spectroscopy is used to probe the formation of the inorganic nanoparticles and the corresponding changes in the molecular order of the polymer. We find that the CdS precursor decomposes rapidly upon heating to 160 °C, but that this has a disruptive effect on the P3HT. The extent of this disruption can be controlled by adjusting the annealing temperature, and nanowire aggregates of P3HT are found to have increased susceptibility. Atomic force microscopy reveals that at high temperatures (>200 °C), cracks form in the film, resulting in a 'plateau'-like microstructure. In order to retain the preferable 'granular' microstructure and to control the molecular disruption, low decomposition temperatures are needed. This work identifies a particular problem for optimising the hybrid thin film morphology and shows how it can be partially overcome.

Understanding the relationship between molecular order and charge transport properties in conjugated polymer based organic blend photovoltaic devices.

We report a detailed characterization of the thin film morphology of all-polymer blend devices by applying a combined analysis of physical, chemical, optical, and charge transport properties. This is exemplified by considering a model system comprising poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT). We show that the interactions between the two conjugated polymer components can be controlled by pre-forming the P3HT into highly ordered nanowire structures prior to blending with F8BT, and by varying the molecular weight of the F8BT. As a result, it is possible to produce films containing highly ordered P3HT with hole mobilities enhanced by three orders of magnitude over the pristine blends. Raman spectroscopy under resonant excitation conditions is used to probe the molecular order of both P3HT and F8BT phases within the blend films and these morphological studies are complemented by measurements of photocurrent generation. The resultant increase in photocurrent is associated with the enhanced charge carrier mobilities. The complementary analytical method demonstrated here is applicable to a wide range of polymer blend systems for all applications where the relationships between morphology and device performance are of interest.

Effects of a heavy atom on molecular order and morphology in conjugated polymer:fullerene photovoltaic blend thin films and devices.

We study the molecular order and morphology in poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and poly(3-hexylselenophene) (P3HS) thin films and their blends with [6,6]-phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). We find that substitution of the sulfur atoms in the thiophene rings of P3HT by heavy selenium atoms increases the tendency of the molecules to form better ordered phase; interestingly, their overall fraction of ordered phase is much lower than that of P3HT-based films. The higher tendency of P3HS molecules to order (aggregate) is consistent with more planar chain conformation simulated. The lower fraction of ordered phase (or the higher fraction of disordered phase) in P3HS-based films is clearly identified by in-plane skeleton Raman modes under resonant excitation conditions, such as a smaller ratio of the C═C modes associated with the ordered (∼1422 cm(-1)) and disordered (∼1446 cm(-1)) phases (I(1422 cm(-1))/I(1446 cm(-1)) = 1.4 for P3HS and 0.6 for P3HS:PCBM), compared with P3HT-based films (I(1449 cm(-1))/I(1470 cm(-1)) = 2.5 for P3HT and 1.0 for P3HT:PCBM) and a larger Raman dispersion of the C═C mode: P3HS (17 cm(-1)) versus P3HT (6 cm(-1)) and P3HS:PCBM (36 cm(-1)) versus P3HT:PCBM films (23 cm(-1)). The higher fraction of disordered phase in P3HS prevents the formation of micrometer-sized PCBM aggregates in blend films during thermal annealing. Importantly, this lower fraction but better quality of ordered phase in P3HS molecules strongly influences P3HS:PCBM photovoltaic performance, producing smaller short-circuit current (J(sc)) in pristine devices, but significantly larger increase in J(sc) after annealing compared to P3HT:PCBM devices. Our results clarify the effects of heavy atom substitution in low band gap polymers and their impact on blend morphology and device performance. Furthermore, our study clearly demonstrates resonant Raman spectroscopy as a simple, but powerful, structural probe which provides important information about "fraction/quantity of ordered phase" of molecules, not easily accessible using traditional X-ray-based techniques.

Quantitative nanoscale surface voltage measurement on organic semiconductor blends.

We report on the validation of a method based on Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) able to measure the different phases and the relative work function of polymer blend heterojunctions at the nanoscale. The method does not necessitate complex ultra-high vacuum setup. The quantitative information that can be extracted from the topography and the Kelvin probe measurements is critically analysed. Surface voltage difference can be observed at the nanoscale on poly(3-hexyl-thiophene):[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) blends and dependence on the annealing condition and the regio-regularity of P3HT is observed.

The nature of in-plane skeleton Raman modes of P3HT and their correlation to the degree of molecular order in P3HT:PCBM blend thin films.

The nature of main in-plane skeleton Raman modes (C=C and C-C stretch) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) in pristine and its blend thin films with [6,6]-phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) is studied by resonant and nonresonant Raman spectroscopy and Raman simulations. Under resonant conditions, the ordered phase of P3HT with respect to its disordered phase is identified by (a) a large shift in the C=C mode peak position to lower wavenumber (~21 cm(-1) shift), (b) a narrower fwhm of the C=C mode (~9 cm(-1) narrower), (c) a larger intensity of the C-C mode relative to the C=C mode (~56% larger), and (d) a very small Raman dispersion (~5 cm(-1)) of the C=C mode. The behavior of the C=C and C-C modes of the ordered and disordered phases of P3HT can be explained in terms of different molecular conformations. The C=C mode of P3HT in P3HT:PCBM blend films can be reproduced by simple superposition of the two peaks observed in different phases of P3HT (ordered and disordered). We quantify the molecular order of P3HT after blending with PCBM and the subsequent thermal annealing to be 42 ± 5% and 94 ± 5% in terms of the fraction of ordered P3HT phase, respectively. The increased molecular order of P3HT in blends upon annealing correlates well with enhanced device performance (J(SC), -4.79 to -8.72 mA/cm(2) and PCE, 1.07% to 3.39%). We demonstrate that Raman spectroscopy (particularly under resonant conditions) is a simple and powerful technique to study molecular order of conjugated polymers and their blend films.

A characterization of the Raman modes in a J-aggregate-forming dye: a comparison between theory and experiment.

J-Aggregates are a class of organic molecules that possess several interesting characteristics that make them attractive for a range of organic-based optoelectronic devices. We present experimental and computer-simulation studies of the Raman-active vibrational modes in the J-aggregate-forming dye 5,6-dichloro-2-[[5,6-dichloro-1-ethyl-3-(4-sulfobutyl)benzimidazol-2-ylidene]propenyl]-1-ethyl-3-(4-sulfobutyl)benzimidazolium hydroxide, sodium salt, inner salt. The molecular monomer and dimer are analyzed computationally and the Raman mode energies extracted. There is a good agreement between the energies of the theoretical and experimental Raman modes. Experimentally, an enhancement is seen in the intensity of two low frequency modes upon aggregation of the dye. This is attributed to aggregation-enhanced Raman scattering. An enhancement is also observed in certain modes of the calculated spectra upon changing from a monomer to dimeric arrangement. A link is suggested between the Raman-active vibrational modes of the molecule, and a time-dependent electronic coupling present over several molecules.

Triplets in extended nematic liquid crystals and polarons in their blends.

Photoinduced absorption shows that triplets are the primary photoexcited species in a series of conjugated liquid crystals containing thiophene and fluorene groups. We find that the triplet generation rate can be varied substantially by molecular design. The introduction of extra thiophene groups into the elongated molecules changes the intersystem crossing rate by over two orders of magnitude, while modifying the singlet and triplet energies by only small amounts. This result is attributed to the high spin-orbit coupling constant of sulfur: An increase in the number of sulfur atoms increases the spin-orbit coupling between the singlet and triplet states. These results are relevant to the design of organic light emitting diodes, lasers, and other devices where triplet formation has a major impact on device performance. The molecules are shown to act as effective electron donors when blended with a perylene molecule which acts as an electron acceptor. The electron transfer rate is faster than the singlet lifetime so that the blend shows the efficient charge separation required for a photovoltaic device.