Optimizing the morphology of all-polymer solar cells for enhanced photovoltaic performance and thermal stability

Due to the complicated film formation kinetics, morphology control remains a major challenge for the development of efficient and stable all-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs). To overcome this obstacle, the sequential deposition method is used to fabricate the photoactive layers of all-PSCs comprising a polymer donor PTzBI-oF and a polymer acceptor PS1. The film morphology can be manipulated by incorporating amounts of a dibenzyl ether additive into the PS1 layer. Detailed morphology investigations by grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering and a transmission electron microscope reveal that the combination merits of sequential deposition and DBE additive can render favorable crystalline properties as well as phase separation for PTzBI-oF:PS1 blends. Consequently, the optimized all-PSCs delivered an enhanced power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 15.21%along with improved carrier extraction and suppressed charge recombination. More importantly, the optimized all-PSCs remain over 90% of their initial PCEs under continuous thermal stress at 65 °C for over 500 h. This work validates that control over microstructure morphology via a sequential deposition process is a promising strategy for fabricating highly efficient and stable all-PSCs.

High-Efficiency Saturated Red Bilayer Light-Emitting Diodes： Comparative Studies with Devices from Blend of the Same Light-Emitting Polymers

High-efficient saturated red light-emitting diodes are realized based on a bilayer of phenyl-substituted poly [p- phenylene vinylene] derivative （P-PPV） and copolymer （PFO-DBT15） of 9,9-dioctylfluorene （DOFF） and 4,7-di- 2-thienyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole （DBT）. External electrolurninescent （EL） quantum efficiency of PFO-DBT15 is increased from 1.6% for a single-layer device to 4.7% for the bilayer device by insertion of a P-PPV layer between PEDOT （polyethylene dioxythiophene-polystyrene sulfonic acid） and PFFO-DBT15 at the current density of 35 mA/cm^2. The luminescence efficiency reaches 0.83 cd/A, and the Commission Internationale de PEelairage coordinates （CIE） become nearly x = 0.700 and y = 0.300. In comparison with the devices from PFFO-DBT15 and P-PPV blend films, the P-PPV/PFO-DBT15 bilayer device shows higher EL quantum efficiency and better stability under high current density, The improved device performance can be attributed to the charge-confinement effect at the interface of the P-PPV/PFO-DBT15 bilayer structure.

All-Polymer Solar Cells and Photodetectors with Improved Stability Enabled by Terpolymers Containing Antioxidant Side Chains

It is of vital importance to improve the long-term and photostability of organic photovoltaics,including organic solar cells(OSCs)and organic photodetectors(OPDs),for their ultimate industrialization.Herein,two series of terpolymers featuring with an antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene(BHT)-terminated side chain,PTzBI-EHp-BTBHTx and N2200-BTBHTx(x=0.05,0.1,0.2),are designed and synthesized.It was found that incorporating appropriate ratio of benzothiadiazole(BT)with BHT side chains on the conjugated backbone would induce negligible effect on the molecular weight,absorption spectra and energy levels of polymers,however,which would obviously enhance the photostability of these polymers.Consequently,all-polymer solar cells(all-PSCs)and photodetectors were fabricated,and the all-PSC based on PTzBI-EHp-BTBHT0.05:N2200 realized an optimal power conversion efficiency(PCE)approaching~10%,outperforming the device based on pristine PTzBI-EHp:N2200.Impressively,the all-PSCs based on BHT-featuring terpolymers displayed alleviated PCEs degradation under continuous irradiation for 300 h due to the improved morphological and photostability of active layers.The OPDs based on BHT-featuring terpolymers achieved a lower dark current at−0.1 bias,which could be stabilized even after irradiation over 400 h.This study provides a feasible approach to develop terpolymers with antioxidant efficacy for improving the lifetime of OSCs and OPDs.

Field Emission Characteristics of Conducting Polymer Films Conditioned by Electric Discharge

A pure conducting polymer （PANI-CSA） film conditioned by an electric discharge was tentatively utilized as an cathode for emitting electrons under electric fields. The emission of electrons was observed using a phosphor （ZnO：Zn） screen excited by electrons from the conditioned film. The film morphology was investigated using a scanning electron microscope and it was found that undulate whisker-like sites formed on the surface. The emission was presumably due to the undulate whisker-like sites. The field enhancement factor was estimated to be as high as 1150. The electron emitting process of the PANI-CSA film conditioned by electric discharge was also discussed.

Improved Performance of Polymer Light-Emitting Diodes with an Electron Transport Emitter by Post-Annealing

The enhancement of electroluminescent （EL） performance of polymer light emitting diodes （PLEDs） with electron transport emitter poly（9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-benzothiadiazole） （FSBT） through thermal annealing treatment is investigatedl Post-annealing of the PLEDs at temperature 120℃ over the glass transition temperature of F8BT （99℃） could bring about an improvement of EL efficiency to more than twice that of the untreated devices, up to 6.02 cd/A. The improvement of the EL efficiency is due to the balance of electron and hole carriers in the exciton recombination zone, because the dominative electron current in the PLEDs could be reduced by post-annealing in terms of both issues of electron transport limited in the FSBT film and electron injection decreased by the interface between FSBT/cathode.

Simulation and Injection Molding of Ring-Shaped Polymer Bonded Nickel Braze Metal Composite Preforms Based on Rheological and Thermal Analyses

Rheological and thermal properties of LD-PE and LD-PE + 65 vol% Ni composite were examined by viscosity, pvt and thermal conductivity measurements at a wide range of shear rate, temperature and pressure. The typical shear-thinning viscosity of LD-PE polymer melt was enhanced up to four times by adding 65 vol% Ni braze metal particles. LD-PE show increasing specific volume versus temperature, decreasing with pressure and braze particle filler content. Variation of specific volume of LD-PE was reduced to 5% by admixing 65 vol% rigid Ni braze metal particles. Thermal conductivity of LD-PE was increased up to 15 times in the composite, reduced by decreasing pressure at temperature exceeding 80℃. Furthermore, thermal analysis was performed in modulated DSC to determine the specific heat capacity in wide temperature range. Viscosity and pvt-data were fitted using Cross-WLF equation and 2-domain Tait-pvt model, respectively. Simulation of LD-PE and LD-PE + 65 vol% Ni composite was performed based on rheological and thermal properties to define processing parameters. Simulation and injection molding of ring-shaped LD-PE + 65 vol% Ni composite braze metal preforms were performed successfully.

Highly efficient organic solar cells with improved stability enabled by ternary copolymers with antioxidant side chains

The stability of organic solar cells(OSCs)remains a major concern for their ultimate industrialization due to the photo,oxygen,and water susceptibility of organic photoactive materials.Usually,antioxidant additives are blended as radical scavengers into the active layer.However,it will induce the intrinsic morphology instability and adversely affect the efficiency and long-term stability.Herein,the antioxidant dibutylhydroxytoluene(BHT)group has been covalently linked onto the side chain of benzothiadiazole(BT)unit,and a series of ternary copolymers D18-Cl-BTBHTx(x=0,0.05,0.1,0.2)with varied ratio of BHT-containing side chains have been synthesized.It was found that the introduction of BHT side chains would have a negligible effect on the photophysical properties and electronic levels,and the D18-Cl-BTBHT0.05:Y6-based OSC achieved the highest power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 17.6%,which is higher than those based active layer blended with BHT additives.More importantly,the unencapsulated device based on D18-Cl-BTBHTx(x=0.05,0.1,0.2)retained approximately 50%of the initial PCE over 30 hours operation under ambient conditions,significantly outperforming the control device based on D18-Cl(90%degradation in PCE after 30 h).This work provides a new structural design strategy of copolymers for OSCs with simultaneously improved efficiency and stability.

17.13% Efficiency and Superior Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells Based on a Comb-Shape Active Blend

With rapid progress,organic solar cells(OSCs)are getting closer to the target of real application.However,the stability issue is still one of the biggest challenges that have to be resolved.Especially,the thermal stability of OSCs is far from meeting the requirements of the application.Here,based on the layer-by-layer(LBL)process and by utilizing the dissolubility nature of solvent and materials,binary inverted OSCs(ITO/AZO/PM6/BTP-eC9/MoO3/Ag)with comb shape active morphology are fabricated.High efficiency of 17.13%and simultaneous superior thermal stability(with 93%of initial efficiency retained in~9:00 h under 85℃in N_(2))are demonstrated,showing superior stability to reference cells.The enhancements are attributed to the formed optimal comb shape of the active layer,which could provide a larger D/A interface,thus more charge carriers,render the active blend a more stable morphology,and protect the electrode by impeding ion's migration and corrosion.To the best of our knowledge,this is the best thermal stability of binary OSCs reported in the literature,especially when considering the high efficiency of over 17%.

Recent progress in side chain engineering of Y-series non-fullerene molecule and polymer acceptors

Organic solar cells(OSCs) have drawn considerable attention in the last decade due to the great potential of light weight,flexibility, and low-cost solution processing. Particularly, Y-series non-fullerene acceptors(NFAs) including small molecular acceptors(SMAs) and polymerized small molecular acceptors(PSMAs) have become research hot spots due to their excellent power conversion efficiency. Side chain engineering is crucial to adjust the solubility and crystallinity of NFAs, which will significantly affect the morphology of active layers and the efficiency of OSCs. However, the understanding of side chain engineering on NFAs is still limited and lacks a systematic review. This review aims to provide a brief summary of the recent developments in side chain engineering of NFAs, with a special focus on the design and application of Y-series SMAs and PSMAs for high-efficiency non-fullerene organic solar cells(NF-OSCs). In addition, the review also points out challenges and provides useful guidance regarding side chain regulation for Y-series NFAs.

Suppressing the Undesirable Energy Loss in Solution-Processed Hyperfluorescent OLEDs Employing BODIPY-Based Hybridized Local and Charge-Transfer Emitter

Hyperfluorescent organic light-emitting diodes(HF-OLEDs)approach has made it possible to achieve excellent device performance and color purity with low roll-off using noble-metal-free pure organic emitter.Despite significant progress,the performance of HF-OLEDs is still unsatisfactory due to the existence of a competitive dexter energy transfer(DET)pathway.In this contribution,two boron dipyrromethene(BODIPY)-based donor-acceptor emitters(BDP-C-Cz and BDP-N-Cz)with hybridized local and charge transfer characteristics(HLCT)are introduced in the HF-OLED to suppress the exciton loss by dexter mechanism,and a breakthrough performance with low-efficiency roll-off(0.3%)even at high brightness(1000 cd m^(-2))is achieved.It is demonstrated that the energy loss via the DET channel can be suppressed in HF-OLEDs utilizing the HLCT emitter,as the excitons from the dark triplet state of such emitters are funneled to its emissive singlet state following the hot-exciton mechanism.The developed HF-OLED device has realized a good maximum external quantum efficiency(EQE)of 19.25%at brightness of 1000 cd m^(-2)and maximum luminance over 60000 cd m^(-2),with an emission peak at 602 nm and Commission International de L'Eclairage(CIE)coordinates(0.57,0.41),which is among the best-achieved results in solution-processed HF-OLEDs.This work presents a viable methodology to suppress energy loss and achieve high performance in the HF-OLEDs.

Controlled Synthesis of Proton-Conductive Porous Organic Polymer Gels via Electrostatically Stabilized Colloidal Formation

Porous organic polymers(POPs)have attracted extensive interest due to their structural diversity and predesigned functionality.However,the majority of POPs are synthesized as insoluble and unprocessable powders,which greatly impede their advanced applications because of limited mass transport and inadaptation for device integration.Herein,we report a controlled synthetic strategy of macroscopic POP gels by a cation-stabilized colloidal formation mechanism,which is widely adaptable to a large variety of tetra-/tri-amino build blocks for the synthesis of Tröger’s base-linked POP gels,aerogels,and ionic gels.The POP gels combined the integrated advantages of hierarchically porous structures and tailorable mechanical stiffness,whereas they could load substantial amounts of phosphoric acids and construct unimpeded transport pathways for proton conduction,exhibiting unprecedented proton conductivity at subzero temperatures.Our strategy offers a new solution to the intractable processing issues of POPs toward device applications with cutting-edge performances.

Materials genome engineering accelerates the research and development of organic and perovskite photovoltaics

The emerging photovoltaic(PV)technologies,such as organic and perovskite PVs,have the characteristics of complex compositions and processing,resulting in a large multidimensional parameter space for the development and optimization of the technologies.Traditional manual methods are time-consuming and laborintensive in screening and optimizing material properties.Materials genome engineering(MGE)advances an innovative approach that combines efficient experimentation,big database and artificial intelligence(AI)algorithms to accelerate materials research and development.High-throughput(HT)research platforms perform multidimensional experimental tasks rapidly,providing a large amount of reliable and consistent data for the creation of materials databases.Therefore,the development of novel experimental methods combining HT and AI can accelerate materials design and application,which is beneficial for establishing material-processing-property relationships and overcoming bottlenecks in the development of emerging PV technologies.This review introduces the key technologies involved in MGE and overviews the accelerating role of MGE in the field of organic and perovskite PVs.

STUDY ON THE MECHANISM OF NYLON 6, 6 DISSOLVING PROCESS USING CaCl_2/MeOH AS THE SOLVENT

A discussion of the mechanism of nylon 6, 6 dissolving process using CaCl_2/MeOH as the sol-vent is presented. The calcium chloride forms a complex compound with nylon 6, 6 by breakingthe hydrogen bonds. The melting point of the CaCl_2 --nylon 6, 6 complex was found to be reducedby 91K relative to the pure nylon 6, 6 polymer. The role of methanol is somewhat similar to acatalyst. The results demonstrate that the complexation of a Lewis acid (CaCl_2) and a Lewis base(nylon 6, 6) can be used to probe intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonding in polymers, to modify the polymer properties and mediate its solubility and processing.

One-pot hydrothermal fabrication of α-Fe_2O_3@C nanocomposites for electrochemical energy storage

A facile hydrothermal method was developed for the preparation of Fe_2O_3@C nanocomposites using FeCl_3·6H_2O as iron source and glucose as carbon source under alkaline condition. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared product were identified by transmission electron microscopy(TEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA). The as-prepare α-Fe_2O_3@C nanocomposites were employed for supercapacitor electrode material. The synergistic combination of carbon electrical double-layer capacitance and α-Fe_2O_3 pseudo-capacitance established such nanocomposites as versatile platform for high performance supercapacitors. The synthesis method developed here is expected to obtain other metal oxide/carbon composite.

Study of the structure and the mechanical properties of dynamically cured PP/MAH-g-SEBS/epoxy blends

A new method concerning with the simultaneous reinforcing and toughening of polypropylene （PP） was reported. Dynamical cure of the epoxy resin was successfully applied in the PP/maleic anhydride-grafted styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene （SEBS） triblock copolymer, and the obtained blends named as dynamically cured PP/MAH-g-SEBS/epoxy blends. The stiffness and toughness of the blends are in a good balance, and MAH-g-SEBS was acted as not only an impact modifier but also a compatibilizer. The structure of the dynamically cured PP/MAH-g-SEBS/epoxy blends is the embedding of the epoxy particles by the MAH-g- SEBS.C2009 Xue Liang Jiang. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

Color-stable,reduced efficiency roll-off hybrid white organic light emitting diodes with ultra high brightness

High-brightness and color-stable two-wavelength hybrid white organic light emitting diodes （HWOLEDs） with the configuration of indium tin oxide （ITO）/ N, N, N, N-tetrakis（4-methoxyphenyl）-benzidine （MeO-TPD）： tetrafluoro-tetracyanoqino dimethane （F4-TCNQ）/N,N-di（naphthalene-1-yl）-N,N-diphenyl-benzidine （NPB）/ 4,4-N,N-dicarbazolebiphenyl （CBP）： iridium （III） diazine complexes （MPPZ） 2 Ir（acac）/NPB/2-methyl-9,10-di（2-naphthyl）anthracene （MADN）： p-bis（p-N,N-di-phenyl-aminostyryl）benzene （DSA-ph）/bis（10-hydroxybenzo[h] quino-linato）beryllium complex （Bebq2）/LiF/Al have been fabricated and characterized. The optimal brightness of the device is 69932 cd/m2 at a voltage of 13 V, and the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage （CIE） chromaticity coordinates are almost constant during a large voltage change of 6–12 V. Furthermore, a current efficiency of 15.3 cd/A at an illumination-relevant brightness of 1000 cd/m2 is obtained, which rolls off slightly to 13.0 cd/A at an ultra high brightness of 50000 cd/m2. We attribute this great performance to wisely selecting an appropriate spacer together with effectively utilizing the combinations of exciton-harvested orange-phosphorescence/blue-fluorescence in the device. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most exciting results in two-wavelength HWOLEDs up to now.

Quantificational Etching of AAO Template

Ni nanowires were prepared by electrodeposition in porous anodized aluminum oxide （AAO） template from a composite electrolyte solution. Well-ordered Ni nanowire arrays with controllable length were then made by the partial removal of AAO using a mixture of phosphoric acid and chromic acid （6 wt pct H3PO4：1.8 wt pct H3CrO4）. The images of Ni nanowire arrays were studied by scanning electron microscopy （SEM） to determine the relationship between etching time and the length of Ni nanowire arrays. The results indicate that the length of nanowires exposed from the template can be accurately controlled by controlling etching time.

N-alkyl chain modification in dithienobenzotriazole unit enabled efficient polymer donor for high-performance non-fullerene solar cells

Molecular design of either polymer donors or acceptors is a promising strategy to tune the morphology of the active layer of organic solar cells,enabling a high-performance device.Thereinto,developing novel polymer donors is an alternative method to obtain high photovoltaic performance.Herein,we present a facile side-chain engineering on the dithiophenobenzotriazole(DTBTz)unit of newly-designed polymer donors(named p BDT-DTBTz-EH and p BDT-DTBTz-Me)to boost the performance of non-fullerene solar cells.Compared with p BDT-DTBTz-EH with long N-alkyl side chains,p BDT-DTBTz-Me with a short methyl exhibits stronger molecular aggregation,higher absorption coefficient,and preferred face-on orientation packing.As a consequence,p BDT-DTBTz-Me based devices achieve an optimal power conversion efficiency of 15.31%when donors are paired with the narrow bandgap acceptor Y6,which is superior to that of p BDT-DTBTz-EH based devices(9.17%).Additionally,the p BDT-DTBTz-Me based devices manifest more effective charge separation and transfer than p BDT-DTBTz-EH based devices.These results indicate that fine-tuning side chains of polymer donors provide new insights for the design of high-performance polymer donors in non-fullerene solar cells.

Self-organization effect in poly(3-hexylthiophene): methanofullerenes solar cells

This paper studies the self-organization of the polymer in solar cells based on poly（3-hexylthiophene）： [6, 6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester by controlling the growth rate of active layer. These blend films are characterized by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, charge-transport dark J - V curve, x-ray diffraction pattern curve, and atomic force microscopy. The results indicate that slowing down the drying process of the wet films leads to an enhanced selforganization, which causes an increased hole transport. Increased incident light absorption, higher carrier mobility, and balanced carrier transport in the active layer explain the enhancement in the device performance, the power conversion efficiency of 3.43% and fill factor up to 64.6% are achieved under Air Mass 1.5, 100 mW/cm^2.