2 research outputs found
Manipulating the Morphology of P3HT–PCBM Bulk Heterojunction Blends with Solvent Vapor Annealing
Using grazing incidence X-ray scattering, we observe
the effects
of solvent vapors upon the morphology of polyÂ(3-hexylthiophene)–phenyl-C<sub>61</sub>-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT–PCBM) bulk heterojunction
thin film blends in real time; allowing us to observe morphological
rearrangements that occur during this process as a function of solvent.
We detail the swelling of the P3HT crystallites upon the introduction
of solvent and the resulting changes in the P3HT crystallite morphology.
We also demonstrate the ability for tetrahydrofuran vapor to induce
crystallinity in PCBM domains. Additionally, we measure the nanoscale
phase segregated domain size as a function of solvent vapor annealing
and correlate this to the changes observed in the crystallite morphology
of each component. Finally, we discuss the implications of the morphological
changes induced by solvent vapor annealing on the device properties
of BHJ solar cells
Molecular Packing and Solar Cell Performance in Blends of Polymers with a Bisadduct Fullerene
We compare the solar cell performance of several polymers
with
the conventional electron acceptor phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl
ester (PCBM) to fullerenes with one to three indene adducts. We find
that the multiadduct fullerenes with lower electron affinity improve
the efficiency of the solar cells only when they do not intercalate
between the polymer side chains. When they intercalate between the
side chains, the multiadduct fullerenes substantially reduce solar
cell photocurrent. We use X-ray diffraction to determine how the fullerenes
are arranged within crystals of poly-(2,5-bisÂ(3-tetradecylthiophen-2-yl)ÂthienoÂ[3,2-b]Âthiophene)
(PBTTT) and suggest that poor electron transport in the molecularly
mixed domains may account for the reduced solar cell performance of
blends with fullerene intercalation