Effect of temperature and illumination on the electrical characteristics of polymer-fullerene bulk-heterojunction solar cells

The current-voltage characteristics of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/OC1C10-PPV:PCBM/Al solar cells were measured in the temperature range 125-320 K under variable illumination, between 0.03 and 100 mW cm(-2) (white light), with the aim of determining the efficiency-limiting mechanism(s) in these devices, and the temperature and/or illumination range(s) in which these devices demonstrate optimal performance. (ITO: indium tin oxide; PEDOT:PSS: poly(styrene sulfonate)-doped poly(ethylene dioxythiophene); OC1C10-PPV: poly[2-methoxy-5-(3,7-dimethyl octyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene]; PCBM: phenyl-C-61 butyric acid methyl ester.) The short-circuit current density and the fill factor grow monotonically with temperature until 320 K. This is indicative of a thermally activated transport of photogenerated charge carriers, influenced by recombination with shallow traps. A gradual increase of the open-circuit voltage to 0.91 V was observed upon cooling the devices down to 125 K. This fits the picture in which the open-circuit voltage is not limited by the work-function difference of electrode materials used. The overall effect of temperature on solar-cell parameters results in a positive temperature coefficient of the power conversion efficiency, which is 1.9% at T = 320 K and 100 mW cm(-2) (2.5% at 0.7 mW cm(-2)). The almost-linear variation of the short-circuit current density with light intensity confirms that the internal recombination losses are predominantly of monomolecular type under short-circuit conditions. We present evidence that the efficiency of this type of solar cell is limited by a light-dependent shunt resistance. Furthermore, the electronic transport properties of the absorber materials, e.g., low effective charge-carrier mobility with a strong temperature dependence, limit the photogenerated current due to a high series resistance, therefore the active layer thickness must be kept low, which results in low absorption for this particular composite absorber

Impact of Marginal Exciton-Charge-Transfer State Offset on Charge Generation and Recombination in Polymer:Fullerene Solar Cells

The energetic offset between the initial photoexcited state and charge-transfer (CT) state in organic heterojunction solar cells influences both charge generation and open-circuit voltage (Voc). Here, we use time-resolved spectroscopy and voltage loss measurements to analyze the effect of the exciton–CT state offset on charge transfer, separation, and recombination processes in blends of a low-band-gap polymer (INDT-S) with fullerene derivatives of different electron affinity (PCBM and KL). For the lower exciton–CT state offset blend (INDT-S:PCBM), both photocurrent generation and nonradiative voltage losses are lower. The INDT-S:PCBM blend shows different excited-state dynamics depending on whether the donor or acceptor is photoexcited. Surprisingly, the charge recombination dynamics in INDT-S:PCBM are distinctly faster than those in INDT-S:KL upon excitation of the donor. We reconcile these observations using a kinetic model and by considering hybridization between the lowest excitonic and CT states. The modeling results show that this hybridization can significantly reduce Voc losses while still allowing reasonable charge generation efficiency

Near-infrared sensitivity enhancement of photorefractive polymer composites by pre-illumination

Among the various applications for reversible holographic storage media, a particularly interesting one is time-gated holographic imaging (TGHI). This technique could provide a noninvasive medical diagnosis tool, related to optical coherence tomography. In this technique, biological samples are illuminated within their transparency windowwith near-infrared light, and information about subsurface features is obtained by a detection method that distinguishes between reflected photons originating from a certain depth and those scattered from various depths. Such an application requires reversible holographic storage media with very high sensitivity in the near-infrared. Photorefractive materials, in particular certain amorphous organic systems, are in principle promising candidate media, but their sensitivity has so far been too low, mainly owing to their long response times in the near-infrared. Here we introduce an organic photorefractive material—a composite based on the poly(arylene vinylene) copolymer TPD-PPV—that exhibits favourable near-infrared characteristics. We show that pre-illumination of this material at a shorter wavelength before holographic recording improves the response time by a factor of 40. This process was found to be reversible. We demonstrate multiple holographic recording with this technique at video rate under practical conditions

Adhesion Forces and Coaggregation between Vaginal Staphylococci and Lactobacilli

Urogenital infections are the most common ailments afflicting women. They are treated with dated antimicrobials whose efficacy is diminishing. The process of infection involves pathogen adhesion and displacement of indigenous Lactobacillus crispatus and Lactobacillus jensenii. An alternative therapeutic approach to antimicrobial therapy is to reestablish lactobacilli in this microbiome through probiotic administration. We hypothesized that lactobacilli displaying strong adhesion forces with pathogens would facilitate coaggregation between the two strains, ultimately explaining the elimination of pathogens seen in vivo. Using atomic force microscopy, we found that adhesion forces between lactobacilli and three virulent toxic shock syndrome toxin 1-producing Staphylococcus aureus strains, were significantly stronger (2.2–6.4 nN) than between staphylococcal pairs (2.2–3.4 nN), especially for the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri RC-14 (4.0–6.4 nN) after 120 s of bond-strengthening. Moreover, stronger adhesion forces resulted in significantly larger coaggregates. Adhesion between the bacteria occurred instantly upon contact and matured within one to two minutes, demonstrating the potential for rapid anti-pathogen effects using a probiotic. Coaggregation is one of the recognized mechanisms through which lactobacilli can exert their probiotic effects to create a hostile micro-environment around a pathogen. With antimicrobial options fading, it therewith becomes increasingly important to identify lactobacilli that bind strongly with pathogens

Organic Material photodiode

Samenvatting van WO2004073082 The present invention relates to a photodiode, comprising a photo-active layer which layer comprises at least one electron donating material, and at least one fullerene derivative as an electron accepting material. The present invention further relates to a method for making such a photo diode, to a photo-active layer and to a fullerene derivative