3 research outputs found
Photophysical and Electrochemical Characterization of BODIPY-Containing Dyads Comparing the Influence of an A–D–A versus D–A Motif on Excited-State Photophysics
A complete photophysical characterization
of organic molecules
designed for use as molecular materials is critical in the design
and construction of devices such as organic photovoltaics (OPV). The
nature of a molecule’s excited state will be altered in molecules
employing the same chromophoric units but possessing different molecular
architectures. For this reason, we examine the photophysical reactions
of two BODIPY-based D–A and A–D–A molecules,
where D is the donor and A is the acceptor. A BODIPY (4,4′-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-<i>s</i>-indacene) moiety serves as the A component and is connected
through the <i>meso</i> position using a 3-hexylthiophene
linker to a <i>N</i>-(2-ethylhexyl)dithieno[3,2-<i>b</i>:2′,3′-<i>d</i>]pyrrole (DTP),
which serves as the D component. An A–D–A motif is compared
to its corresponding D–A dyad counterpart. We show a potential
advantage to the A–D–A motif over the D–A motif
in creating longer-lived excited states. Transient absorption (TA)
spectroscopy is used to characterize the photophysical evolution of
each molecule’s excited state. Global analysis of TA data using
singular value decomposition and target analysis is performed to identify
decay-associated difference spectra (DADS). The DADS reveal the spectral
features associated with charge-transfer excited states that evolve
with different dynamics. A–D–A possess slightly longer
excited-state lifetimes, 42 ps nonradiative decay, and 4.64 ns radiative
decay compared to those of D–A, 24 ps nonradiative decay, and
3.95 ns radiative decay. A longer lived A–D–A component
is observed with microsecond lifetimes, representing a small fraction
of the total photophyscial product. Steady-state and time-resolved
photoluminescence augment the insights from TA, while electrochemistry
and spectroelectrochemistry are employed to identify the nature of
the excited state. Density functional theory supports the observed
electronic and electrochemical properties of the D–A and A–D–A
molecules. These results form a complete picture of the electronic
and photophysical properties of D–A and A–D–A
and provide contextualization for structure–function relationships
between molecules and OPV devices
Improved Performances in Polymer BHJ Solar Cells Through Frontier Orbital Tuning of Small Molecule Additives in Ternary Blends
Polymer solar cells fabricated in
air under ambient conditions
are of significant current interest, because of the implications in
practicality of such devices. However, only moderate performance has
been obtained for the air-processed devices. Here, we report that
enhanced short circuit current density (<i>J</i><sub>SC</sub>) and open circuit voltage (<i>V</i><sub>OC</sub>) in air-processed
poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-based solar cells can be obtained by
using a series of donor–acceptor dyes as the third component
in the device. Power conversion efficiencies up to 4.6% were obtained
upon addition of the dyes which are comparable to high-performance
P3HT solar cells fabricated in controlled environments. Multilayer
planar solar cells containing interlayers of the donor–acceptor
dyes, revealed that along with infrared sensitization, an energy level
cascade architecture and Förster resonance energy transfer
could contribute to the enhanced performance
Crystallinity and Morphology Effects on a Solvent-Processed Solar Cell Using a Triarylamine-Substituted Squaraine
2,4-Bis[4′-(<i><i>N,N</i></i>-di(4″-hydroxyphenyl)amino)-2′,6′-dihydroxyphenyl]squaraine
(Sq-TAA-OH, optical bandgap 1.4 eV, HOMO level −5.3 eV by ultraviolet
photoelectron spectroscopy) is used as an active layer material in
solution processed, bulk-heterojunction organic photovoltaic cells
with configuration ITO/PEDOT:PSS/Sq-TAA-OH:PC<sub>71</sub>BM/LiF/Al.
Power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) up to 4.8% are obtained by a
well-reproducible procedure using a mixture of good and poor Sq-TAA-OH
solubilizing organic solvents, with diiodooctane (DIO) additive to
make a bulk heterojunction layer, followed by thermal annealing, to
give optimized <i>V</i><sub>OC</sub> = 0.84–0.86
V, <i>J</i><sub>SC</sub> = 10 mA cm<sup>–2</sup>,
and FF = 0.53. X-ray diffraction and scattering studies of pristine,
pure Sq-TAA-OH solution-cast films show <i>d</i>-spacing
features similar to single-crystal packing and spacing. The DIO additive
in a good solvent/poor solvent mixture apparently broadens the size
distribution of Sq-TAA-OH crystallites in pristine films, but thermal
annealing provides a narrower size distribution. Direct X-ray diffraction
and scattering morphological studies of “as-fabricated”
active layers show improved Sq-TAA-OH/PC<sub>71</sub>BM phase separation
and formation of crystallites, ∼48 nm in size, under conditions
that give the best PCE