journal article·2019-12Open access

Sequentially Deposited versus Conventional Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells: Interfacial Trap States, Vertical Stratification, and Exciton Dissociation

Jiangbin Zhang, Moritz H. Futscher, Vincent Lami, Felix U. Kosasih, Changsoon Cho, Qinying Gu, Aditya Sadhanala, Andrew J. Pearson, Bin Kan, Giorgio Divitini, Xiangjian Wan, Dan Credgington, Neil C. Greenham, Yongsheng Chen, Caterina Ducati, Bruno Ehrler, Yana Vaynzof, Richard H. Friend, Artem A. Bakulin

Advanced Energy Materials· Volume 9· Issue 47

Abstract

Abstract Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) nonfullerene organic solar cells prepared from sequentially deposited donor and acceptor layers (sq‐BHJ) have recently been shown to be highly efficient, environmentally friendly, and compatible with large area and roll‐to‐roll fabrication. However, the related photophysics at donor‐acceptor interface and the vertical heterogeneity of donor‐acceptor distribution, critical for exciton dissociation and device performance, have been largely unexplored. Herein, steady‐state and time‐resolved optical and electrical techniques are employed to characterize the interfacial trap states. Correlating with the luminescent efficiency of interfacial states and its nonradiative recombination, interfacial trap states are characterized to be about 40% more populated in the sq‐BHJ devices than the as‐cast BHJ (c‐BHJ), which probably limits the device voltage output. Cross‐sectional energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy depth profiling directly visualize the donor–acceptor vertical stratification with a precision of 1–2 nm. From the proposed “needle” model, the high exciton dissociation efficiency is rationalized. This study highlights the promise of sequential deposition to fabricate efficient solar cells, and points toward improving the voltage output and overall device performance via eliminating interfacial trap states.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics · Perovskite Materials and Applications · Conducting polymers and applications

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Cavendish Laboratory University of Cambridge JJ Thomson Avenue Cambridge CB3 0HE UK

Department of Chemistry Imperial College London London SW7 2AZ UK

Center for Nanophotonics AMOLF Science Park 104 1098 XG Amsterdam The Netherlands

Kirchhoff Institute for Physics and the Centre for Advanced Materials Heidelberg University Im Neuenheimer Feld 227 69120 Heidelberg Germany

Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy University of Cambridge 27 Charles Babbage Road Cambridge CB3 0FS UK

School of Electrical Engineering Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Daejeon 34141 Republic of Korea

The Centre of Nanoscale Science and Technology and Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials State Key Laboratory and Institute of Elemento‐Organic Chemistry College of Chemistry Nankai University Tianjin 300071 China

Dresden Integrated Centre for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials (IAPP) and Centre for Advancing Electronics Dresden (CFAED) Technical University of Dresden Nöthnitzer Straße 61 01187 Dresden Germany

Funding

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council · China Scholarship Council · Cambridge Commonwealth Trust · National Natural Science Foundation of China · European Research Council · H2020 European Research Council · Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek

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