Time-resolved neutron reflectometry and photovoltaic device studies on sequentially deposited PCDTBT-fullerene layers
Date
2014
Authors
Clulow, A.
Tao, C.
Lee, K.
Velusamy, M.
McEwan, J.
Shaw, P.
Yamada, N.
James, M.
Burn, P.
Gentle, I.
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Journal article
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Langmuir, 2014; 30(38):11474-11484
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Andrew J. Clulow, Chen Tao, Kwan H. Lee, Marappan Velusamy, Jake A. McEwan ... Michael James ... et al.
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Abstract
We have used steady-state and time-resolved neutron reflectometry to study the diffusion of fullerene derivatives into the narrow optical gap polymer poly[N-9″-hepta-decanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT) to explore the sequential processing of the donor and acceptor for the preparation of efficient organic solar cells. It was found that when [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric-acid-methyl-ester (60-PCBM) was deposited onto a thin film of PCDTBT from dichloromethane (DCM), a three-layer structure was formed that was stable below the glass-transition temperature of the polymer. When good solvents for the polymer were used in conjunction with DCM, both 60-PCBM and [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric-acid-methyl-ester (70-PCBM) were seen to form films that had a thick fullerene layer containing little polymer and a PCDTBT-rich layer near the interface with the substrate. Devices composed of films prepared by sequential deposition of the polymer and fullerene had efficiencies of up to 5.3%, with those based on 60-PCBM close to optimized bulk heterojunction (BHJ) cells processed in the conventional manner. Sequential deposition of pure components to form the active layer is attractive for large-area device fabrication, and the results demonstrate that this processing method can give efficient solar cells.
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© 2014 American Chemical Society