Additives for morphology control in high-efficiency organic solar cells

Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaics represent one of the most promising technologies in low-cost, high-throughput, environmentally friendly energy conversion. Morphological control is one pillar of the recent remarkable progress in power conversion efficiency. This review focuses on morphological control by processing with solvent additives, which has been extensively adopted and exhibits promising compatibility with large-scale processing. Recent investigations including material selection, morphological variations at various length scales, and interpretations of the interaction among additives and BHJ materials will be discussed. Insights into the role of solvent additives represent an important resource for further improvement in materials and processing designs.

[1]  T. P. Russell,et al.  Multi‐Length‐Scale Morphologies in PCPDTBT/PCBM Bulk‐Heterojunction Solar Cells , 2012 .

[2]  A. Facchetti,et al.  Fluorinated copper phthalocyanine nanowires for enhancing interfacial electron transport in organic solar cells. , 2012, Nano letters.

[3]  M. Sommer,et al.  Solvent Additive Control of Morphology and Crystallization in Semiconducting Polymer Blends , 2012, Advanced materials.

[4]  Mikkel Jørgensen,et al.  High-throughput roll-to-roll X-ray characterization of polymer solar cell active layers , 2012 .

[5]  A J Heeger,et al.  Efficiency enhancement in low-bandgap polymer solar cells by processing with alkane dithiols. , 2007, Nature materials.

[6]  Xiong Gong,et al.  Thermally Stable, Efficient Polymer Solar Cells with Nanoscale Control of the Interpenetrating Network Morphology , 2005 .

[7]  J. Fréchet,et al.  Linear side chains in benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione polymers direct self-assembly and solar cell performance. , 2013, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[8]  Miao Xu,et al.  Enhanced power-conversion efficiency in polymer solar cells using an inverted device structure , 2012, Nature Photonics.

[9]  Wei Chen,et al.  Hierarchical nanomorphologies promote exciton dissociation in polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells. , 2011, Nano letters.

[10]  W. Su,et al.  Enhancing the efficiency of low bandgap conducting polymer bulk heterojunction solar cells using P3HT as a morphology control agent , 2013 .

[11]  Kwanghee Lee,et al.  Synergistic Effect of Processing Additives and Optical Spacers in Bulk‐Heterojunction Solar Cells , 2012 .

[12]  Yongfang Li,et al.  Conjugated Side-Chain-Isolated D–A Copolymers Based on Benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-alt-dithienylbenzotriazole: Synthesis and Photovoltaic Properties , 2012 .

[13]  W. Su,et al.  Nanoparticle-tuned self-organization of a bulk heterojunction hybrid solar cell with enhanced performance. , 2012, ACS nano.

[14]  Chain‐Shu Hsu,et al.  Synthesis of conjugated polymers for organic solar cell applications. , 2009, Chemical reviews.

[15]  S. Mannsfeld,et al.  Quantitative determination of organic semiconductor microstructure from the molecular to device scale. , 2012, Chemical reviews.

[16]  Gang Li,et al.  For the Bright Future—Bulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells with Power Conversion Efficiency of 7.4% , 2010, Advanced materials.

[17]  M. Toney,et al.  Time-resolved structural evolution of additive-processed bulk heterojunction solar cells. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[18]  S. Beaupré,et al.  Control of the active layer nanomorphology by using co-additives towards high-performance bulk heterojunction solar cells , 2012 .

[19]  U. Jeng,et al.  Improving Device Efficiency of Polymer/Fullerene Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells Through Enhanced Crystallinity and Reduced Grain Boundaries Induced by Solvent Additives , 2011, Advanced materials.

[20]  Alberto Salleo,et al.  Recombination in Polymer:Fullerene Solar Cells with Open‐Circuit Voltages Approaching and Exceeding 1.0 V , 2013 .

[21]  Youyong Li,et al.  Efficient Polymer Solar Cells with a High Open Circuit Voltage of 1 Volt , 2013 .

[22]  K. Hashimoto,et al.  Introduction of a conjugated side chain as an effective approach to improving donor–acceptor photovoltaic polymers , 2012 .

[23]  Mauro Morana,et al.  Exciton diffusion length in narrow bandgap polymers , 2012 .

[24]  Christoph J. Brabec,et al.  Correlation Between Structural and Optical Properties of Composite Polymer/Fullerene Films for Organic Solar Cells , 2005 .

[25]  Wei You,et al.  Fluorine substituted conjugated polymer of medium band gap yields 7% efficiency in polymer-fullerene solar cells. , 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[26]  W. Su,et al.  Bi-hierarchical nanostructures of donor–acceptor copolymer and fullerene for high efficient bulk heterojunction solar cells , 2013 .

[27]  Jae Kwan Lee,et al.  Well-defined donor–acceptor rod–coil diblock copolymers based on P3HT containing C60: the morphology and role as a surfactant in bulk-heterojunction solar cells , 2009 .

[28]  William R. Salaneck,et al.  Energy‐Level Alignment at Organic/Metal and Organic/Organic Interfaces , 2009 .

[29]  Alex K.-Y. Jen,et al.  High‐Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells Achieved by Doping Plasmonic Metallic Nanoparticles into Dual Charge Selecting Interfacial Layers to Enhance Light Trapping , 2013 .

[30]  W. Su,et al.  Small- and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering Characterization of Bulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells with Different Fullerene Derivatives , 2012 .

[31]  Jian Tang,et al.  Recent progress in the design of narrow bandgap conjugated polymers for high-efficiency organic solar cells , 2012 .

[32]  Yang Yang,et al.  High-efficiency solution processable polymer photovoltaic cells by self-organization of polymer blends , 2005 .

[33]  Yang Yang,et al.  A polymer tandem solar cell with 10.6% power conversion efficiency , 2013, Nature Communications.

[34]  Fengxian Xie,et al.  Dual Plasmonic Nanostructures for High Performance Inverted Organic Solar Cells , 2012, Advanced materials.

[35]  Thuc‐Quyen Nguyen,et al.  A Systematic Approach to Solvent Selection Based on Cohesive Energy Densities in a Molecular Bulk Heterojunction System , 2011 .

[36]  Wei You,et al.  Development of fluorinated benzothiadiazole as a structural unit for a polymer solar cell of 7 % efficiency. , 2011, Angewandte Chemie.

[37]  Yongfang Li,et al.  High efficiency polymer solar cells based on poly(3-hexylthiophene)/indene-C70 bisadduct with solvent additive , 2012 .

[38]  M. Toney,et al.  Structural Order in Bulk Heterojunction Films Prepared with Solvent Additives , 2011, Advanced materials.

[39]  Klaus Meerholz,et al.  Controlling Morphology in Polymer–Fullerene Mixtures , 2008 .

[40]  C. Brabec,et al.  Influence of blend microstructure on bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic performance. , 2011, Chemical Society reviews.

[41]  W. Su,et al.  Enhancing organic–inorganic hybrid solar cell efficiency using rod–coil diblock polymer additive , 2013 .

[42]  Wen‐Chang Chen,et al.  Enhancement of P3HT/PCBM Photovoltaic Efficiency Using the Surfactant of Triblock Copolymer Containing Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and Poly(4-vinyltriphenylamine) Segments , 2010 .

[43]  W. You,et al.  Parallel-like bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[44]  F. Liu,et al.  Efficient Polymer Solar Cells Based on a Low Bandgap Semi‐crystalline DPP Polymer‐PCBM Blends , 2012, Advanced materials.

[45]  M. Wienk,et al.  Solution Processed Polymer Tandem Solar Cell Using Efficient Small and Wide bandgap Polymer:Fullerene Blends , 2012, Advanced materials.

[46]  Yang Yang,et al.  Polymer solar cells with enhanced open-circuit voltage and efficiency , 2009 .

[47]  Hsin‐Lung Chen,et al.  Highly Efficient P3HT: C60 Solar Cell Free of Annealing Process , 2011 .

[48]  Luping Yu,et al.  Effects of additives on the morphology of solution phase aggregates formed by active layer components of high-efficiency organic solar cells. , 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[49]  Changduk Yang,et al.  High-efficiency polymer solar cells with a cost-effective quinoxaline polymer through nanoscale morphology control induced by practical processing additives , 2013 .

[50]  Jenny Nelson,et al.  Factors Limiting Device Efficiency in Organic Photovoltaics , 2013, Advanced materials.

[51]  Joel H. Hildebrand,et al.  The solubility of nonelectrolytes , 1964 .

[52]  E. Gomez,et al.  Altering the Thermodynamics of Phase Separation in Inverted Bulk‐Heterojunction Organic Solar Cells , 2009 .

[53]  Ye Tao,et al.  Bulk heterojunction solar cells using thieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione and dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]silole copolymer with a power conversion efficiency of 7.3%. , 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[54]  R. J. Kline,et al.  Molecular order in high-efficiency polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells. , 2011, ACS nano.

[55]  Zhenan Bao,et al.  Solvent additives and their effects on blend morphologies of bulk heterojunctions , 2011 .

[56]  Yang Yang,et al.  A Robust Inter‐Connecting Layer for Achieving High Performance Tandem Polymer Solar Cells , 2011, Advanced materials.

[57]  M. Chabinyc,et al.  Recent progress in the morphology of bulk heterojunction photovoltaics , 2011 .

[58]  Alexander L. Ayzner,et al.  Comparison of the Photovoltaic Characteristics and Nanostructure of Fullerenes Blended with Conjugated Polymers with Siloxane-Terminated and Branched Aliphatic Side Chains , 2013 .

[59]  John R. Tumbleston,et al.  Absolute Measurement of Domain Composition and Nanoscale Size Distribution Explains Performance in PTB7:PC71BM Solar Cells , 2013 .

[60]  Kazuhito Hashimoto,et al.  Preparation of active layers in polymer solar cells by aerosol jet printing. , 2011, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[61]  John R. Reynolds,et al.  Dithienogermole as a fused electron donor in bulk heterojunction solar cells. , 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[62]  Yang Yang,et al.  Tandem polymer solar cells featuring a spectrally matched low-bandgap polymer , 2012, Nature Photonics.

[63]  Mm Martijn Wienk,et al.  Narrow‐Bandgap Diketo‐Pyrrolo‐Pyrrole Polymer Solar Cells: The Effect of Processing on the Performance , 2008 .

[64]  Feng Liu,et al.  On the morphology of polymer‐based photovoltaics , 2012 .

[65]  Jin Young Kim,et al.  Processing additives for improved efficiency from bulk heterojunction solar cells. , 2008, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[66]  A. Maldonado,et al.  Physical properties of ZnO:F obtained from a fresh and aged solution of zinc acetate and zinc acetylacetonate , 2006 .

[67]  Yong Cao,et al.  Simultaneous Enhancement of Open‐Circuit Voltage, Short‐Circuit Current Density, and Fill Factor in Polymer Solar Cells , 2011, Advanced materials.

[68]  Song Chen,et al.  Inverted Polymer Solar Cells with Reduced Interface Recombination , 2012 .

[69]  Xiaoniu Yang,et al.  Nanoscale morphology of high-performance polymer solar cells. , 2005, Nano letters.

[70]  Chain-Shu Hsu,et al.  Combination of Molecular, Morphological, and Interfacial Engineering to Achieve Highly Efficient and Stable Plastic Solar Cells , 2012, Advanced materials.

[71]  Pierre M Beaujuge,et al.  Synthetic control of structural order in N-alkylthieno[3,4-c]pyrrole-4,6-dione-based polymers for efficient solar cells. , 2010, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[72]  Donal D. C. Bradley,et al.  A strong regioregularity effect in self-organizing conjugated polymer films and high-efficiency polythiophene:fullerene solar cells , 2006 .

[73]  Gang Li,et al.  “Solvent Annealing” Effect in Polymer Solar Cells Based on Poly(3‐hexylthiophene) and Methanofullerenes , 2007 .

[74]  Peter Müller-Buschbaum,et al.  Morphology of polymer-based bulk heterojunction films for organic photovoltaics , 2011 .

[75]  Valentin D. Mihailetchi,et al.  Charge Transport and Photocurrent Generation in Poly(3‐hexylthiophene): Methanofullerene Bulk‐Heterojunction Solar Cells , 2006 .

[76]  Jianguo Mei,et al.  Improved Performance of Molecular Bulk‐Heterojunction Photovoltaic Cells through Predictable Selection of Solvent Additives , 2012 .

[77]  Thuc‐Quyen Nguyen,et al.  Molecular solubility and hansen solubility parameters for the analysis of phase separation in bulk heterojunctions , 2012 .

[78]  Feng Xu,et al.  Replacing alkoxy groups with alkylthienyl groups: a feasible approach to improve the properties of photovoltaic polymers. , 2011, Angewandte Chemie.

[79]  Yang Yang,et al.  Systematic investigation of benzodithiophene- and diketopyrrolopyrrole-based low-bandgap polymers designed for single junction and tandem polymer solar cells. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[80]  Yongfang Li,et al.  Efficiency Enhancement of Polymer Solar Cells Based on Poly(3‐hexylthiophene)/Indene‐C70 Bisadduct via Methylthiophene Additive , 2011 .

[81]  L. Wang,et al.  Efficient Poly(3-hexylthiophene)-Based Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells Fabricated by an Annealing-Free Approach , 2008 .

[82]  Shinuk Cho,et al.  Effect of processing additive on the nanomorphology of a bulk heterojunction material. , 2010, Nano letters.

[83]  Thomas Strobel,et al.  Role of the Charge Transfer State in Organic Donor–Acceptor Solar Cells , 2010, Advanced materials.

[84]  Yongfang Li.  Molecular design of photovoltaic materials for polymer solar cells: toward suitable electronic energy levels and broad absorption. , 2012, Accounts of chemical research.

[85]  Alan J. Heeger,et al.  Solar cell efficiency, self-assembly, and dipole-dipole interactions of isomorphic narrow-band-gap molecules. , 2012, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[86]  Kwanghee Lee,et al.  Morphology controlled bulk-heterojunction layers of fully electro-spray coated organic solar cells , 2012 .

[87]  G. Cerullo,et al.  Hot exciton dissociation in polymer solar cells. , 2013, Nature materials.

[88]  Gang Li,et al.  Effects of Solvent Mixtures on the Nanoscale Phase Separation in Polymer Solar Cells , 2008 .

[89]  A. Heeger,et al.  High‐Efficiency Polymer Solar Cells Enhanced by Solvent Treatment , 2013, Advanced materials.

[90]  Alan J. Heeger,et al.  A New Terthiophene‐Thienopyrrolodione Copolymer‐Based Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cell with High Open‐Circuit Voltage , 2012 .

[91]  Fei Huang,et al.  Inverted polymer solar cells with 8.4% efficiency by conjugated polyelectrolyte , 2012 .

[92]  Gang Li,et al.  Fast-Grown Interpenetrating Network in Poly(3-hexylthiophene): Methanofullerenes Solar Cells Processed with Additive , 2009 .

[93]  Samson A. Jenekhe,et al.  Non‐Fullerene Acceptor‐Based Bulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells: Engineering the Nanomorphology via Processing Additives , 2011 .

[94]  John R. Reynolds,et al.  High-efficiency inverted dithienogermole–thienopyrrolodione-based polymer solar cells , 2011, Nature Photonics.

[95]  Srinivas Sista,et al.  Tandem polymer photovoltaic cells—current status, challenges and future outlook , 2011 .

[96]  S. Darling,et al.  Morphology characterization in organic and hybrid solar cells , 2012 .

[97]  Cheng-En Wu,et al.  Enhanced performance and stability of a polymer solar cell by incorporation of vertically aligned, cross-linked fullerene nanorods. , 2011, Angewandte Chemie.

[98]  Yongfang Li,et al.  High‐Performance Inverted Polymer Solar Cells with Solution‐Processed Titanium Chelate as Electron‐Collecting Layer on ITO Electrode , 2012, Advanced materials.

[99]  C. Hansen.  Hansen Solubility Parameters: A User's Handbook , 1999 .

[100]  Long Ye,et al.  From Binary to Ternary Solvent: Morphology Fine‐tuning of D/A Blends in PDPP3T‐based Polymer Solar Cells , 2012, Advanced materials.

[101]  Weiwei Li,et al.  Efficient tandem and triple-junction polymer solar cells. , 2013, Journal of the American Chemical Society.