Aggregation Strength Tuning in Difluorobenzoxadiazole-Based Polymeric Semiconductors for High-Performance Thick-Film Polymer Solar Cells

Chen, Peng; Shi, Shengbin; Wang, Hang; Qiu, Fanglong; Wang, Yuxi; Tang, Yumin; Feng, Jian-Rui; Guo, Han1; Cheng, Xing; Guo, Xugang1

2018-06-27

10.1021/acsami.8b05231

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces   影响因子和分区

1944-8244

1944-8252

High-performance polymer solar cells (PSCs) with thick active layers are essential for large-scale production. Polymer semiconductors exhibiting a temperature-dependent aggregation property offer great advantages toward this purpose. In this study, three difluorobenzoxadiazole (ffBX)-based donor polymers, PffBX-T, PffBX-TT, and PffBX-DTT, were synthesized, which contain thiophene (T), thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (TT), and dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]thiophene (DTT) as the pi-spacers, respectively. Temperature-dependent absorption spectra reveal that the aggregation strength increases in the order of PffBX-T, PffBX-TT, and PffBX-DTT as the pi-spacer becomes larger. PffBX-TT with the intermediate aggregation strength enables well-controlled disorder-order transition in the casting process of blend film, thus leading to the best film morphology and the highest performance in PSCs. Thick-film PSCs with an average power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.91% and the maximum value of 9.10% are achieved using PffBX-TT:PC71BM active layer with a thickness of 250 nm. The neat film of PffBX-TT also shows a high hole mobility of 1.09 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) in organic thin-film transistors. When PffBX-DTT and PffBX-T are incorporated into PSCs utilizing PC71BM acceptor, the average PCE decreases to 6.54 and 1.33%, respectively. The performance drop mainly comes from reduced short-circuit current, as a result of nonoptimal blend film morphology caused by a less well-controlled film formation process. A similar trend was also observed in nonfullerene type thick-film PSCs using IT-4F as the electron acceptor. These results show the significance of polymer aggregation strength tuning toward optimal bulk heterojunction film morphology using ffBX-based polymer model system. The study demonstrates that adjusting pi-spacer is an effective method, in combination with other important approaches such as alkyl chain optimization, to generate high-performance thick-film PSCs which are critical for practical applications.

difluorobenzoxadiazole-based polymer pi-spacer temperature-dependent aggregation polymer solar cell thick active layer

SCI ; EI

英语

通讯

South University of Science and Technology of China[FRG-SUSTC1501A-72]

Science & Technology - Other Topics ; Materials Science

Nanoscience & Nanotechnology ; Materials Science, Multidisciplinary

WOS:000437811400051

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

20182405296438

Field effect transistors ; Heterojunctions ; Hole mobility ; Morphology ; Polymers ; Process control ; Solar cells ; Thick films ; Thin film transistors ; Thin films ; Thiophene ; Tuning

Semiconducting Materials:712.1 ; Semiconductor Devices and Integrated Circuits:714.2 ; Organic Compounds:804.1 ; Polymeric Materials:815.1 ; Materials Science:951

Web of Science

1.Southern Univ Sci & Technol SUSTech, Dept Mat Sci & Engn, 1088 Xueyuan Rd, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, Peoples R China
2.Southern Univ Sci & Technol SUSTech, Shenzhen Key Lab Printed Organ Elect, 1088 Xueyuan Rd, Shenzhen 518055, Guangdong, Peoples R China

Chen, Peng,Shi, Shengbin,Wang, Hang,et al. Aggregation Strength Tuning in Difluorobenzoxadiazole-Based Polymeric Semiconductors for High-Performance Thick-Film Polymer Solar Cells[J]. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces,2018,10(25):21481-21491.

Chen, Peng.,Shi, Shengbin.,Wang, Hang.,Qiu, Fanglong.,Wang, Yuxi.,...&Guo, Xugang.(2018).Aggregation Strength Tuning in Difluorobenzoxadiazole-Based Polymeric Semiconductors for High-Performance Thick-Film Polymer Solar Cells.ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces,10(25),21481-21491.

Chen, Peng,et al."Aggregation Strength Tuning in Difluorobenzoxadiazole-Based Polymeric Semiconductors for High-Performance Thick-Film Polymer Solar Cells".ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 10.25(2018):21481-21491.