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Register a new userCorrelated In-Situ Low-Frequency Noise and Impedance Spectroscopy Reveal Recombination Dynamics in Organic Solar Cells using Fullerene and Non-Fullerene Acceptors
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Non-fullerene acceptors based on perylenediimides (PDIs) have garnered significant interest as an alternative to fullerene acceptors in organic photovoltaics (OPVs), but their charge transport phenomena are not well understood, especially in bulk heterojunctions (BHJs). Here, we investigate charge transport and current fluctuations by performing correlated low-frequency noise and impedance spectroscopy measurements on two BHJ OPV systems, one employing a fullerene acceptor and the other employing a dimeric PDI acceptor. In the dark, these measurements reveal that PDI-based OPVs have a greater degree of recombination in comparison to fullerene-based OPVs. Furthermore, for the first time in organic solar cells, 1/f noise data are fit to the Kleinpenning model to reveal underlying current fluctuations in different transport regimes. Under illumination, 1/f noise increases by approximately four orders of magnitude for the fullerene-based OPVs and three orders of magnitude for the PDI-based OPVs. An inverse correlation is also observed between noise spectral density and power conversion efficiency. Overall, these results show that low-frequency noise spectroscopy is an effective in-situ diagnostic tool to assess charge transport in emerging photovoltaic materials, thereby providing quantitative guidance for the design of next-generation solar cell materials and technologies.
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The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of organic solar cells (OSCs) using non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have now reached 18%. However, this is still lower than inorganic solar cells, for which PCEs >20% are commonplace. A key reason is that OSCs still show low open-circuit voltages (Voc) relative to their optical band gaps, attributed to non-radiative recombination. For OSCs to compete with inorganics in efficiency, all non-radiative loss pathways must be identified and where possible, removed. Here, we show that in most NFA OSCs, the majority of charge recombination at open-circuit proceeds via formation of non-emissive NFA triplet excitons (T1); in the benchmark PM6:Y6 blend, this fraction reaches 90%, contributing 60 mV to the reduction of Voc. We develop a new design to prevent recombination via this non-radiative channel through the engineering of significant hybridisation between the NFA T1 and the spin-triplet charge transfer exciton (3CTE). We model that the rate of the back charge transfer from 3CTE to T1 can be reduced by an order of magnitude, allowing re-dissociation of the 3CTE. We then demonstrate NFA systems where T1 formation is suppressed. This work therefore provides a clear design pathway for improved OSC performance to 20% PCE and beyond.
We investigate nongeminate recombination in organic solar cells based on copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) and C$_{60}$. Two device architectures, the planar heterojunction (PHJ) and the bulk heterojunction (BHJ), are directly compared in view of differences in charge carrier decay dynamics. We apply a combination of transient photovoltage (TPV) experiments, yielding the small perturbation charge carrier lifetime, and charge extraction measurements, providing the charge carrier density. In organic solar cells, charge photogeneration and recombination primarily occur at the donor--acceptor heterointerface. Whereas the BHJ can often be approximated by an effective medium due to rather small scale phase separation, the PHJ has a well defined two-dimensional heterointerface. To study recombination dynamics in PHJ devices most relevant is the charge accumulation at this interface. As from extraction techniques only the spatially averaged carrier concentration can be determined, we derive the charge carrier density at the interface $n_{int}$ from the open circuit voltage. Comparing the experimental results with macroscopic device simulation we discuss the differences of recombination and charge carrier densities in CuPc:C$_{60}$ PHJ and BHJ devices with respect to the device performance. The open circuit voltage of BHJ is larger than for PHJ at low light intensities, but at 0.3 sun the situation is reversed: here, the PHJ can finally take advantage of its generally longer charge carrier lifetimes, as the active recombination region is smaller.
Hybrid conjugated polymer/fullerene filaments based on MEH-PPV/PVP/PCBM are prepared by electrospinning, and their properties assessed by scanning electron, atomic and lateral force, tunnelling, and confocal microscopy, as well as by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence quantum yield and spatially-resolved fluorescence. Highlighted features include ribbon-shape of the realized fibers, and the persistence of a network serving as a template for heterogeneous active layers in solar cell devices. A set of favorable characteristics is evidenced in this way in terms of homogeneous charge transport behavior and formation of effective interfaces for diffusion and dissociation of photogenerated excitons. The interaction of the organic filaments with light, exhibiting specific light-scattering properties of the nanofibrous mat, might also contribute to spreading incident radiation across the active layers, thus potentially enhancing photovoltaic performance. This method might be applied to other electron donor-electron acceptor material systems for the fabrication of solar cell devices enhanced by nanofibrillar morphologies embedding conjugated polymers and fullerene compounds.
We investigate the viability of highly efficient organic solar cells (OSCs) based on non-fullerene acceptors (NFA) by taking into consideration efficiency loss channels and stability issues caused by triplet excitons (TE) formation. OSCs based on a blend of the conjugated donor polymer PBDB-T and ITIC as acceptor were fabricated and investigated with electrical, optical and spin-sensitive methods. The spin-Hamiltonian parameters of molecular TEs and charge transfer TEs in ITIC e.g., zero-field splitting and charge distribution, were calculated by Density Functional Theory (DFT) modelling. In addition, the energetic model describing the photophysical processes in the donor-acceptor blend was derived. Spin-sensitive photoluminescence measurements prove the formation of charge transfer (CT) states in the blend and the formation of TEs in the pure materials and the blend. However, no molecular TE signal is observed in the completed devices under working conditions by spin-sensitive electrical measurements. The absence of a molecular triplet state population allows to eliminate a charge carrier loss channel and irreversible photooxidation facilitated by long-lived triplet states. These results correlate well with the high power conversion efficiency of the PBDB-T:ITIC-based OSCs and their high stability.
A combination of transient photovoltage (TPV), voltage dependent charge extraction (CE) and time delayed collection field (TDCF) measurements is applied to poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b]dithiophene-2,6-diyl] [3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl] thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl]] (PTB7):[6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid (PC$_{71}$BM) bulk heterojunction solar cells to analyze the limitations of photovoltaic performance. Devices are processed from pure chlorobenzene (CB) solution and a subset was optimized with 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) as co-solvent. The dramatic changes in device performance are discussed with respect to the dominating loss processes. While in the devices processed from CB solution, severe geminate and nongeminate recombination is observed, the use of DIO facilitates efficient polaron pair dissociation and minimizes geminate recombination. Thus, from the determined charge carrier decay rate under open circuit conditions and the voltage dependent charge carrier densities $n(V)$, the nongeminate loss current $j_{loss}$ of the samples with DIO alone enables us to reconstruct the current/voltage ($j/V$) characteristics across the whole operational voltage range. Geminate and nongeminate losses are considered to describe the $j/V$ response of cells prepared without additive, but lead to a clearly overestimated device performance. We attribute the deviation between measured and reconstructed $j/V$ characteristics to trapped charges in isolated domains of pure fullerene phases.
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