The effect of chain architecture and additive processing on the performance of BHJ solar cells

ORAL

Abstract

The bulk heterojunction morphology (BHJ) of certain polymer-fullerene blends has enabled the development of solution processable plastic solar cells which promise to make solar energy a more economically viable renewable energy source. To study the morphological changes induced by additive processing of these devices, a novel class of donor-acceptor type polymers has been developed whose performance is greatly improved upon the incorporation of an additive. Synthetic control over three highly analogous polymers has enabled a systematic and quantifiable comparison of the influence of several important polymer structural perturbations on the morphology of additive processed films. The distribution of components and interfacial structure of these additive processed devices was investigated using resonant soft x-ray reflectivity (RSoXR) and near edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) techniques. These techniques reveal how the changes in chain architecture affect chain orientation relative to each interface and how additives influence the depth distribution of components.

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Authors

  • James Rogers

    UC Santa Barbara, Material Research Lab, UC Santa Barbara

  • Kristin Schmidt

    UC Santa Barbara, Material Research Lab, UC Santa Barbara

  • Jeff Peet

    UC Santa Barbara

  • Robert Coffin

    UC Santa Barbara, Chemistry Department, UC Santa Barbara

  • Guillermo Bazan

    UC Santa Barbara, Chemistry Department, UC Santa Barbara

  • Edward Kramer

    MC-CAM and the Departments of Materials and Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, University of California Santa Barbara, UCSB, University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Materials and Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Materials Research Laboratory UCSB, Materials Department UCSB, Materials Research Laboratory and Materials Department, UCSB, UC Santa Barbara, Material Research Lab, UC Santa Barbara