ABSTRACT
Most high-performance organic solar cells involve bulk-heterojunctions in order to increase the active donor-acceptor interface area. The power conversion efficiency depends critically on the nano-morphology of the blend and the interface. Spectroscopy of the sub-bandgap region, i.e., below the bulk absorption of the individual components, provides unique opportunities to study interface-related properties. We present absorption measurements in the sub-bandgap region of bulk heterojunctions made of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) as an electron donor and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) as an electron acceptor and compare them with quantum-chemical calculations and recently published data on the external quantum efficiency (EQE). The very weak absorption of the deep sub-bandgap region measured by the ultra-sensitive Photothermal Deflection Spectroscopy (PDS) features Urbach tails, polaronic transitions, conventional excitons, and possibly charge-transfer states. The quantum-chemical calculations allow characterizing some of the unsettled spectral features.
ABSTRACT
The synthesis, characterization and photovoltaic study of two novel derivatives of [70]fullerene, phenyl-C71-propionic acid propyl ester ([70]PCPP) and phenyl-C71-propionic acid butyl ester ([70]PCPB), are reported. [70]PCPP and [70]PCPB outperform the conventional material (6,6)-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester ([70]PCBM) in solar cells based on poly(2-methoxy-5-{3',7'-dimethyloctyloxy}-p-phenylene vinylene) (MDMO-PPV) as a donor polymer using chlorobenzene (CB) or dichlorobenzene (DCB) as solvents. AFM data suggest that improvement of the device efficiency should be attributed to the increased phase compatibility between the novel C70 derivatives and the polymer matrix. [70]PCPP and [70]PCBM showed more or less equally high performances in solar cells comprising poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as a donor polymer. Optical modeling revealed that the application of [70]fullerene derivatives as acceptor materials in P3HT-based bulk heterojunction solar cells might give approximately 10 % higher short circuit current densities than using C60-based materials such as [60]PCBM. The high solubility of [70]PCPP and [70]PCPB and their good compatibility with the donor polymers suggest these fullerene derivatives as promising electron acceptor materials for use in efficient bulk heterojunction organic solar cells.
