Molecularly Smooth Self-Assembled Monolayer for High-Mobility Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

Despite the need for molecularly smooth self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silicon dioxide surfaces (the most common dielectric surface), current techniques are limited to nonideal silane grafting. Here, we show unique bioinspired zwitterionic molecules forming a molecularly smooth and uniformly thin SAM in "water" in <1 min on various dielectric surfaces, which enables a dip-coating process that is essential for organic electronics to become reality. This monomolecular layer leads to high mobility of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on various organic semiconductors and source/drain electrodes. A combination of experimental and computational techniques confirms strong adsorption (Wad > 20 mJ m-2), uniform thickness (∼0.5 or ∼1 nm) and orientation (all catechol head groups facing the oxide surface) of the "monomolecular" layers. This robust (strong adsorption), rapid, and green SAM represents a promising advancement toward the next generation of nanofabrication compared to the current nonuniform and inconsistent polysiloxane-based SAM involving toxic chemicals, long processing time (>10 h), or heat (>80 °C).

Further correction: Low bandgap semiconducting polymers for polymeric photovoltaics.

Further correction for 'Low bandgap semiconducting polymers for polymeric photovoltaics' by Chang Liu et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2016, DOI: 10.1039/c5cs00650c.

Dithienogermole-based solution-processed molecular solar cells with efficiency over 9.

A molecular donor of intermediate dimensions based on dithienogermole (DTG) as the central electron rich unit, coded as DTG(FBT2Th2)2, was designed and synthesized for use in bulk heterojunction, solution-processed organic solar cells. Under optimized conditions, a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.1% can be achieved with [6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) as the acceptor semiconductor component.

High-Performance Electron Acceptor with Thienyl Side Chains for Organic Photovoltaics.

We develop an efficient fused-ring electron acceptor (ITIC-Th) based on indacenodithieno[3,2-b]thiophene core and thienyl side-chains for organic solar cells (OSCs). Relative to its counterpart with phenyl side-chains (ITIC), ITIC-Th shows lower energy levels (ITIC-Th: HOMO = -5.66 eV, LUMO = -3.93 eV; ITIC: HOMO = -5.48 eV, LUMO = -3.83 eV) due to the σ-inductive effect of thienyl side-chains, which can match with high-performance narrow-band-gap polymer donors and wide-band-gap polymer donors. ITIC-Th has higher electron mobility (6.1 × 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)) than ITIC (2.6 × 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)) due to enhanced intermolecular interaction induced by sulfur-sulfur interaction. We fabricate OSCs by blending ITIC-Th acceptor with two different low-band-gap and wide-band-gap polymer donors. In one case, a power conversion efficiency of 9.6% was observed, which rivals some of the highest efficiencies for single junction OSCs based on fullerene acceptors.

Doping-Induced Carrier Density Modulation in Polymer Field-Effect Transistors.

Controlled device parameters of high-mobility polymer field-effect transistors (FETs) are demonstrated by modest doping and charge compensation. Through fleeting chemical vapor treatments of aligned poly[4-(4,4-dihexadecyl-4H-cyclopenta[1,2-b:5,4-b']dithiophen-2-yl)-alt-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo-[3,4-c]pyridine] (PCDTPT) thin films as the charge transport layer in the FET channel, the FET properties are tailored by controlling doping concentration of the PCDTPT adjacent to metal electrodes.

Correction: Low bandgap semiconducting polymers for polymeric photovoltaics.

Correction for 'Low bandgap semiconducting polymers for polymeric photovoltaics' by Chang Liu et al., Chem. Soc. Rev., 2016, DOI: .

Flexible Organic Transistors with Controlled Nanomorphology.

We report the controlled nanomorphology of semiconducting polymers on chemically and mechanically stable nanogrooved polymer substrates. By employing silicon dioxide thin films with finely adjusted thicknesses on nanogrooved polymer substrates, semiconducting polymer thin films oriented and aligned along the nanogrooves were obtained. Organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) fabricated from the oriented semiconducting polymer, poly[4-(4,4-dihexadecyl-4H-cyclopenta[1,2-b:5,4-b']dithiophen-2-yl)-alt-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo-[3,4-c]pyridine] (PCDTPT), yielded saturation hole mobilities as high as 19.3 cm(2) V(-1 )s(-1), and the flexible "plastic" transistors demonstrated excellent mechanical stability under various bending conditions. These results represent important progress for solution-processed flexible OFETs and demonstrate that directed self-assembly of semiconducting polymers can be achieved by soft nanostructures.

High-Performance Solution-Processed Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cells Based on Selenophene-Containing Perylene Bisimide Acceptor.

Non-fullerene acceptors have recently attracted tremendous interest because of their potential as alternatives to fullerene derivatives in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. However, the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) have lagged far behind those of the polymer/fullerene system, mainly because of the low fill factor (FF) and photocurrent. Here we report a novel perylene bisimide (PBI) acceptor, SdiPBI-Se, in which selenium atoms were introduced into the perylene core. With a well-established wide-band-gap polymer (PDBT-T1) as the donor, a high efficiency of 8.4% with an unprecedented high FF of 70.2% is achieved for solution-processed non-fullerene organic solar cells. Efficient photon absorption, high and balanced charge carrier mobility, and ultrafast charge generation processes in PDBT-T1:SdiPBI-Se films account for the high photovoltaic performance. Our results suggest that non-fullerene acceptors have enormous potential to rival or even surpass the performance of their fullerene counterparts.

Low bandgap semiconducting polymers for polymeric photovoltaics.

In order to develop high performance polymer solar cells (PSCs), full exploitation of the sun-irradiation from ultraviolet (UV) to near infrared (NIR) is one of the key factors to ensure high photocurrents and thus high efficiency. In this review, five of the effective design rules for approaching LBG semiconducting polymers with high molar absorptivity, suitable energy levels, high charge carrier mobility and high solubility in organic solvents are overviewed. These design stratagems include fused heterocycles for facilitating π-electron flowing along the polymer backbone, groups/atoms bridging adjacent rings for maintaining a high planarity, introduction of electron-withdrawing units for lowering the bandgap (Eg), donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymerization for narrowing Eg and 2-dimensional conjugation for broadened absorption and enhanced hole mobility. It has been demonstrated that LBG semiconducting polymers based on electron-donor units combined with strong electron-withdrawing units possess excellent electronic and optic properties, emerging as excellent candidates for efficient PSCs. While for ultrasensitive photodetectors (PDs), which have intensive applications in both scientific and industrial sectors, sensing from the UV to the NIR region is of critical importance. For polymer PDs, Eg as low as 0.8 eV has been obtained through a rational design stratagem, covering a broad wavelength range from the UV to the NIR region (1450 nm). However, the response time of the polymer PDs are severely limited by the hole mobility of LBG semiconducting polymers, which is significantly lower than those of the inorganic materials. Thus, further advancing the hole mobility of LBG semiconducting polymers is of equal importance as broadening the spectral response for approaching uncooled ultrasensitive broadband polymer PDs in the future study.

High mobility emissive organic semiconductor.

The integration of high charge carrier mobility and high luminescence in an organic semiconductor is challenging. However, there is need of such materials for organic light-emitting transistors and organic electrically pumped lasers. Here we show a novel organic semiconductor, 2,6-diphenylanthracene (DPA), which exhibits not only high emission with single crystal absolute florescence quantum yield of 41.2% but also high charge carrier mobility with single crystal mobility of 34 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) based on DPA give pure blue emission with brightness up to 6,627 cd m(-2) and turn-on voltage of 2.8 V. 2,6-Diphenylanthracene OLED arrays are successfully driven by DPA field-effect transistor arrays, demonstrating that DPA is a high mobility emissive organic semiconductor with potential in organic optoelectronics.

Ultrasensitive solution-processed broad-band photodetectors using CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite hybrids and PbS quantum dots as light harvesters.

Sensing from ultraviolet-visible to infrared is critical for both scientific and industrial applications. In this work, we demonstrate solution-processed ultrasensitive broad-band photodetectors (PDs) utilizing organolead halide perovskite materials (CH3NH3PbI3) and PbS quantum dots (QDs) as light harvesters. Through passivating the structural defects on the surface of PbS QDs with diminutive molecular-scaled CH3NH3PbI3, both trap states in the bandgap of PbS QDs for charge carrier recombination and the leakage currents occurring at the defect sites are significantly reduced. In addition, CH3NH3PbI3 itself is an excellent light harvester in photovoltaics, which contributes a great photoresponse in the ultraviolet-visible region. Consequently, operated at room temperature, the resultant PDs show a spectral response from 375 nm to 1100 nm, with high responsivities over 300 mA W(-1) and 130 mA W(-1), high detectivities exceeding 10(13) Jones (1 Jones = 1 cm Hz(1/2) W(-1)) and 5 × 10(12) Jones in the visible and near infrared regions, respectively. These device performance parameters are comparable to those from pristine inorganic counterparts. Thus, our results offer a facile and promising route for advancing the performance of broad-band PDs.

Measurement of the Charge Carrier Mobility Distribution in Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Charge carrier transport through organic solar cells is fundamentally dispersive due to the disordered structure and complex film morphology within the photoactive layer. A novel application of transient photocurrent and short-circuit variable time-delayed collection field measurements is used to reconstruct the complete charge carrier mobility distribution for the photogenerated carriers in optimized organic solar cells.

Polymer-Polymer Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Significantly Boosts the Power Conversion Efficiency of Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Optically resonant donor polymers can exploit a wider range of the solar spectrum effectively without a complicated tandem design in an organic solar cell. Ultrafast Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) in a polymer-polymer system that significantly improves the power conversion efficiency in bulk heterojunction polymer solar cells from 6.8% to 8.9% is demonstrated, thus paving the way to achieving 15% efficient solar cells.

Conjugated polyelectrolyte hole transport layer for inverted-type perovskite solar cells.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials offer the potential for realization of low-cost and flexible next-generation solar cells fabricated by low-temperature solution processing. Although efficiencies of perovskite solar cells have dramatically improved up to 19% within the past 5 years, there is still considerable room for further improvement in device efficiency and stability through development of novel materials and device architectures. Here we demonstrate that inverted-type perovskite solar cells with pH-neutral and low-temperature solution-processable conjugated polyelectrolyte as the hole transport layer (instead of acidic PEDOT: PSS) exhibit a device efficiency of over 12% and improved device stability in air. As an alternative to PEDOT: PSS, this work is the first report on the use of an organic hole transport material that enables the formation of uniform perovskite films with complete surface coverage and the demonstration of efficient, stable perovskite/fullerene planar heterojunction solar cells.

Small-bandgap polymer solar cells with unprecedented short-circuit current density and high fill factor.

Small-bandgap polymer solar cells (PSCs) with a thick bulk heterojunction film of 340 nm exhibit high power conversion efficiencies of 9.40% resulting from high short-circuit current density (JSC ) of 20.07 mA cm(-2) and fill factor of 0.70. This remarkable efficiency is attributed to maximized light absorption by the thick active layer and minimized recombination by the optimized lateral and vertical morphology through the processing additive.

Polymer homo-tandem solar cells with best efficiency of 11.3%.

Rational materials design and interface engineering are both essential to realize a high performance for tandem cells. Two identical bulk heterojunctions are connected in series using novel interconnection layers combining pH-neutral conjugated polyelectrolytes and a thin film of ZnO nanoparticles by a solution process. The best performing tandem cells achieve a power conversion efficiency of 11.3%, with 25% enhancement in efficiency compared with single cells, which arises primarily from the increased light absorption.

Ultrafast charge transfer in operating bulk heterojunction solar cells.

The ultrafast charge generation process in organic solar cell devices is investigated by transient reflection spectroscopy on five state-of-the-art bulk heterojunction systems. The charge generation process in operating devices is found to be a combination of an ultrafast generation mechanism over several hundred femto-seconds and a slow process from pico-seconds to nanoseconds, limited by exciton diffusion dynamics. In addition, the lack of electric field dependence in the charge dynamics rules out geminate recombination as an important loss mechanism.

Tandem solar cells made from amorphous silicon and polymer bulk heterojunction sub-cells.

A tandem solar cell based on a combination of an amorphous silicon (a-Si) and polymer solar cell (PSC) is demonstrated. As these tandem devices can be readily fabricated by low-cost methods, they require only a minor increase in the total manufacturing cost. Therefore, a combination of a-Si and PSC provides a compelling solution to reduce the cost of electricity produced by photovoltaics.

An organic surface modifier to produce a high work function transparent electrode for high performance polymer solar cells.

Modification of an ITO electrode with small-molecule organic surface modifier, 4-chloro-benzoic acid (CBA), via a simple spin-coating method produces a high-work-function electrode with high transparency and a hydrophobic surface. As an alternative to PEDOT:PSS, CBA modification achieves efficiency enhancement up to 8.5%, which is attributed to enhanced light absorption within the active layer and smooth hole transport from the active layer to the anode.