Issue 14, 2014

Efficiency limitations in a low band-gap diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer solar cell

Abstract

We report the performance and photophysics of a low band-gap diketopyrrolopyrrole-based copolymer used in bulk heterojunction devices in combination with PC71BM. We show that the short lifetime of photogenerated excitons in the polymer constitutes an obstacle towards device efficiency by limiting the diffusion range of the exciton to the donor–acceptor heterojunction. We employ ultrafast transient-probe and fluorescence spectroscopy techniques to examine the excited state loss channels inside the devices. We use the high boiling point solvent additive 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) to study the photoexcited state losses in different blend morphologies. The solvent additive acts as a compatibiliser between the donor and the acceptor material and leads to smaller domain sizes, higher charge formation yields and increased device efficiency.

Graphical abstract: Efficiency limitations in a low band-gap diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer solar cell

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Dec 2013
Accepted
10 Feb 2014
First published
10 Feb 2014

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014,16, 6743-6752

Author version available

Efficiency limitations in a low band-gap diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer solar cell

S. Albert-Seifried, D. Ko, S. Hüttner, C. Kanimozhi, S. Patil and R. H. Friend, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, 16, 6743 DOI: 10.1039/C4CP00485J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements