Xiangyu
Shen‡
ab,
Xiaoning
Wang‡
bcd,
Jianxiao
Wang
*bcd,
Rulin
Wang
*a,
Yonghai
Li
bcd,
Fuzhen
Bi
*bcd and
Xichang
Bao
bcd
aCentre for Theoretical and Computational Physics, College of Physics, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China. E-mail: rulin11@qdu.edu.cn
bKey Laboratory of Photoelectric Conversion and Utilization of Solar Energy, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China. E-mail: wangjianxiao@qibebt.ac.cn; bifz@qibebt.ac.cn
cFunctional Laboratory of Solar Energy, Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China
dQingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao 266101, China
First published on 13th September 2024
Organic solar cells (OSCs) with low-temperature solution processing have attracted extensive research interest. To achieve good phase separation and molecular nucleation crystallization, the active layer usually needs to be processed with low boiling point solvents, which narrows the processing window and limits the implementation of industrial printing processes. Herein, we synthesized a novel non-fullerene acceptor L8BO-2O as a third component to regulate the performance of the classical PM6:Y6 system in high boiling point solvents. L8BO-2O, with an alkoxy chain, can effectively suppress the aggregation effect of active materials, which is beneficial for achieving appropriate phase separation in high-boiling solvent film-forming processes. Additionally, the similar structure and stacking distance between L8BO-2O and Y6 can effectively improve the mixing tolerance of the host and guest, achieve more effective energy transfer and alloy working mechanisms, thereby greatly increasing light utilization and charge extraction. Finally, the efficiency of the champion ternary OSC reached 16.4% with the doping of 20 wt% L8BO-2O, and the efficiencies of all the ternary OSCs were significantly improved over a wide range of doping (0–80 wt%). This result emphasizes the feasibility of introducing a suitable third component to achieve efficient and reproducible OSCs in high boiling point solvents.
The main reason for the excessive aggregation of NFAs in high-boiling solvents is their slow evaporation rate. Several strategies have been proposed to solve this issue and thus optimize the active layer morphology, such as side alkyl chain engineering,16–20 solvent/solid additives,21–23 hot-casting strategy24 and introducing a third component.25–27 Recently, the ethylene glycol ethyl methyl ether chain was attached to NFAs and the obtained compounds were used as the third component to construct ternary OSCs. The results show that this kind of compound can increase the miscibility and crystallinity of the host system and thus optimize the active layer film-formation kinetics. Finally, the excessive aggregation was effectively suppressed and the obtained device showed enhanced exciton dissociation and charge transportation.25,28,29 Ternary strategy has been widely proven to be a simple and effective way to improve device performance, and ternary OSCs still maintain the highest efficiency of single OSCs.30–34 However, it is worth noting that the differences in the physical and chemical properties between the guest material and the host system in the ternary strategy often result in the crystallinity and morphology of the mixed phase being highly sensitive to component ratios (i.e., low mixing tolerance). The proportion of the guest material to the host generally does not exceed 20 wt%. When a large proportion of the third component is doped, it will cause a sharp decline in the device performance. Therefore, in the manufacturing process of ternary OSCs, precise control of the host-to-guest ratio is required, which increases the difficulty of device fabrication to some extent. Therefore, solving the problem of excessive aggregation of active layer materials in high-boiling solvents and low mixing tolerance of the third component will be the only way to achieve large-scale industrial production.
Hence, we designed and synthesized a novel non-fullerene acceptor L8BO-2O based on polar oligomeric (ethylene glycol) side chains as the third component to regulate the aggregation behavior of the star system PM6:Y6 in the high-boiling solvent chlorobenzene (CB). The characteristic polar oligomeric (ethylene glycol) side chains of L8BO-2O can effectively inhibit the aggregation effect of the active material, increase the miscibility of the donors and acceptors, and thus achieve appropriate phase separation in high-boiling solvent film-forming processes. The similar structure and stacking distance between L8BO-2O and Y6 can effectively improve the mixing tolerance of the host and guest, achieving effective energy transfer and alloy working mechanism, thereby greatly improving the light utilization and charge extraction efficiency. As a result, under a wide doping range of L8BO-2O (0–80 wt% in CB solution), the performance of all ternary OSCs is significantly improved. Both the PCE of PM6:Y6 binary OSCs (14.54%) and PM6:L8BO-2O:Y6 ternary OSCs (16.43%) are at the highest level of the consistent system (Table S1, ESI†). The introduction of the high mixing tolerance third component not only reduces the aggregation of the active materials in high-boiling solvents but also ensures better performance repeatability, which reduces the manufacturing difficulty of the device and lays the foundation for industrial production.
To further investigate the miscibility between PM6, Y6 and L8BO-2O, the contact angles of water (H2O) and diiodomethane (CH2I2) droplets on neat films were evaluated, as presented in Fig. 1d. The surface energy (γs) and Flory–Huggins interaction parameter (χ) calculated from the equation are summarized in Table S2 (ESI†).37,38 The γs values of PM6, Y6 and L8BO-2O are 32.8, 40.5 and 41.5 mN m−1, respectively. The χs values of PM6/Y6 and PM6/L8BO-2O are 0.406 k and 0.505 k, respectively, while the χs between Y6 and L8BO-2O is only 0.005 k. Similar surface energy and smaller χ suggest good miscibility between Y6 and L8BO-2O.39,40 To further verify the good miscibility of the two acceptors, the γs of the blend acceptors films with different proportions was also calculated, as shown in Fig. S17 (ESI†). It can be observed that the γs of the mixed acceptors is between that of the two acceptors and is approximately linear with the proportion, which indicates good miscibility between the host and guest materials, facilitating the morphology control of mixed films.
To investigate the morphology characteristic of the ternary active layer after the introduction of the L8BO-2O acceptor with good miscibility, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used. The AFM images are shown in Fig. S18 (ESI†), and the corresponding root-mean-square (RMS) surface roughness values are summarized in Fig. 2a. Both trace and high proportions of third component doping can significantly reduce the roughness of the ternary blend film, which is beneficial for reducing the trap defects in the active layer and enhancing the interaction between the host and guest acceptor molecules, indicating that L8BO-2O can inhibit the aggregation degree of molecules during the film-formation process in high boiling point solvents.
To understand the working mechanism of L8BO-2O in the blend system, the time-resolved PL (TR-PL) spectra of neat and mixed acceptors films were measured, as shown in Fig. S19 (ESI†), and the fitted exciton lifetimes are summarized in Fig. 2b. Significantly, all mixed acceptors exhibit longer exciton lifetimes, which can provide sufficient time for exciton diffusion and dissociation. In addition, the steady-state PL spectra of neat and mixed acceptor films are presented in Fig. 2c. The PL peak of the Y6 and L8BO-2O neat films were located at 912 and 886 nm, respectively. After adding different ratios of L8BO-2O, the PL intensity of the Y6:L8BO-2O blend films shows a slight increase, but the peak position is still the same as that of the Y6 neat film. This phenomenon is typically explained as the energy transfer from L8BO-2O to Y6, through which the light capture achieves optimization.41–43 The steady-state PL spectra of binary and ternary blend films were also measured, as displayed in Fig. 2d. The PL intensity of all the blend films significantly decreased compared to the neat films, which indicates the occurrence of effective exciton dissociation in the blend films. However, surprisingly, the PL peak position varies with the proportion of the three components in the ternary blend films, which is inconsistent with the pattern presented in the dual acceptor films. This movement of the peak position may indicate the presence of additional alloy working mechanisms between L8BO-2O and Y6, which corresponds to the formation of L8BO-2O and Y6 alloy phases due to their good miscibility. To verify this point, it is necessary to further evaluate the photovoltaic performances of the device.
To investigate the impact of L8BO-2O on the photovoltaic performance of the devices, all binary and ternary OSCs were fabricated based on the conventional device structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/active layer/PDINN/Ag. The detailed parameters of the optimization process of OSCs are shown in Fig. S20 and Table S3 (ESI†). The current density–voltage (J–V) curves of the PM6:Y6-based OSCs with different L8BO-2O contents are shown in Fig. 3a, and the corresponding photovoltaic parameters are summarized in Table 1. The PM6:Y6-based binary OSC exhibits an advanced PCE of 14.54%, with a JSC of 23.66 mA cm−2, a VOC of 0.82 V and an FF of 74.71%. On the other hand, for the PM6:L8BO-2O-based binary OSC, a PCE of 12.42%, with a JSC of 19.00 mA cm−2, a VOC of 0.90 V and an FF of 72.3%, was delivered. Generally, the content of the third component in the ternary OSCs does not exceed 20%, which is determined by the low mixing tolerance of the selected active layer materials with different physical characteristics. A larger proportion of the third component will lead to a sharp decline in the device performance. However, whether a small or a large proportion of the third component is added, the performance of the ternary OSCs is significantly improved compared to the corresponding binary OSCs. This high mixing tolerance ensures better repeatability of the device's photovoltaic performance (Fig. 3b). When adding 20 wt% L8BO-2O in the acceptors, the optimal ternary OSC achieved the highest PCE of 16.4%, with a much superior JSC of 25.21 mA cm−2, a VOC of 0.85 V, and an FF of 76.66%. Then the external quantum efficiency (EQE) was measured to further explore the reason for the improved JSC, and the EQE spectra of the binary and ternary OSCs are depicted in Fig. 3c. In comparison, all the ternary devices with L8BO-2O exhibited an enhanced EQE response in the visible region, which indicates that the absorption of the ternary blends are more efficiently converted to photocurrents. Slight differences between the absorption and EQE spectra are mainly due to the diffraction effect and the interference effect between the incident light and the reflected light from the Ag electrode in the active layers. The integrated JSC from the EQE spectra matches well with that from the J–V curves but is slightly lower, which is the reason that the EQE is tested in ambient air without any packaging.
L8BO-2O in acceptors (wt%) | V OC (V) | J SC (mA cm−2) | J SC (integral) (mA cm−2) | FF (%) | PCEa (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
a Average and standard deviation data in parentheses are obtained from ten devices. | |||||
0 | 0.82 (0.81 ± 0.01) | 23.66 (22.3 ± 1.4) | 22.99 | 74.71 (72.5 ± 2.2) | 14.54 (14.08 ± 0.4) |
20 | 0.85 (0.84 ± 0.01) | 25.21 (23.8 ± 1.5) | 24.62 | 76.66 (74.9 ± 1.7) | 16.40 (16.21 ± 0.2) |
40 | 0.86 (0.85 ± 0.01) | 23.89 (22.5 ± 1.3) | 23.57 | 76.54 (74.6 ± 2.0) | 15.75 (15.56 ± 0.2) |
60 | 0.87 (0.86 ± 0.01) | 23.72 (22.6 ± 1.1) | 22.80 | 74.05 (71.8 ± 2.2) | 15.26 (15.07 ± 0.18) |
80 | 0.88 (0.87 ± 0.01) | 23.45 (22.2 ± 1.2) | 22.78 | 73.89 (71.7 ± 2.1) | 15.19 (15.01 ± 0.15) |
100 | 0.90 (0.89 ± 0.01) | 19.00 (17.7 ± 1.3) | 18.40 | 72.3 (70.1 ± 2.2) | 12.42 (12.01 ± 0.4) |
According to the above analysis, the PM6:Y6:L8BO-2O-based ternary system may have energy transfer and alloy model working mechanisms simultaneously. To further determine the working mechanism, the VOC of the PM6:Y6:L8BO-2O-based ternary OSCs with different L8BO-2O contents are probed and shown in Fig. 3d. With the introduction and increase in content of the L8BO-2O, the VOC increases approximately linearly, indicating the existence of an alloy working mechanism between L8BO-2O and Y6. Then, the J–V curves of L8BO-2O, Y6 and L8BO-2O:Y6-based pure acceptor devices were also measured (Fig. 3e). The JSC of L8BO-2O: Y6-based devices are between those of the L8BO-2O/Y6-based devices, indicating that no exciton dissociation occurs between L8BO-2O and Y6. Ultimately, L8BO-2O with good miscibility with Y6 not only forms an alloy phase with Y6 but also exhibits energy transfer from L8BO-2O to Y6 in the ternary OSCs. The dual mechanism is illustrated in Fig. 3f. This dual mechanism optimized the exciton dissociation and charge transfer process, thereby significantly improving the photovoltaic performance of ternary OSCs under a wide proportion range of the third component.
To clarify the reasons for the high mixing tolerance of L8BO-2O in improving the photovoltaic performance, the photocurrent density (Jph) and effective voltage (Veff) curves of binary and ternary OSCs are provided in Fig. S21 (ESI†), and the parameters are listed in Table S4 (ESI†). The Jph is defined as Jph = JL − JD, where JL and JD represent the current density under illumination and dark conditions, respectively. The Veff is defined as Veff = V0 − V, where V0 is the voltage when Jph = 0 mA cm−2 and the V is the applied voltage.44 The saturated photocurrent density (Jsat) is approximately equal to Jph when Veff = 1 V. The exciton dissociation efficiency (ηdiss) and charge collection efficiency (ηcoll) can be approximately evaluated by Jph/Jsat, where Jph is obtained under open circuit conditions and maximum power output condition, respectively. The calculated ηdiss/ηcoll of PM6:Y6 and PM6:L8BO-2O binary OSC are 99.1%/87.0% and 98.3%/88.3%, respectively. After adding L8BO-2O, the ηdiss and ηcoll of the PM6:Y6:L8BO-2O-based ternary OSCs were considerably enhanced. The enhanced ηdiss can be attributed to the optimized phase separation scale of the active layer by L8BO-2O, and the enhanced ηcoll is attributed to the construction of the more effective alloy-like transport channels. The synergistic enhancement of ηdiss and ηcoll in ternary OSC indicates more effective charge generation, charge transfer, and suppression of charge recombination, which are beneficial for improving the device JSC and FF.
To further verify the improved dissociation efficiency of the device, the TR-PL spectra of binary and ternary blend films are depicted in Fig. 4a. The exciton lifetime (τs) of the PM6:Y6 and PM6:L8BO-2O blend films are 0.17 and 0.25 ns, respectively. After adding L8BO-2O, the τs of the ternary blend films significantly decreased, indicating that the addition of the third component accelerated the dissociation process of excitons, which is also consistent with the above results. On the other hand, the charge recombination mechanisms of the devices are investigated by fitting the relationship between illumination intensity (Plight) and VOC/JSC. The relationship between JSC and Plight can be expressed as JSC ∝ Pslight. In addition, the relationship between VOC and Plight can be expressed as VOC ∝ nkT/qln(Plight), where k is the Boltzmann's constant, T is absolute temperature, and q is the elementary charge. The bimolecular recombination and trap recombination can be ignored when the s or n value approaches 1.00.45 As shown in Fig. 4b, the s values of the PM6:Y6-based binary and ternary OSCs are closer to 1.00, indicating the lower bimolecular recombination. Similarly, all the n values of ternary OSCs equal nearly 1.00, indicating that the trap recombination of all ternary OSCs has been effectively suppressed compared to the PM6:Y6-based binary OSC (Fig. 4c).46 Lower trap-assisted recombination and bimolecular recombination further explain the significant improvement of FF in the ternary OSCs.
The charge carrier extraction and recombination dynamics were further elucidated by transient photovoltage (TPV) and transient photocurrent (TPC). As shown in Fig. 4d, the fitted carrier lifetimes (τrec) of ternary OSCs are 0.96 μs (20 wt%), 0.77 μs (40 wt%), 0.44 μs (60 wt%) and 0.39 μs (80 wt%), which are significantly longer than that of PM6:Y6 (0.27 μs) and PM6:L8BO-2O (0.11 μs)-based binary devices. Also, the fitted charge extraction times (τext) of ternary OSCs are 0.13 μs (20 wt%), 0.15 μs (40 wt%), 0.16 μs (60 wt%) and 0.29 μs (80 wt%), which are significantly shorter than that of the PM6:Y6 (0.32 μs) and PM6:L8BO-2O (0.48 μs)-based binary devices (Fig. 4e). The results signify that the introduction of L8BO-2O within a wide proportion range can improve charge extraction and suppress charge recombination in the active layer, thereby contributing to the achievement of more satisfactory JSC and FF.
The hole and electron mobilities were measured by the space charge limited current (SCLC) method. The hole-only and electron-only devices were fabricated with the structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/active layer/MoO3/Ag and ITO/ZnO/active layer/PDINN/Ag. The active layers were prepared under the same conditions as the OSCs. The J–V curves of hole-only and electron-only devices were measured in the dark, and the results are shown in Fig. S22 (ESI†). The calculated hole/electron mobilities of the PM6:Y6-based device are 1.03 × 10−3/0.61 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 s−1. After adding different L8BO-2O contents, the hole/electron mobilities of the ternary devices were increased to 1.12 × 10−3/0.75 × 10−3, 1.05 × 10−3/0.69 × 10−3, 1.03 × 10−3/0.64 × 10−3, 0.93 × 10−3/0.57 × 10−3, and 0.89 × 10−3/0.54 × 10−3 cm2 V−1 s−1 for the proportion of 20 wt%, 40 wt%, 60 wt%, 80 wt%, and 100 wt%, respectively, as shown in Fig. 4f. The ratios of μh/μe are listed in Table S5 (ESI†). Faster and more balanced charge transfer in the ternary devices also contribute to the improvement of JSC and PCE.
Ordered molecular stacking in the active layer plays an important role in the charge transfer. 2D GIWAXS patterns and line-cut profiles of binary and ternary blend films are shown in Fig. 5a–f, and the corresponding parameters are listed in Table S6 (ESI†). In addition, the 2D-GIWAXS patterns of PM6, Y6 and L8BO-2O neat films are shown in Fig. S23 (ESI†). It can be seen that all the blend films exhibit a face-on/edge-on mixed orientation. After adding the third component, the PM6:Y6:L8BO-2O ternary blend films exhibit slightly enhanced out-of-plane (OOP) 010 peaks, indicating the enhanced π–π stacking of molecules. It is noteworthy that all binary and ternary films exhibit very similar stacking distances (3.60 Å). The similar geometry structures and intermolecular stacking distances of the two selected acceptors once again confirm their good miscibility, which is conducive to constructing more effective interaction modes between the third component and host system. Furthermore, the crystal coherence length (CCL)47 calculated from the (010) peak of the OOP direction for the blend films is 29.09 Å (0 wt%), 31.75 Å (20 wt%), 31.23 Å (40 wt%), 30.39 Å (60 wt%), and 28.96 Å (100 wt%), respectively. The strengthened π–π stacking and increased CCLs are beneficial for charge transfer and extraction in ternary devices.
Fig. 5 (a)–(f) 2D-GIWAXS patterns and corresponding line-cut profiles of binary and ternary blend films. (g)–(l) TEM images of binary and ternary blend films. |
The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of the binary and ternary blend films are shown in Fig. 5g–l. Compared to the host PM6:Y6 system, the PM6:L8BO-2O blend films exhibit larger phase separation. As discussed above, the good miscibility, similar structure and stacking distance between Y6 and L8BO-2O allow L8BO-2O to blend well into the PM6:Y6 mixture. As shown in the TEM images, the ternary blend films exhibit a similar morphology to the PM6:Y6 host system even if the third component reaches 80 wt% in acceptors. This harmonious stacking distribution is very conducive to the synergistic effect of the two acceptors in the active layer to achieve more effective photoelectric conversion.
Footnotes |
† Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d4tc03192j |
‡ These two authors contributed equally to this work. |
This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2024 |