Issue 10, 2022

Amino acid functionalised perylene bisimides for aqueous solution-deposited electron transporting interlayers in organic photovoltaic devices

Abstract

Solution-processable organic solar cells have the potential to offer a low-cost renewable energy source with low energy intensive processing. However, the range of materials that are compatible for forming multilayer photovoltaic devices beyond a bulk heterojunction layer is limited due to a requirement for orthogonal processing to avoid dissolution of layers. Improving charge transport is a key challenge in the pursuit of high efficiency organic photovoltaics. Therefore, the development of solution-processable electron transport layers that are suitable for orthogonal processing is important for the feasibility of solution-processed devices. Here, we present a series of amino acid appended perylene bisimides (PBIs) which have been used as electron transporting interlayers in P3HT/PC61BM based organic photovoltaic cells. These PBIs are easily soluble in water at high pH, allowing for easy solution processability. Despite minimal changes in molecular structure in the series of PBIs, there are profound differences in performance of the solar cells, with the phenylalanine derivative showing the most promising performance. The absorbance, morphology and photoconductivity properties of the PBIs have a strong influence on the suitability of the material as an effective interlayer.

Graphical abstract: Amino acid functionalised perylene bisimides for aqueous solution-deposited electron transporting interlayers in organic photovoltaic devices

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Sep 2021
Accepted
01 Jan 2022
First published
21 Feb 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022,10, 3944-3950

Amino acid functionalised perylene bisimides for aqueous solution-deposited electron transporting interlayers in organic photovoltaic devices

J. Cameron, D. J. Adams, P. J. Skabara and E. R. Draper, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2022, 10, 3944 DOI: 10.1039/D1TC04622E

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