Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Boosting the efficiency and stability of polymer solar cells using poly(3-hexylthiophene)-based all-conjugated diblock copolymers containing pentafluorophenyl groups

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Herein, we have developed a new poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-based diblock copolymeric additive bearing pentafluorophenyl side groups, poly(3-hexylthiophene)-b-poly(3-(6-pentafluorophenyl-hexyloxy)thiophene) (P3HT-b-P3FPHT), to boost the efficiency and stability of P3HT:PC61BM bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells. By doping a certain amount of P3HT-b-P3FPHT, a better miscibility of P3HT with PC61BM can be acquired, forming a nanoscale bicontinuous interpenetrating network for efficient exciton dissociation. Meanwhile, the crystalline and ordered packing of P3HT chains can also be enhanced by doping P3HT-b-P3FPHT, which is benefit for efficient charge carrier transport. On this basis, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of P3HT:PC61BM-based solar cells is improved mainly due to the increase of short circuit current density (Jsc) and fill factor (FF). More interestingly, induced by the supramolecular interaction between the pentafluorophenyl groups of P3FPHT blocks and the C60 cores of PC61BM, the severe aggregations of PC61BM molecules in the prolonged thermal annealing can be effectively suppressed, leading to the significantly improved thermal stability of the morphology and photovoltaic performance. These findings indicate that utilization of P3HT-based diblock copolymeric additives bearing pentafluorophenyl side groups is an effective and practical strategy to improve the performance and thermal stability of P3HT:PC61BM polymer solar cells.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Y.F. Li, Acc. Chem. Res. 45, 723–733 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. G. Li, R. Zhu, Y. Yang, Nat. Photonics 6, 153–161 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. G. Yu, J. Gao, J.C. Hummelen, F. Wudl, A.J. Heeger, Science 270, 1789–1791 (1995)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. G. Li, V. Shrotriya, J. Huang, Y. Yao, T. Moriarty, K. Emery, Y. Yang, Nat. Mater. 4, 864–868 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. S. Agbolaghi, F. Abbasi, S. Zenoozi, M. Nazari, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 63, 285–294 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. M. Zhu, H. Kim, Y.J. Jang, S. Park, D.Y. Ryu, K. Kim, P. Tang, F. Qiu, D.H. Kim, J. Peng, J. Mater. Chem. A 4, 18432–18443 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. N.D. Treat, A. Varotto, C.J. Takacs, N. Batara, M. Al-Hashimi, M.J. Heeney, A.J. Heeger, F. Wudl, C.J. Hawker, M.L. Chabinyc, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134, 15869–15879 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. N.D. Treat, M.A. Brady, G. Smith, M.F. Toney, E.J. Kramer, C.J. Hawker, M.L. Chabinyc, Adv. Energy Mater. 1, 82–86 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. X. Yang, J.K.J. van Duren, M.T. Rispens, J.C. Hummelen, R.A.J. Janssen, M.A.J. Michels, J. Loos, Adv. Mater. 16, 802–806 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. M. Reyes-Reyes, K. Kim, J. Dewald, R. López-Sandoval, A. Avadhanula, S. Curran, D.L. Carroll, Org. Lett. 7, 5749–5752 (2005)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. G. Li, Y. Yao, H. Yang, V. Shrotriya, G. Yang, Y. Yang, Adv. Funct. Mater. 17, 1636–1644 (2007)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. X. Yang, J.K.J. van Duren, R.A.J. Janssen, M.A.J. Michels, J. Loos, Macromolecules 37, 2151–2158 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. A. Swinnen, I. Haeldermans, M. van de Ven, J. DHaen, G. Vanhoyland, S. Aresu, M. D’Olieslaeger, J. Manca, Adv. Funct. Mater. 16, 760–765 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. J.W. Jung, J.W. Jo, C.-C. Chueh, F. Liu, W.H. Jo, T.P. Russell, A.K.Y. Jen, Adv. Mater. 27, 3310–3317 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. C.R. McNeill, Morphology of all-polymer solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 5, 5653–5667 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. M. Raissi, H. Erothu, E. Ibarboure, H. Bejbouji, H. Cramail, E. Cloutet, L. Vignau, R.C. Hiorns, J. Mater. Chem. A 5, 7533–7544 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Y. Sun, P. Pitliya, C. Liu, X. Gong, D. Raghavan, A. Karim, Polymer 113, 135–146 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. S. Agbolaghi, M. Nazari, S. Zenoozi, F. Abbasi, Journal of Materials Science Materials in Electronics 28(14), 10611–10624 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. S. Agbolaghi, F. Abbasi, H. Gheybi, Eur. Polymer J. 84, 465–480 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Z.-G. Zhang, Y. Li, Sci. China Chem. 58, 192–209 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. H. Bin, Z.-G. Zhang, L. Gao, S. Chen, L. Zhong, L. Xue, C. Yang, Y. Li, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 138, 4657–4664 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. H. Bin, L. Gao, Z.-G. Zhang, Y. Yang, Y. Zhang, C. Zhang, S. Chen, L. Xue, C. Yang, M. Xiao, Y. Li, Nat. Commun. 7, 13651 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. J. Min, Z.­G. Zhang, S. Zhang, Y. Li, Chem. Mater. 24, 3247–3254 (2012)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. A. Tada, Y.F. Geng, Q.S. Wei, K. Hashimoto, K. Tajima, Nat. Mater. 10, 450–455 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. L. Gao, Z.­G. Zhang, L. Xue, J. Min, J. Zhang, Z. Wei, Y. Li, Adv. Mater. 28, 8288–8295 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Q.P. Fan, W. Su, X. Meng, X. Guo, G. Li, W. Ma, M.J. Zhang, Y.F. Li, Sol. RRL 1, 1700020 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. B.B. Fan, C. Sun, X.-F. Jiang, G. Zhang, Z. Chen, L. Ying, F. Huang, Y. Cao, Adv. Funct. Mater. 26, 6479–6488 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Y.-S. Cheng, S.-H. Liao, Y.-L. Li, S.-A. Chen, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 5, 6665–6671 (2013)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. K. Reichenbacher, H.I. Suss, J. Hulliger, Chem. Soc. Rev. 34, 22–30 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. K.E. Hung, C.E. Tsai, S.L. Chang, Bispentafluorophenyl-containing additive: enhancing efficiency and morphological stability of polymer solar cells via hand-grabbing-like supramolecular pentafluorophenyl–fullerene interactions. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 9, 43861–43870 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. C.-Z. Li, Y. Matsuo, T. Niinomi, Y. Sato, E. Nakamura, Face-to-face C6F5–[60] fullerene interaction for ordering fullerene molecules and application to thin-film organic photovoltaics. Chem. Commun. 46, 8582–8584 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. M.-H. Liao, C.-E. Tsai, Y.-Y. Lai, F.-Y. Cao, J.-S. Wu, C.-L. Wang, C.-S. Hsu, I. Liau, Y.-J. Cheng, Morphological stabilization by supramolecular perfluorophenyl-C60 interactions leading to efficient and thermally stable organic photovoltaics. Adv. Funct. Mater. 24, 1418–1429 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. H.I. Kim, M. Kim, C.W. Park, H.U. Kim, H.-K. Lee, T. Park, Morphological control of donor/acceptor interfaces in all-polymer solar cells using a pentafluorobenzene-based additive. Chem. Mater. 29, 6793–6798 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. E. Lee, B. Hammer, J.-K. Kim, Z. Page, T. Emrick, R.C. Hayward, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133, 10390–10393 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Y.-Y. Lin, Y.-Y. Lee, L. Chang, J.-J. Wu, C.-W. Chen, Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 063308 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. H. Spanggaard, F.C. Krebs, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 83, 125–146 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Y. Xie, Y. Li, L.X. Xiao, Q.Q. Qiao, R. Dhakal, Z.L. Zhang, Q.H. Gong, D. Galipeau, X.Z. Yan, J. Phys. Chem. C 114, 14590–14600 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. N. Chen, J. Lu, D. Wang, C. Zheng, H. Wu, H. Zhang, D. Gao, Macromolecules 51(1), 80–90 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (61464006 and 61664006) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province, China (20171ACB21010). F. L. acknowledges the support from Jiangxi Province Young Scientist Project (20142BCB23002).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Zhenrong Jia and Guiying Xu contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang, 330031, China

    Zhenrong Jia, Guiying Xu, Yifan Zhang, Bei Liu, Yiyi Pan, Xiaofeng Wang, Tengyi Wang & Fan Li

  2. Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Zhenrong Jia

  3. Department of General Studies, Nanchang Institute of Science & Technology, Nanchang, 330108, China

    Qiujuan Li

Authors
  1. Zhenrong Jia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Guiying Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qiujuan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yifan Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bei Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yiyi Pan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Xiaofeng Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Tengyi Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Fan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Xiaofeng Wang or Fan Li.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

These authors declare no competing financial interest.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 469 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Jia, Z., Xu, G., Li, Q. et al. Boosting the efficiency and stability of polymer solar cells using poly(3-hexylthiophene)-based all-conjugated diblock copolymers containing pentafluorophenyl groups. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 10337–10345 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9090-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-9090-4

Search

Navigation