Morphological stabilization by supramolecular perfluorophenyl-C 60 interactions leading to efficient and thermally stable organic photovoltaics

Ming Hung Liao, Che En Tsai, Yu Ying Lai, Fong Yi Cao, Jhong Sian Wu, Chien-Lung Wang, Chain-Shu Hsu, Ian Liau, Yen-Ju Cheng*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new PC61BM-based fullerene, [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid pentafluorophenyl ester (PC61BPF) is designed and synthesized. This new n-type material can replace PC61BM to form a P3HT:PC61BPF binary blend or serve as an additive to form a P3HT:PC61BM:PC61BPF ternary blend. Supramolecular attraction between the pentafluorophenyl group of PC 61BPF and the C60 cores of PC 61BPF/PC61BM can effectively suppress the PC61BPF/PC61BM materials from severe aggregation. By doping only 8.3 wt% PC61BPF, device PC61BPF651 exhibits a PCE of 3.88% and decreases slightly to 3.68% after heating for 25 h, preserving 95% of its original value. When PC61BP with non-fluorinated phenyl group is used to substitute PC61BPF, the stabilizing ability disappears completely. The efficiencies of PC61BP651 and PC61BP321 devices significantly decay to 0.44% and 0.11%, respectively, after 25 h isothermal heating. Most significantly, this strategy is demonstrated to be effective for a blend system incorporating a low band-gap polymer. By adding only 10 wt% PC61BPF, the PDTBCDTB:PC71BM-based device exhibits thermally stable morphology and device characteristics. These findings demonstrate that smart utilization of supramolecular interactions is an effective and practical strategy to control morphological evolution.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1418-1429
Number of pages12
JournalAdvanced Functional Materials
Volume24
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - 12 Mar 2014

Keywords

  • fullerene
  • morphological stability
  • perfluorophenyl
  • phase separation
  • solar cells

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