I07-Surface & interface diffraction
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Elena J.
Cassella
,
Emma L. K.
Spooner
,
Joel A.
Smith
,
Timothy
Thornber
,
Mary E.
O'Kane
,
Robert D. J.
Oliver
,
Thomas E.
Catley
,
Saqlain
Choudhary
,
Christopher J.
Wood
,
Deborah B.
Hammond
,
Henry J.
Snaith
,
David G.
Lidzey
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[30612]
Open Access
Abstract: High temperature post-deposition annealing of hybrid lead halide perovskite thin films—typically lasting at least 10 min—dramatically limits the maximum roll-to-roll coating speed, which determines solar module manufacturing costs. While several approaches for “annealing-free” perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been demonstrated, many are of limited feasibility for scalable fabrication. Here, this work has solvent-engineered a high vapor pressure solvent mixture of 2-methoxy ethanol and tetrahydrofuran to deposit highly crystalline perovskite thin-films at room temperature using gas-quenching to remove the volatile solvents. Using this approach, this work demonstrates p-i-n devices with an annealing-free MAPbI3 perovskite layer achieving stabilized power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of up to 18.0%, compared to 18.4% for devices containing an annealed perovskite layer. This work then explores the deposition of self-assembled molecules as the hole-transporting layer without annealing. This work finally combines the methods to create fully annealing-free devices having stabilized PCEs of up to 17.1%. This represents the state-of-the-art for annealing-free fabrication of PSCs with a process fully compatible with roll-to-roll manufacture.
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Feb 2023
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E01-JEM ARM 200CF
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Raj
Pandya
,
Richard Y. S.
Chen
,
Qifei
Gu
,
Jooyoung
Sung
,
Christoph
Schnedermann
,
Oluwafemi S.
Ojambati
,
Rohit
Chikkaraddy
,
Jeffrey
Gorman
,
Gianni
Jacucci
,
Olimpia D.
Onelli
,
Tom
Willhammar
,
Duncan N.
Johnstone
,
Sean M.
Collins
,
Paul A.
Midgley
,
Florian
Auras
,
Tomi
Baikie
,
Rahul
Jayaprakash
,
Fabrice
Mathevet
,
Richard
Soucek
,
Matthew
Du
,
Antonios M.
Alvertis
,
Arjun
Ashoka
,
Silvia
Vignolini
,
David G.
Lidzey
,
Jeremy J.
Baumberg
,
Richard H.
Friend
,
Thierry
Barisien
,
Laurent
Legrand
,
Alex W.
Chin
,
Joel
Yuen-Zhou
,
Semion K.
Saikin
,
Philipp
Kukura
,
Andrew J.
Musser
,
Akshay
Rao
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[20527]
Open Access
Abstract: Strong-coupling between excitons and confined photonic modes can lead to the formation of new quasi-particles termed exciton-polaritons which can display a range of interesting properties such as super-fluidity, ultrafast transport and Bose-Einstein condensation. Strong-coupling typically occurs when an excitonic material is confided in a dielectric or plasmonic microcavity. Here, we show polaritons can form at room temperature in a range of chemically diverse, organic semiconductor thin films, despite the absence of an external cavity. We find evidence of strong light-matter coupling via angle-dependent peak splittings in the reflectivity spectra of the materials and emission from collective polariton states. We additionally show exciton-polaritons are the primary photoexcitation in these organic materials by directly imaging their ultrafast (5 × 106 m s−1), ultralong (~270 nm) transport. These results open-up new fundamental physics and could enable a new generation of organic optoelectronic and light harvesting devices based on cavity-free exciton-polaritons.
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Nov 2021
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I07-Surface & interface diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[20419]
Abstract: Organic solar cells can generate low-cost renewable energy. These cells usually use a blend of carbon-based materials that can absorb light and create an electrical current. However, not all combinations work efficiently. The way that the molecules order themselves is fundamentally important in determining device efficiency. Researchers at Wuhan University of Technology, the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology in Beijing and the University of Sheffield explored what occurs in blends at the scale of a single molecule to determine device efficiency. They were interested in understanding the structure of a new type of solar cell, based on a blend of three different organic semiconductors. Although adding a third component can improve a solar cell’s ability to absorb light, it does not always enhance device efficiency. The I07 beamline at Diamond Light Source offers high-resolution X-ray investigations of the structure of surfaces and interfaces. The research team carried out X-ray scattering experiments on I07, combined with other techniques, to determine why adding a third component can positively or negatively affect organic solar cell efficiency.
Their measurements provided critical information on how adding a third component changes the molecular ordering of the blend. They were then able to correlate the thin film morphology with the electronic properties of the solar cell. Their results also allow predictions of whether a third component is likely to enhance device efficiency. Their work will help develop high-efficiency solar cells and is another step towards commercialisation of this technology.
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Jul 2021
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I22-Small angle scattering & Diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[18563]
Open Access
Abstract: The addition of alkali metal halides to hybrid perovskite materials can significantly impact their crystallisation and hence their performance when used in solar cell devices. Previous work on the use of potassium iodide (KI) in active layers to passivate defects in triple-cation mixed-halide perovskites has been shown to enhance their luminescence efficiency and reduce current–voltage hysteresis. However, the operational stability of KI passivated perovskite solar cells under ambient conditions remains largely unexplored. By investigating perovskite solar cell performance with SnO2 or TiO2 electron transport layers (ETL), we propose that defect passivation using KI is highly sensitive to the composition of the perovskite–ETL interface. We reconfirm findings from previous reports that KI preferentially interacts with bromide ions in mixed-halide perovskites, and – at concentrations >5 mol% in the precursor solution – modifies the primary absorber composition as well as leading to the phase segregation of an undesirable secondary non-perovskite phase (KBr) at high KI concentration. Importantly, by studying both material and device stability under continuous illumination and bias under ambient/high-humidity conditions, we show that this secondary phase becomes a favourable degradation product, and that devices incorporating KI have reduced stability.
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Nov 2020
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I22-Small angle scattering & Diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[18563]
Abstract: Solvent vapour annealing (SVA) is a common post-processing technique used to increase the average grain size of lead halide perovskite films and thus enhance device performance. The prevailing wisdom is that large grain perovskite films lead to enhanced stability, however, we observed the reverse in CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3) with dimethylformamide vapour treatment compared to non-SVA controls. Using a range of microstructural characterisation techniques, we reveal that SVA is not a chemically benign grain-growth process, but leads to substantial stoichiometric changes in the perovskite films. Intrinsic material degradation is investigated under external loading with in situ X-ray scattering, and combined with lifetime testing on full devices. We show that the operational stability of SVA devices greatly depends on the initial stoichiometry of the MAPbI3 with PbI2-excess compositions being least stable. However, the incorporation of excess organic-halides in the precursor solution helps to mitigate the deleterious effects of SVA on device stability. This work critically re-evaluates current thinking around grain structure and stoichiometry in achieving long-term stability for perovskite solar cells.
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Jun 2020
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I07-Surface & interface diffraction
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Donghui
Li
,
Xiaolong
Chen
,
Jinglong
Cai
,
Wei
Li
,
Mengxue
Chen
,
Yuchao
Mao
,
Baocai
Du
,
Joel A.
Smith
,
Rachel C.
Kilbride
,
Mary E.
O'Kane
,
Xue
Zhang
,
Yuan
Zhuang
,
Pang
Wang
,
Hui
Wang
,
Dan
Liu
,
Richard A. L.
Jones
,
David G.
Lidzey
,
Tao
Wang
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[22651]
Abstract: Optimizing the components and morphology within the photoactive layer of organic solar cells (OSCs) can significantly enhance their power conversion efficiency (PCE). A new A-D-A type non-fullerene acceptor IDMIC-4F is designed and synthesized in this work, and is employed as the third component to prepare high performance ternary solar cells. IDMIC-4F can form fibrils after solution casting, and the presence of this fibrillar structure in the PBDB-T-2F:BTP-4F host confines the growth of donors and acceptors into fine domains, as well as acting as transport channels to enhance electron mobility. Single junction ternary devices incorporating 10 wt% IDMIC-4F exhibit enhanced light absorption and balanced carrier mobility, and achieve a maximum PCE of 16.6% compared to 15.7% for the binary device, which is a remarkable efficiency for OSCs reported in literature. This non-fullerene acceptor fibril network strategy is a promising method to improve the photovoltaic performance of ternary OSCs.
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Feb 2020
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I07-Surface & interface diffraction
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Wei
Li
,
Zuo
Xiao
,
Joel As.
Smith
,
Jinlong
Cai
,
Donghui
Li
,
Rachel C.
Kilbride
,
Emma L. K.
Spooner
,
Onkar S.
Game
,
Xianyi
Meng
,
Dan
Liu
,
Richard A. L.
Jones
,
David G.
Lidzey
,
Liming
Ding
,
Tao
Wang
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[20419]
Abstract: Traditional single-junction binary organic solar cells suffer from narrow absorption windows, limiting their ability to harvest photons. One promising approach to avoid this issue is through the construction of a ternary system to enhance the spectral response and efficiency. However, the complex morphology and photophysical processes within ternary blends leave the criteria of an effective third component unclear, and so they remain a challenge. In this work, we report on the fabrication of PTB7-Th:COi8DFIC-based ternary solar cells with enhanced efficiency by employing either a polymer donor or a nonfullerene acceptor as the third component. We demonstrate that the third component is highly associated with the condensed state of the host acceptor and is the primary factor in determining efficiency improvement. The π-π stacking molecular packing of COi8DFIC helps to maintain the optimal phase separation within the ternary blends and improves both the hole and electron charge mobilities, resulting in enhanced power conversion efficiency of over 14%, compared to 13.1% in binary devices. We also found an excessive amount of polymer donor or nonfullerene acceptor increases the phase separation and encourages lamellar crystallization with the host acceptor domain, resulting in reduced light-harvesting and external quantum efficiencies at long wavelengths. Our results provide a rational guide to selecting the third component to fabricate high-performance nonfullerene-based ternary solar cells.
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Dec 2019
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I07-Surface & interface diffraction
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Mengxue
Chen
,
Zhuohan
Zhang
,
Wei
Li
,
Jinlong
Cai
,
Jiangsheng
Yu
,
Emma L. K.
Spooner
,
Rachel C.
Kilbride
,
Donghui
Li
,
Baocai
Du
,
Robert S.
Gurney
,
Dan
Liu
,
Weihua
Tang
,
David G.
Lidzey
,
Tao
Wang
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[20419]
Abstract: Fluorinated non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) usually have planar backbone and a higher tendency to crystallize compared to their non-fluorinated counterparts, which leads to enhanced charge mobility in organic solar cells (OSCs). However, this self-organization behavior may result in excessive phase separation with electron donors and thereby deteriorate device efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate an effective approach to tune the molecular organization of a fluorinated NFA (INPIC-4F), and its phase separation with the donor PBDB-T, by varying the casting solvent. A prolonged film drying time encourages the crystallization of INPIC-4F into spherulites and consequently results in excessive phase separation, leading to a low device power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 8.1%. Contrarily, a drying time leads to fine mixed domains with inefficient charge transport properties, resulting in a moderate device PCE of 11.4%. An intermediate film drying time results in the formation of face-on π-π stacked PBDB-T and INPIC-4F domains with continuous phase-separated networks, which facilitates light absorption, exciton dissociation as well as balanced charge transport towards the electrode, and achieves a remarkable PCE of 13.1%. This work provides a rational guide for optimizing the molecular ordering of NFAs and electron donors for high device efficiency.
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Sep 2019
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I07-Surface & interface diffraction
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Baocai
Du
,
Renyong
Geng
,
Wei
Li
,
Donghui
Li
,
Yuchao
Mao
,
Mengxue
Chen
,
Xue
Zhang
,
Joel A.
Smith
,
Rachel C.
Kilbride
,
Mary E.
O'Kane
,
Dan
Liu
,
David G.
Lidzey
,
Weihua
Tang
,
Tao
Wang
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[22651]
Abstract: The insufficient phase separation between polymer donors and non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) featuring with low-structural orders disrupts efficient charge transport and increases charge recombination, consequently limits the maximum achievable power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). Herein, an NFA IT-M has been added as the third component into the PBDB-T:m-INPOIC OSCs, and is shown to effectively tune the phase separation between donor and acceptor molecules, although all components in the ternary system exhibit low degrees of structural orders. The incorporation of 10 wt% IT-M into a PBDB-T:m-INPOIC binary host blend appreciably increases the length scale of phase separation, creating continuous pathways which increase and balance charge transport. This leads to an enhanced photovoltaic performance from 12.8% in the binary cell to 13.9% for the ternary cell with simultaneously improved open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current and fill factor. This work highlights the beneficial role of ternary components in controlling the morphology of the active layer for high performance OSCs.
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Sep 2019
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I07-Surface & interface diffraction
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Wei
Li
,
Zuo
Xiao
,
Jinlong
Cai
,
Joel A.
Smith
,
Emma L. K.
Spooner
,
Rachel C.
Kilbride
,
Onkar S.
Game
,
Xianyi
Meng
,
Donghui
Li
,
Huijun
Zhang
,
Mengxue
Chen
,
Robert S.
Gurney
,
Dan
Liu
,
Richard A. L.
Jones
,
David
Lidzey
,
Liming
Ding
,
Tao
Wang
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[120419]
Abstract: The chemical structure of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) affects their light-harvesting capabilities, energy levels and molecular orders, all of which play a crucial role in determining the efficiency of organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, we have systematically investigated a series of ladder-type NFAs having different carbon-oxygen-bridged electron-donating cores, and revealed the effects of core structures and film casting conditions on molecular ordering and performance of OSCs. We found that NFAs containing the thieno [3,2-b]thiophene centered, 6 or 8 fused rings (i.e. COi6DFIC, COi8DFIC) exhibit narrower optical band gaps than NFAs containing the benzene centered, 5 or 7 fused rings (i.e. COi5DFIC, COi7DFIC). NFAs containing less fused rings in the carbon-oxygen-bridged core (i.e. COi5DFIC and COi6DFIC) exhibit edge-on molecular orientation in the blends with face-on oriented PTB7-Th donor, and result in low device efficiency. Although NFAs containing more fused rings (i.e. COi7DFIC and COi8DFIC) possess a pronounced flat-on lamellar crystalline structure in the pure state, the crystallization can be reduced when blending with PTB7-Th and under hot-substrate casting, while the lamella in COi8DFIC can be effectively suppressed to form face-on H- and J-type aggregates, leading to enhanced efficiency.
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Jul 2019
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