1. Multiscale Active Layer Morphologies for Organic PhotovoltaicsThrough Self-Assembly of Nanospheres.
- Author
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Gehan, Timothy S., Bag, Monojit, Renna, Lawrence A., Shen, Xiaobo, Algaier, Dana D., Lahti, Paul M., Russell, Thomas P., and Venkataraman, Dhandapani
- Subjects
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PHOTOVOLTAIC power generation , *MULTISCALE modeling , *MOLECULAR self-assembly , *NANOSTRUCTURED materials , *METHYL formate , *AQUEOUS solutions - Abstract
We address here the need for a generalstrategy to control molecularassembly over multiple length scales. Efficient organic photovoltaicsrequire an active layer comprised of a mesoscale interconnected networksof nanoscale aggregates of semiconductors. We demonstrate a method,using principles of molecular self-assembly and geometric packing,for controlled assembly of semiconductors at the nanoscale and mesoscale.Nanoparticles of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) or [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) were fabricated with targetedsizes. Nanoparticles containing a blend of both P3HT and PCBM werealso fabricated. The active layer morphology was tuned by the changingparticle composition, particle radii, and the ratios of P3HT:PCBMparticles. Photovoltaic devices were fabricated from these aqueousnanoparticle dispersions with comparable device performance to typicalbulk-heterojunction devices. Our strategy opens a revolutionary pathwayto study and tune the active layer morphology systematically whileexercising control of the component assembly at multiple length scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
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