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Uncovering the out-of-plane nanomorphology of organic photovoltaic bulk heterojunction by GTSAXS

Author

Listed:
  • Xinxin Xia

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

  • Tsz-Ki Lau

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

  • Xuyun Guo

    (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom)

  • Yuhao Li

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

  • Minchao Qin

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

  • Kuan Liu

    (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon)

  • Zeng Chen

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Xiaozhi Zhan

    (Spallation Neutron Source Science Center
    Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Yiqun Xiao

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

  • Pok Fung Chan

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

  • Heng Liu

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

  • Luhang Xu

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

  • Guilong Cai

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

  • Na Li

    (Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Science)

  • Haiming Zhu

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Gang Li

    (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon)

  • Ye Zhu

    (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom)

  • Tao Zhu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Xiaowei Zhan

    (Peking University)

  • Xun-Li Wang

    (City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon)

  • Xinhui Lu

    (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories)

Abstract

The bulk morphology of the active layer of organic solar cells (OSCs) is known to be crucial to the device performance. The thin film device structure breaks the symmetry into the in-plane direction and out-of-plane direction with respect to the substrate, leading to an intrinsic anisotropy in the bulk morphology. However, the characterization of out-of-plane nanomorphology within the active layer remains a grand challenge. Here, we utilized an X-ray scattering technique, Grazing-incident Transmission Small-angle X-ray Scattering (GTSAXS), to uncover this new morphology dimension. This technique was implemented on the model systems based on fullerene derivative (P3HT:PC71BM) and non-fullerene systems (PBDBT:ITIC, PM6:Y6), which demonstrated the successful extraction of the quantitative out-of-plane acceptor domain size of OSC systems. The detected in-plane and out-of-plane domain sizes show strong correlations with the device performance, particularly in terms of exciton dissociation and charge transfer. With the help of GTSAXS, one could obtain a more fundamental perception about the three-dimensional nanomorphology and new angles for morphology control strategies towards highly efficient photovoltaic devices.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinxin Xia & Tsz-Ki Lau & Xuyun Guo & Yuhao Li & Minchao Qin & Kuan Liu & Zeng Chen & Xiaozhi Zhan & Yiqun Xiao & Pok Fung Chan & Heng Liu & Luhang Xu & Guilong Cai & Na Li & Haiming Zhu & Gang Li & Y, 2021. "Uncovering the out-of-plane nanomorphology of organic photovoltaic bulk heterojunction by GTSAXS," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-26510-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26510-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yuhang Liu & Jingbo Zhao & Zhengke Li & Cheng Mu & Wei Ma & Huawei Hu & Kui Jiang & Haoran Lin & Harald Ade & He Yan, 2014. "Aggregation and morphology control enables multiple cases of high-efficiency polymer solar cells," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-8, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuanyuan Jiang & Yixin Li & Feng Liu & Wenxuan Wang & Wenli Su & Wuyue Liu & Songjun Liu & Wenkai Zhang & Jianhui Hou & Shengjie Xu & Yuanping Yi & Xiaozhang Zhu, 2023. "Suppressing electron-phonon coupling in organic photovoltaics for high-efficiency power conversion," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Baobing Fan & Wei Gao & Xuanhao Wu & Xinxin Xia & Yue Wu & Francis R. Lin & Qunping Fan & Xinhui Lu & Wen Jung Li & Wei Ma & Alex K.-Y. Jen, 2022. "Importance of structural hinderance in performance–stability equilibrium of organic photovoltaics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-11, December.

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