Iwao Soga

Columnar Structure in Bulk Heterojunction in Solution-Processable Three-Layered p-i-n Organic Photovoltaic Devices Using Tetrabenzoporphyrin Precursor and Silylmethyl[60]fullerene

A new solution-processable fabrication protocol using a soluble tetrabenzoporphyrin (BP) precursor and bis(dimethylphenylsilylmethyl)[60]fullerene (SIMEF) created three-layered p-i-n photovoltaic devices, in which the i-layer possesses a well-defined bulk heterojunction structure in which columnar BP crystals grow vertically from the bottom p-layer. The device showed a power conversion efficiency of 5.2% (V(OC) = 0.75 V; J(SC) = 10.5 mA/cm(2); FF = 0.65).

An Amorphous Mesophase Generated by Thermal Annealing for High‐Performance Organic Photovoltaic Devices

Thermal annealing of a p-i-n organic photovoltaic device containing a crystalline benzoporphyrin donor and solvated crystals of a silylmethylfullerene acceptor increases the device performance at a temperature where partial desolvation of the acceptor produces an amorphous mesophase. This suggests that the mesophase improves the hierarchical ordering of the materials, that is, the morphology of the n-layer and the interfacial contact and, hence, the carrier generation efficiency at the donor-acceptor interface.

1‐Aryl‐4‐Silylmethyl[60]fullerenes: Synthesis, Properties, and Photovoltaic Performance

The efficient nucleophilic addition of aryl Grignard reagents (aryl=4-MeOC(6)H(4), 4-Me(2)NC(6)H(4), Ph, 4-CF(3)C(6)H(4), and thienyl) to C(60) in the presence of DMSO produced 1,2-arylhydro[60]fullerenes after acid treatment. The reactions of the anions of these arylhydro[60]fullerenes with either dimethylphenylsilylmethyl iodide or dimethyl(2-isopropoxyphenyl)silylmethyl iodide yielded the target compounds, 1-aryl-4-silylmethyl[60]fullerenes. The properties and structures of these 1-aryl-4-silylmethyl[60]fullerenes (aryl=4-MeOC(6)H(4), thienyl) were examined by electrochemical studies, X-ray crystallography, flash-photolysis time-resolved microwave-conductivity (FP-TRMC) measurements, and electron-mobility measurements by using a space-charge-limited current (SCLC) model. Organic photovoltaic devices with a polymer-based bulk heterojunction structure and small-molecule-based p-n and p-i-n heterojunction configurations were fabricated by using 1-aryl-4-silylmethyl[60]fullerenes as an electron acceptor. The most efficient device exhibited a power-conversion efficiency of 3.4% (short-circuit current density: 8.1 mA/cm(2), open-circuit voltage: 0.69 V, fill factor: 0.59).

Electric field dependent photocurrent generation in a thin-film organic photovoltaic device with a [70]fullerene–benzodifuranone dyad

A [70]fullerene-benzodifuranone acceptor dyad synthesized by a Ag⁺-mediated coupling reaction was used to construct a thin-film organic solar cell. The fullerene and the benzodifuranone dye in the dyad have close-lying LUMO levels in the range of 3.7-3.9 eV, so that energy transfer from the dye to the fullerene can take place. A p-n heterojunction photovoltaic device consisting of a tetrabenzoporphyrin and a [70]fullerene-benzodifuranone dyad showed a weak but discernible contribution from light absorption of the dyad to the photocurrent under both a positive and a negative effective bias. These results indicate that the benzodifuranone moiety attached to the acceptor contributes to light-harvesting by energy transfer.