Jianyong Ouyang

Solution-Processed Metallic Conducting Polymer Films as Transparent Electrode of Optoelectronic Devices

The conductivity of PEDOT:PSS films was significantly enhanced from 0.3 S cm(-1) to 3065 S cm(-1) through a treatment with dilute sulfuric acids. PEDOT:PSS films with a sheet resistance of 39 Ω sq(-1) and transparency of around 80% at 550 nm are obtained. These PEDOT:PSS films with conductivity and transparency comparable to ITO can replace ITO as the transparent electrode of optoelectronic devices.

Nonvolatile electrical bistability of organic/metal-nanocluster/organic system

Two-terminal electrical bistable devices have been fabricated using a sandwich structure of organic/metal/organic as the active medium, sandwiched between two external electrodes. The nonvolatile electrical bistability of these devices can be controlled using a positive and a negative electrical bias alternatively. A forward bias may switch the device to a high-conductance state, while a reverse bias is required to restore it to a low-conductance state. In this letter, a model to explain this electrical bistability is proposed. It is found that the bistability is very sensitive to the nanostructure of the middle metal layer. For obtaining the devices with well-controlled bistability, the middle metal layer is incorporated with metal nanoclusters separated by thin oxide layers. These nanoclusters behave as the charge storage elements, which enable the nonvolatile electrical bistability when biased to a sufficiently high voltage. This mechanism is supported by the experimental data obtained from UV–visible ...

Digital memory device based on tobacco mosaic virus conjugated with nanoparticles

Nanostructured viruses are attractive for use as templates for ordering quantum dots to make self-assembled building blocks for next-generation electronic devices. So far, only a few types of electronic devices have been fabricated from biomolecules due to the lack of charge transport through biomolecular junctions. Here, we show a novel electronic memory effect by incorporating platinum nanoparticles into tobacco mosaic virus. The memory effect is based on conductance switching, which leads to the occurrence of bistable states with an on/off ratio larger than three orders of magnitude. The mechanism of this process is attributed to charge trapping in the nanoparticles for data storage and a tunnelling process in the high conductance state. Such hybrid bio–inorganic nanostructures show promise for applications in future nanoelectronics.

A molecular nematic liquid crystalline material for high-performance organic photovoltaics

Solution-processed organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) hold great promise to enable roll-to-roll printing of environmentally friendly, mechanically flexible and cost-effective photovoltaic devices. Nevertheless, many high-performing systems show best power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) with a thin active layer (thickness is ~100 nm) that is difficult to translate to roll-to-roll processing with high reproducibility. Here we report a new molecular donor, benzodithiophene terthiophene rhodanine (BTR), which exhibits good processability, nematic liquid crystalline behaviour and excellent optoelectronic properties. A maximum PCE of 9.3% is achieved under AM 1.5G solar irradiation, with fill factor reaching 77%, rarely achieved in solution-processed OPVs. Particularly promising is the fact that BTR-based devices with active layer thicknesses up to 400 nm can still afford high fill factor of ~70% and high PCE of ~8%. Together, the results suggest, with better device architectures for longer device lifetime, BTR is an ideal candidate for mass production of OPVs.

PEDOT:PSS films with significantly enhanced conductivities induced by preferential solvation with cosolvents and their application in polymer photovoltaic cells

The conductivity of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films was significantly enhanced by preferential solvations of the hydrophobic PEDOT and hydrophilic PSS chains with cosolvents. When a PEDOT:PSS film prepared from the PEDOT:PSS aqueous solution was treated with water or a common organic solvent like ethanol, iso-propyl alcohol (IPA), acetonitrile (ACN), acetone, or tetrahydrofuran (THF), its conductivity did not change remarkably. But the conductivity was significantly enhanced when the PEDOT:PSS film was treated with a cosolvent of water and one of these common organic solvents. The conductivity enhancement was affected by several factors, including the ratio of the organic solvent to water, the dielectric constant of the organic solvent, and the temperature during the treatment. The conductivity enhancement from 0.2 S cm−1 to 103 S cm−1 was observed. The significant conductivity enhancement is attributed to the preferential solvation of PEDOT:PSS with a cosolvent. Water and the organic solvent of the cosolvent preferentially solvate the hydrophilic PSS and hydrophobic PEDOT chains, respectively. The preferential solvation of a PEDOT:PSS film with a cosolvent induces the phase separation of the insulator PSSH chains from the PEDOT:PSS film, aggregation of PSSH segments in the PEDOT:PSS film, and the conformational change of the PEDOT chains from coiled to linear. The cosolvent-treated PEDOT:PSS films were quite smooth and could be used to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) as the transparent electrode of electronic devices. Polymer photovoltaic cells (PVs) with the cosolvent-treated PEDOT:PSS films as the transparent electrode exhibited high photovoltaic performance.

Ferroelectricity of CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite.

Ferroelectricity has been believed to be an important but controversial origin of the excellent photovoltaic performance of organometal trihalide perovskites (OTPs). Here we investigate the ferroelectricity of a prototype OTP, CH3NH3PbI3 (MAPbI3), both theoretically and experimentally. Our first-principles calculations based on 3-D periodic boundary conditions reveal that a ferroelectric structure with polarization of ∼8 μC/cm(2) is the globally stable one among all possible tetragonal structures; however, experimentally no room-temperature ferroelectricity is observed by using polarization-electric field hysteresis measurements and piezoresponse force microscopy. The discrepancy between our theoretical and experimental results is attributed to the dynamic orientational disorder of MA(+) groups and the semiconducting nature of MAPbI3 at room temperature. Therefore, we conclude that MAPbI3 is not ferroelectric at room temperature; however, it is possible to induce and experimentally observe apparent ferroelectric behavior through our proposed ways. Our results clarify the controversy of the ferroelectricity in MAPbI3 and also provide valuable guidance for future studies on this active topic.

Polymer memory device based on conjugated polymer and gold nanoparticles

Electrical bistability is demonstrated in a polymer memory device with an active layer consisting of conjugated poly3-hexylthiophene and gold nanoparticles capped with 1-dodecanethiol sandwiched between two metal electrodes. The device was fabricated through a simple solution processing technique and exhibited a remarkable electrical bistable behavior. Above a threshold voltage the pristine device, which was in a low conductivity state, exhibited an increase in conductivity by more than three orders of magnitude. The device could be returned to the low conductivity state by applying a voltage in the reverse direction. The electronic transition is attributed to an electric-field-induced charge transfer between the two components in the system. The conduction mechanism changed from a charge-injection-controlled current in the low conductivity state to a charge-transport-controlled current in the high conductivity state. In the high conductivity state the conduction was dominated by a field-enhanced thermal excitation of trapped charges at room temperature, while it is dominated by charge tunneling at low temperatures. The device exhibited excellent stability in both the conductivity states and could be cycled between the two states for numerous times. The device exhibits tremendous potential for its application as fast, stable, low-cost, high storage density nonvolatile electronic memory.

Conducting polymer/carbon nanotube composite as counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells

This letter reports dye-sensitized solar cells with a thin film of multiwall carbon nanotube/conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) composite as the counterelectrode. The composite thin film was prepared by spin coating the aqueous solution of the composite. The devices exhibited high performance with the energy conversion efficiency of 6.5%, short-circuit current of 15.5mAcm−2, open-circuit voltage of 0.66V, and fill factor of 0.63. This performance is close to the devices using conventional platinum as the counterelectrode and is significantly higher than the ones using a thin film of multiwall carbon nanotube/poly(styrenesulfonate acide) composite as the counterelectrode.

Electric-field-induced charge transfer between gold nanoparticle and capping 2-naphthalenethiol and organic memory cells

An electrical transition, induced by a high electric field, was observed in a device consisting of a polystyrene film containing 2-naphthalenethiol-capped Au nanoparticles sandwiched between two Al electrodes. The current through the device changed from a charge-injection-controlled current to a space-charge-limited current. The latter current is higher than the former by more than three orders of magnitude at 2 V. Asymmetrical current-voltage curve was observed along the two polarity directions for the device after the transition. This transition is attributed to an electric-field-induced charge transfer between the Au nanoparticle and the capping 2-naphthalenethiol. The device exhibits good stability in the high conductivity state, so it can be used as a write-once-read-many times electronic memory.

High-performance dye-sensitized solar cells with gel-coated binder-free carbon nanotube films as counter electrode

High-performance dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) with binder-free films of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), including single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) and multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs), as the counter electrode are reported. The CNT films were fabricated by coating gels, which were prepared by dispersing CNTs in low-molecular-weight poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) through mechanical grinding and subsequent ultrasonication, on fluorine tin oxide (FTO) glass. PEG was removed from the CNT films through heating. These binder-free CNT films were rough and exhibited good adhesion to substrates. They were used as the counter electrode of DSCs. The DSCs with SWCNT or MWCNT counter electrodes exhibited a light-to-electricity conversion efficiency comparable with that with the conventional platinum (Pt) counter electrode, when the devices were tested immediately after device fabrication. The DSCs with an SWCNT counter electrode exhibited good stability in photovoltaic performance. The efficiency did not decrease after four weeks. On the other hand, DSCs with the MWCNT or Pt counter electrode exhibited a remarkable decrease in the photovoltaic efficiency after four weeks. The high photovoltaic performance of these DSCs is related to the excellent electrochemical catalysis of CNTs on the redox of the iodide/triiodide pair, as revealed by the cyclic voltammetry and ac impedance spectroscopy.