Matthew S. White

Flexible high power-per-weight perovskite solar cells with chromium oxide–metal contacts for improved stability in air

Photovoltaic technology requires light-absorbing materials that are highly efficient, lightweight, low cost and stable during operation. Organolead halide perovskites constitute a highly promising class of materials, but suffer limited stability under ambient conditions without heavy and costly encapsulation. Here, we report ultrathin (3 μm), highly flexible perovskite solar cells with stabilized 12% efficiency and a power-per-weight as high as 23 W g(-1). To facilitate air-stable operation, we introduce a chromium oxide-chromium interlayer that effectively protects the metal top contacts from reactions with the perovskite. The use of a transparent polymer electrode treated with dimethylsulphoxide as the bottom layer allows the deposition-from solution at low temperature-of pinhole-free perovskite films at high yield on arbitrary substrates, including thin plastic foils. These ultra-lightweight solar cells are successfully used to power aviation models. Potential future applications include unmanned aerial vehicles-from airplanes to quadcopters and weather balloons-for environmental and industrial monitoring, rescue and emergency response, and tactical security applications.

Ultrathin and lightweight organic solar cells with high flexibility.

Application-specific requirements for future lighting, displays and photovoltaics will include large-area, low-weight and mechanical resilience for dual-purpose uses such as electronic skin, textiles and surface conforming foils. Here we demonstrate polymer-based photovoltaic devices on plastic foil substrates less than 2 μm thick, with equal power conversion efficiency to their glass-based counterparts. They can reversibly withstand extreme mechanical deformation and have unprecedented solar cell-specific weight. Instead of a single bend, we form a random network of folds within the device area. The processing methods are standard, so the same weight and flexibility should be achievable in light emitting diodes, capacitors and transistors to fully realize ultrathin organic electronics. These ultrathin organic solar cells are over ten times thinner, lighter and more flexible than any other solar cell of any technology to date.

Optimal negative electrodes for poly(3-hexylthiophene): [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices

The role of the work function and interfacial chemistry on organic device performance was investigated by using a series of contact materials. The active layer was a standard blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) and [6-6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester. Over 100 devices were fabricated and measured to obtain good statistics. Ba∕Al and Ca∕Al electrodes performed best, with similar open-circuit voltages and power conversion efficiencies. Device stability studies showed devices with these two electrodes remained similar after six weeks with degradation of 11%–16% in net conversion efficiency observed. The incorporation of silver into the electrodes led to considerably more degradation than other electrode types.

Hydrogen‐Bonded Semiconducting Pigments for Air‐Stable Field‐Effect Transistors

Extensive intramolecular π-conjugation is considered to be requisite in the design of organic semiconductors. Here, two inkjet pigments, epindolidione and quinacridone, that break this design rule are explored. These molecules afford intermolecular π-stacking reinforced by hydrogen-bonding bridges. Air-stable organic field effect transistors are reported that support mobilities up to 1.5 cm(2)/Vs with T80 lifetimes comparable with the most stable reported organic semiconducting materials.

Polymerisable octahedral rhenium cluster complexes as precursors for photo/electroluminescent polymers

New polymerisable photoluminescent octahedral rhenium cluster complexes trans-[{Re6Q8}(TBP)4(VB)2] (Q = S or Se; TBP-p-tert-butylpyridine; VB-vinyl benzoate) have been synthesised, characterised and used to construct rhenium cluster-organic polymer hybrid materials. These novel polymer systems are solution-processable and the rhenium clusters retain their photoluminescent properties within the polymer environment. Notably, when the rhenium cluster complexes are incorporated into the matrix of the electroluminescent polymer poly(N-vinylcarbazole), the resultant cluster polymer hybrid combined properties of both components and was used successfully in the construction of a polymer light emitting diode (PLED). These prototype devices are the first PLEDs to incorporate octahedral rhenium clusters and provide the first direct evidence of the electroluminescent properties of rhenium clusters and indeed, to the best of our knowledge, of any member of the family of 24-electron hexanuclear cluster complexes of molybdenum, tungsten or rhenium.

Substrate-Oriented Nanorod Scaffolds in Polymer–Fullerene Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells

The use of a p-type inorganic semiconductor to form a nanorod scaffold within a polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cell is reported. The performance of this cell is compared to those made of the commonly used n-type scaffold of ZnO, which has been reported many times in the literature. The scaffold is designed to improve charge-carrier collection by increased mobility in thicker samples. Observations show that generally the device performance shows a negative correlation to nanorod length. By using CuSCN as a p-type inorganic scaffold, a very similar trend is observed.

Influence of molecular designs on polaronic and vibrational transitions in a conjugated push-pull copolymer

Electron-phonon interactions of free charge-carriers in doped pi-conjugated polymers are conceptually described by 1-dimensional (1D) delocalization. Thereby, polaronic transitions fit the 1D-Froehlich model in quasi-confined chains. However, recent developments in conjugated polymers have diversified the backbones to become elaborate heterocylcic macromolecules. Their complexity makes it difficult to investigate the electron-phonon coupling. In this work we resolve the electron-phonon interactions in the ground and doped state in a complex push-pull polymer. We focus on the polaronic transitions using in-situ spectroscopy to work out the differences between single-unit and push-pull systems to obtain the desired structural- electronic correlations in the doped state. We apply the classic 1D-Froehlich model to generate optical model fits. Interestingly, we find the 1D-approach in push-pull polarons in agreement to the model, pointing at the strong 1D-character and plain electronic structure of the push-pull structure. In contrast, polarons in the single-unit polymer emerge to a multi- dimensional problem difficult to resolve due to their anisotropy. Thus, we report an enhancement of the 1D-character by the push-pull concept in the doped state - an important view in light of the main purpose of push-pull polymers for photovoltaic devices.

Short-term metal/organic interface stability investigations of organic photovoltaic devices

As organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices have begun to move toward initial applications, issues of their stability are becoming increasingly important. The de facto standard OPV devices are made from a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), and these serve as a test bed for lifetime testing. Delamination, oxidation, and chemical interactions at the metal electrode/organic interface have been posited as degradation pathways in organic electronic devices.[1,2] Here, two short-term experiments were employed to evaluate the stability of this interface in the light and dark. Full devices and unprotected organic surfaces were separately examined, and both were found to be stable in air over the course of 10s of minutes while in the dark. While unprotected devices were stable (less than 20% loss in efficiency) in air for 100 minutes under constant 1-sun illumination, unprotected organic surfaces were not, and good devices could not be made on them subsequently.

Breakthroughs in Photonics 2012: Large-Area Ultrathin Photonics

Recent work is reviewed on organic solar cells thinner than a thread of spider silk, so flexible that they can be wrapped firmly around a human hair, lighter than autumn leaves and with an unprecedented specific weight of 10 W/g. Solar cell fabrication is based on planar process technologies only, commonly employed in semiconductor industry. The same weight per area and exceptional flexibility should easily be achievable also in organic light-emitting diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits, to realize unbreakable ultrathin electronics. When adhered on conforming surfaces, the solar cells become stretch compatible withstanding tensile strains of roughly 400%. Applications of the technology may arise wherever mass is a critical concern and span from small scale robots to health care and biomedical systems.

Separation of mono-dispersed CH3NH3PbBr3 Perovskite Quantum dots via dissolution of nanocrystals

Separation of mono-dispersed CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite quantum dots (PeQDs) using the Ostwald ripening process during aging of the perovskite nanocrystals (PeNCs) in a colloidal solution is proposed for color-tunable PeQD synthesis. Monodispersed PeNCs with size ranging from 5 to 17 nm with a spherical or square shape have been successfully prepared. Photo-luminescence spectroscopy revealed the quantum confinement effect on the spherical small QDs.