Vytautas Getautis

A Methoxydiphenylamine‐Substituted Carbazole Twin Derivative: An Efficient Hole‐Transporting Material for Perovskite Solar Cells

The small-molecule-based hole-transporting material methoxydiphenylamine-substituted carbazole was synthesized and incorporated into a CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite solar cell, which displayed a power conversion efficiency of 16.91%, the second highest conversion efficiency after that of Spiro-OMeTAD. The investigated hole-transporting material was synthesized in two steps from commercially available and relatively inexpensive starting reagents. Various electro-optical measurements (UV/Vis, IV, thin-film conductivity, hole mobility, DSC, TGA, ionization potential) have been carried out to characterize the new hole-transporting material.

Hole-transporting hydrazones

This tutorial review covers recent contributions in the area of hole-transporting hydrazones, which are widely used in optoelectronic devices. It is addressed to students and researchers interested in the synthesis and properties of organic electroactive materials. The thermal, charge transport and other properties of electroactive hydrazones are compared and the relationships between the molecular structures and properties are emphasized. The first part discusses the low-molar-mass hydrazones and presents examples of their synthetic routes and chemical structures. In the second part, polymeric arylaldehyde hydrazones containing hydrazone moieties as the side substituents and in the main-chain are described.

Enhancing Thermal Stability and Lifetime of Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells via Molecular Engineering of the Hole-Transporting Material Spiro-OMeTAD

Thermal stability of hybrid solar cells containing spiro-OMeTAD as hole-transporting layer is investigated. It is demonstrated that fully symmetrical spiro-OMeTAD is prone to crystallization, and growth of large crystalline domains in the hole-transporting layer is one of the causes of solar cell degradation at elevated temperatures, as crystallization of the material inside the pores or on the interface affects the contact between the absorber and the hole transport. Suppression of the crystal growth in the hole-transporting layer is demonstrated to be a viable tactic to achieve a significant increase in the solar cell resistance to thermal stress and improve the overall lifetime of the device. Findings described in this publication could be applicable to hybrid solar cell research as a number of well-performing architectures rely heavily upon doped spiro-OMeTAD as hole-transporting material.

Branched methoxydiphenylamine-substituted fluorene derivatives as hole transporting materials for high-performance perovskite solar cells

Small-molecule hole transporting materials based on methoxydiphenylamine-substituted fluorene fragments were synthesized and incorporated into a perovskite solar cell, which displayed a power conversion efficiency of up to 19.96%, one of the highest conversion efficiencies reported. The investigated hole transporting materials were synthesized in two steps from commercially available and relatively inexpensive starting reagents, resulting in up to fivefold cost reduction of the final product compared with spiro-OMeTAD. Electro-optical and thermoanalytical measurements such as UV/Vis, thin-film conductivity, hole mobility, DSC, TGA, ionization potential and current voltage scans of the full perovskite solar cells have been carried out to characterize the new materials.

Hole-transporting molecular glasses based on carbazole and diphenylamine moieties

Abstract Various molecular designs based on carbazole and diphenylamine moieties are found to constitute novel hole transporting amorphous molecular materials, as characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and time of flight method. Hole drift mobility of synthesized materials were in the range 10 −4 –10 −6 cm 2 V −1 s −1 at an applied field of 3.6×10 5 V cm −1 .

Additive-Free Transparent Triarylamine-Based Polymeric Hole-Transport Materials for Stable Perovskite Solar Cells.

Triarylamine-based polymers with different functional groups were synthetized as hole-transport materials (HTMs) for perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The novel materials enabled efficient PSCs without the use of chemical doping (or additives) to enhance charge transport. Devices employing poly(triarylamine) with methylphenylethenyl functional groups (V873) showed a power conversion efficiency of 12.3 %, whereas widely used additive-free poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine] (PTAA) demonstrated 10.8 %. Notably, devices with V873 enabled stable PSCs under 1 sun illumination at maximum power point tracking for approximately 40 h at room temperature, and in the dark under elevated temperature (85 °C) for more than 140 h. This is in stark contrast to additive-containing devices, which degrade significantly within the same time frame. The results present remarkable progress towards stable PSC under real working conditions and industrial stress tests.

Phenylethenyl-Substituted Triphenylamines: Efficient, Easily Obtainable, and Inexpensive Hole-Transporting Materials

Star-shaped charge-transporting materials with a triphenylamine (TPA) core and various phenylethenyl side arm(s) were obtained in a one-step synthetic procedure from commercially available and relatively inexpensive starting materials. Crystallinity, glass-transition temperature, size of the π-conjugated system, energy levels, and the way molecules pack in the solid state can be significantly influenced by variation of the structure of these side arm(s). An increase in the number of phenylethenyl side arms was found to hinder intramolecular motions of the TPA core, and thereby provide significant enhancement of the fluorescence quantum yield of the TPA derivatives in solution. On the other hand, a larger number of side arms facilitated exciton migration through the dense side-arm network formed in the solid state and, thus, considerably reduces fluorescence efficiency by migration-assisted nonradiative relaxation. This dense network enables charges to move more rapidly through the hole-transport material layer, which results in very good charge drift mobility (μ up to 0.017 cm(2) V (-1) s(-1)).

Hole-drift mobility in phenylenediamine derivatives possessing methyl substituents

Abstract Substituent effects on the hole-drift mobility of N , N , N ′, N ′-tetraarylphenylenediamine derivatives have been investigated. The hole mobility values are dependent on the number of methyl substituents and their position in the investigated transporting materials (TM). The highest mobility was observed in the TM containing methyl groups at the para positions of the side benzene rings and at the central ring. On the other hand, the priority of the m -phenylenediamine derivative against the p -phenylenediamine homologue was proved.

New solution-processable carbazole derivatives as deep blue emitters for organic light-emitting diodes

Two new compounds based on three carbazole units connected by triple bonds as π-spacers have been developed as deep blue emitters for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Their optical and electrochemical properties were examined and their charge carrier transport properties were investigated by means of the xerographic time-of-flight (XTOF) technique. The prepared diodes demonstrate the feasibility of the new molecules as effective emitters in the deep blue region yielding devices with low turn-on voltages.

Exciton diffusion enhancement in triphenylamines via incorporation of phenylethenyl sidearms

Exciton diffusion length strongly impacts the performance of organic photovoltaic cells and light emitting diodes, and therefore ways of manipulating the diffusion length must be sought out. Here, we present an approach for controlling singlet exciton diffusion in triphenylamine (TPA)-based amorphous films via incorporation of phenylethenyl sidearms. Exciton diffusion of the TPA derivatives possessing different number (one, two and three) and different type (2-methyl-2-phenylethenyl, 2,2-diphenylethenyl and 2,2-di(4-methoxyphenyl)ethenyl) of sidearms was investigated by employing the volume quenching method in combination with Monte Carlo simulation of 3D exciton diffusion. A nearly three-fold enhancement of the exciton diffusion length by increasing the number of peripheral phenylethenyl groups from one to three was achieved mainly due to the enhanced overlap of the emission and absorption spectra. The dominance of the spectral overlap integral in determining energy transfer rates was confirmed by calculations based on Forster energy transfer theory, which also proved a key role of phenylethenyl sidearms in facilitating exciton diffusion.