TY - JOUR
T1 - Temperature-dependent charge transport measurements unveil morphological insights in non-fullerene organic solar cells
AU - Zhang, Chujun
AU - Feng, Erming
AU - Gao, Yaxin
AU - Wong, Vox Kalai
AU - Li, Hengyue
AU - Liu, Biao
AU - Mahadevan, Sudhi
AU - Tsang, Sai Wing
AU - Yang, Junliang
AU - So, Shu Kong
N1 - J. L. Yang acknowledges support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U23A20138 and 52173192) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFB3803300). S. K. So would like to acknowledge support from the Research Grant Council of Hong Kong under collaboration Research Grant (C6023196F). C. J. Zhang acknowledges the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF (GZC20233148) and Central South University Postdoctoral Research Funding (140050043).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Author(s).
PY - 2024/9/2
Y1 - 2024/9/2
N2 - The morphological analysis of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) active layer stands as a critical imperative for advancing the performance of future organic solar cells. Conventional characterization tools employed for morphological investigation often require substantial resources, both in cost and physical space, thereby imposing restraints on research endeavors in this domain. Here, we extend the application of charge carrier transport characterization beyond conventional mobility assessments, utilizing it as a table-top method for preliminary morphological screening in organic thin films. The investigation focuses on several high-performance BHJ systems that utilize typical “Y” non-fullerene acceptors. It involves in-depth transport studies, including temperature- and field-dependent transport characterizations. The resulting transport data are analyzed in detail using the Gaussian disorder model to extract key transport parameters, specifically the high-temperature limited mobility (μ∞) and positional disorder (∑). Integrating these transport parameters with morphological insights obtained through various characterization tools—including x-ray scattering, sensitive spectroscopy, and quantum chemistry simulation—provides a deep understanding of the intricate interplay between charge transport properties and morphological characteristics. The results reveal explicit relationships, associating μ∞ with the degree of molecular stacking in BHJs and ∑ with the structural disorder in molecule skeleton. Our findings point to the promising potential of utilizing a simple transport characterization technique for the early stage evaluation of thin film packing and geometric properties of organic materials.
AB - The morphological analysis of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) active layer stands as a critical imperative for advancing the performance of future organic solar cells. Conventional characterization tools employed for morphological investigation often require substantial resources, both in cost and physical space, thereby imposing restraints on research endeavors in this domain. Here, we extend the application of charge carrier transport characterization beyond conventional mobility assessments, utilizing it as a table-top method for preliminary morphological screening in organic thin films. The investigation focuses on several high-performance BHJ systems that utilize typical “Y” non-fullerene acceptors. It involves in-depth transport studies, including temperature- and field-dependent transport characterizations. The resulting transport data are analyzed in detail using the Gaussian disorder model to extract key transport parameters, specifically the high-temperature limited mobility (μ∞) and positional disorder (∑). Integrating these transport parameters with morphological insights obtained through various characterization tools—including x-ray scattering, sensitive spectroscopy, and quantum chemistry simulation—provides a deep understanding of the intricate interplay between charge transport properties and morphological characteristics. The results reveal explicit relationships, associating μ∞ with the degree of molecular stacking in BHJs and ∑ with the structural disorder in molecule skeleton. Our findings point to the promising potential of utilizing a simple transport characterization technique for the early stage evaluation of thin film packing and geometric properties of organic materials.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85203107393&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://pubs.aip.org/aip/apl/article/125/10/103902/3310965/Temperature-dependent-charge-transport
U2 - 10.1063/5.0214151
DO - 10.1063/5.0214151
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85203107393
SN - 0003-6951
VL - 125
JO - Applied Physics Letters
JF - Applied Physics Letters
IS - 10
M1 - 103902
ER -