All-conjugated amphiphilic diblock copolymers for improving morphology and thermal stability of polymer/nanocrystals hybrid solar cells

doi:10.1007/s11706-018-0428-x

Front. Mater. Sci.

2018, Vol. 12

Issue (3) : 225-238 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-018-0428-x

RESEARCH ARTICLE

All-conjugated amphiphilic diblock copolymers for improving morphology and thermal stability of polymer/nanocrystals hybrid solar cells

Zhenrong JIA^1,², Xuefeng XIA¹, Xiaofeng WANG¹(

), Tengyi WANG¹, Guiying XU¹, Bei LIU¹, Jitong ZHOU¹, Fan LI¹(

)

¹. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanchang University, 999 Xuefu Avenue, Nanchang 330031, China
². Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China

Download: PDF(779 KB) HTML
Export: BibTeX | EndNote | Reference Manager | ProCite | RefWorks

Abstract

Herein, the ability to optimize the morphology and photovoltaic performance of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/ZnO hybrid bulk-heterojunction solar cells via introducing all-conjugated amphiphilic P3HT-based block copolymer (BCP), poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(3-triethylene glycol-thiophene) (P3HT-b-P3TEGT), as polymeric additives is demonstrated. The results show that the addition of P3HT-b-P3TEGT additives can effectively improve the compatibility between P3HT and ZnO nanocrystals, increase the crystalline and ordered packing of P3HT chains, and form optimized hybrid nanomorphology with stable and intimate hybrid interface. The improvement is ascribed to the P3HT-b-P3TEGT at the P3HT/ZnO interface that has strong coordination interactions between the TEG side chains and the polar surface of ZnO nanoparticles. All of these are favor of the efficient exciton dissociation, charge separation and transport, thereby, contributing to the improvement of the efficiency and thermal stability of solar cells. These observations indicate that introducing all-conjugated amphiphilic BCP additives can be a promising and effective protocol for high-performance hybrid solar cells.

Keywords hybrid solar cell P3HT ZnO all-conjugated amphiphilic block copolymer additive

Corresponding Author(s): Xiaofeng WANG,Fan LI

Online First Date: 17 July 2018 Issue Date: 10 September 2018

Cite this article:

Zhenrong JIA,Xuefeng XIA,Xiaofeng WANG, et al. All-conjugated amphiphilic diblock copolymers for improving morphology and thermal stability of polymer/nanocrystals hybrid solar cells[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2018, 12(3): 225-238.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-018-0428-x
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2018/V12/I3/225

Fig.1 (a) Schematic illustration of the device structure and the corresponding chemical structures of components in the active layer of HSCs. (b) The energy band diagram of the HSCs based on P3HT/ZnO/P3HT-b-P3TEGT.

Tab.1 Basic properties of the P3HT-b-P3TEGT film

Fig.2 (a) UV-vis absorption spectra of P3HT/ZnO films blended with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT. (b) XRD patterns of P3HT/ZnO films blended with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT (inset: XRD patterns in the range of 20°–60°).

Fig.3 (a) Steady-state PL spectra of P3HT/ZnO films blended with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT (λ_ex = 460 nm). (b) Time-resolved PL decay spectra of P3HT/ZnO films blended with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT (λ_ex = 460 nm).

Fig.4 TEM images of P3HT/ZnO films blended with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT.

Fig.5 Scheme 1 Illustrations of the morphologies of active layers in the BHJ solar cells with (right) and without (left) P3HT-b-P3TEGT.

Fig.6 (a) Current?voltage characteristics of photovoltaic cells based on P3HT/ZnO with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT hybrid films. (b) PCE of P3HT/ZnO/P3HT-b-P3TEGT BHJ HSC devices with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT diblock copolymer as a function of annealing time at 120°C.

Tab.2 Characteristic current?voltage parameters of HSCs based on P3HT/ZnO with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT BCPs

Fig.7 Optical microscopy images of P3HT/ZnO hybrid films blended with different amount of P3HT-b-P3TEGT under 120°C for 10 min and 6 h.

Scheme S1 Synthesis of P3HT-b-P3TEGT amphiphilic diblock copolymer.

Fig. S1¹H NMR spectrum of 2,5 dibromo-3-thienyl triethylene glycol monomethyl ether (insets: ¹H NMR spectra of 2,5-dibromo-3-bromomethylthiophene (upper) and 2,5-dibromo-3-thiophenemethanol (below)).

Fig. S2¹H NMR spectrum of P3HT-b-P3TEGT amphiphilic diblock copolymer.

Fig. S3 Gel permeation chromatgraphy (GPC) traces of P3HT-b-P3TEGT amphiphilic diblock copolymers with chloroform as eluent.

Fig. S4 The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of amphiphilic diblock copolymer at a heating rate of 20°C/min under a nitrogen atmosphere.

Fig. S5 Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms (DSC) of P3HT-b-P3TEGT.

Fig. S6 UV-vis absorption spectra of P3HT-b-P3TEGT both in 1,2-dichlorobenzene solution and as the thin solid film.

Fig. S7 Cyclic voltammograms of P3HT-b-P3TEGT.

Fig. S8 TEM image of ZnO nanoparticles. The inset shows the corresponding HRTEM image.

Fig. S9 Variation of XRD peak intensity and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) at (100), corresponding to the a-axis orientation of the P3HT crystallite, in P3HT:ZnO blend films at different P3HT-b-P3TEGT weight fractions.

Fig. S10 PL spectra of P3HT/ZnO films blended with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT (λ_ex = 325 nm).

Fig. S11 AFM images of P3HT/ZnO films blended with different amounts of P3HT-b-P3TEGT (1 μm × 1 μm).

1	Huynh W U, Dittmer J J, Alivisatos A P. Hybrid nanorod-polymer solar cells. Science, 2002, 295(5564): 2425–2427 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1069156 pmid: 11923531
2	Gao F, Ren S, Wang J. The renaissance of hybrid solar cells: progresses, challenges, and perspectives. Energy & Environmental Science, 2013, 6(7): 2020–2040 https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ee23666h
3	Sun Y, Liu Z, Yuan J, et al.. Polymer selection toward efficient polymer/PbSe planar heterojunction hybrid solar cells. Organic Electronics, 2015, 24: 263–271 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2015.06.010
4	Yue W, Wei F, Li Y, et al.. Hierarchical CuInS2 synthesized with the induction of histidine for polymer/CuInS2 solar cells. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, 2018, 76: 14–24 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2017.12.009
5	Giansante C, Mastria R, Lerario G, et al.. Molecular-level switching of polymer/nanocrystal non-covalent interactions and application in hybrid solar cells. Advanced Functional Materials, 2015, 25(1): 111–119 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201401841
6	Li F, Shi Y, Yuan K, et al.. Fine dispersion and self-assembly of ZnO nanoparticles driven by P3HT-b-PEO diblocks for improvement of hybrid solar cells performance. New Journal of Chemistry, 2013, 37(1): 195–203 https://doi.org/10.1039/C2NJ40563F
7	Liu Z, Sun Y, Yuan J, et al.. High-efficiency hybrid solar cells based on polymer/PbSxSe1−x nanocrystals benefiting from vertical phase segregation. Advanced Materials, 2013, 25(40): 5772–5778 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201302340 pmid: 23934968
8	Chen Z, Zhang H, Du X, et al.. From planar-herterojunction to n-i structure: An efficient strategy to improve short-circuit current and power conversion efficiency of aqueous-solution-processed hybrid solar cells. Energy & Environmental Science, 2013, 6(5): 1597–1603 https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ee40481a
9	Im S H, Lim C S, Chang J A, et al.. Toward interaction of sensitizer and functional moieties in hole-transporting materials for efficient semiconductor-sensitized solar cells. Nano Letters, 2011, 11(11): 4789–4793 https://doi.org/10.1021/nl2026184 pmid: 21961842
10	Chang J A, Im S H, Lee Y H, et al.. Panchromatic photon-harvesting by hole-conducting materials in inorganic‒organic heterojunction sensitized-solar cell through the formation of nanostructured electron channels. Nano Letters, 2012, 12(4): 1863–1867 https://doi.org/10.1021/nl204224v pmid: 22401668
11	Vohra V, Kawashima K, Kakara T, et al.. Efficient inverted polymer solar cells employing favourable molecular orientation. Nature Photonics, 2015, 9(6): 403–408 https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2015.84
12	Chen Y, Ye P, Zhu Z G, et al.. Achieving high-performance ternary organic solar cells through tuning acceptor alloy. Advanced Materials, 2017, 29(6): 1603154 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201603154 pmid: 27918107
13	Zhao W, Li S, Yao H, et al.. Molecular optimization enables over 13% efficiency in organic solar cells. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2017, 139(21): 7148–7151 https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b02677 pmid: 28513158
14	Giansante C, Infante I, Fabiano E, et al.. “Darker-than-black” PbS quantum dots: enhancing optical absorption of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals via short conjugated ligands. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2015, 137(5): 1875–1886 https://doi.org/10.1021/ja510739q pmid: 25574692
15	Zhao L, Pang X, Adhikary R, et al.. Semiconductor anisotropic nanocomposites obtained by directly coupling conjugated polymers with quantum rods. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2011, 50(17): 3958–3962 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201100200 pmid: 21442709
16	Jaimes W, Alvarado-Tenorio G, Martínez-Alonso C, et al.. Effect of CdS nanoparticle content on the in-situ polymerization of 3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl and the application of P3HT-CdS products in hybrid solar cells. Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, 2015, 37: 259–265 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2015.03.055
17	Lewis E A, McNaughter P D, Yin Z, et al.. In situ synthesis of PbS nanocrystals in polymer thin films from lead(II) xanthate and dithiocarbamate complexes: evidence for size and morphology control. Chemistry of Materials, 2015, 27(6): 2127–2136 https://doi.org/10.1021/cm504765z
18	MacLachlan A J, Rath T, Cappel U B, et al.. Polymer/nanocrystal hybrid solar cells: influence of molecular precursor design on film nanomorphology, charge generation and device performance. Advanced Functional Materials, 2015, 25(3): 409–420 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201403108 pmid: 25866496
19	Zhao L, Lin Z. Crafting semiconductor organic‒inorganic nanocomposites via placing conjugated polymers in intimate contact with nanocrystals for hybrid solar cells. Advanced Materials, 2012, 24(32): 4353–4368 doi:10.1002/adma.201201196 pmid: 22761026
20	Sun Y, Pitliya P, Liu C, et al.. Block copolymer compatibilized polymer: fullerene blend morphology and properties. Polymer, 2017, 113: 135–146 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2017.02.019
21	Mitchell V D, Gann E, Huettner S, et al.. Morphological and device evaluation of an amphiphilic block copolymer for organic photovoltaic applications. Macromolecules, 2017, 50(13): 4942–4951 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.7b00377
22	Zhu M, Kim H, Jang Y J, et al.. Toward high efficiency organic photovoltaic devices with enhanced thermal stability utilizing P3HT-b-P3PHT block copolymer additives. Journal of Materials Chemistry A: Materials for Energy and Sustainability, 2016, 4(47): 18432–18443 https://doi.org/10.1039/C6TA08181A
23	Li J H, Li Y, Xu J T, et al.. Self-assembled amphiphilic block copolymers/CdTe nanocrystals for efficient aqueous-processed hybrid solar cells. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2017, 9(21): 17942–17948 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b03074 pmid: 28485918
24	Yao S, Chen Z, Li F, et al.. High-efficiency aqueous-solution-processed hybrid solar cells based on P3HT dots and CdTe nanocrystals. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2015, 7(13): 7146–7152 https://doi.org/10.1021/am508985q pmid: 25781480
25	Shi Y, Li F, Chen Y. Controlling morphology and improving the photovoltaic performances of P3HT/ZnO hybrid solar cells via P3HT-b-PEO as an interfacial compatibilizer. New Journal of Chemistry, 2013, 37(1): 236–244 https://doi.org/10.1039/C2NJ40779E
26	Lee E, Hammer B, Kim J K, et al.. Hierarchical helical assembly of conjugated poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(3-triethylene glycol thiophene) diblock copolymers. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2011, 133(27): 10390–10393 https://doi.org/10.1021/ja2038547 pmid: 21627317
27	Song I Y, Kim J, Im M J, et al.. Synthesis and self-assembly of thiophene-based all-conjugated amphiphilic diblock copolymers with a narrow molecular weight distribution. Macromolecules, 2012, 45(12): 5058–5068 https://doi.org/10.1021/ma300771g
28	Yamamoto T, Komarudin D, Arai M, et al.. Extensive studies on π-stacking of poly(3-alkylthiophene-2,5-diyl)s and poly(4-alkylthiazole-2,5-diyl)s by optical spectroscopy, NMR analysis, light scattering analysis, and X-ray crystallography. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1998, 120(9): 2047–2058 https://doi.org/10.1021/ja973873a
29	Mena-Osteritz E, Meyer A, Langeveld-Voss B M W, et al.. Two-dimensional crystals of poly(3-alkyl-thiophene)s: direct visualization of polymer folds in submolecular resolution. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2000, 112(15): 2791–2796 https://doi.org/10.1002/1521-3757(20000804)112:15<2791::AID-ANGE2791>3.0.CO;2-#
30	Beek W J E, Wienk M M, Kemerink M, et al.. Hybrid zinc oxide conjugated polymer bulk heterojunction solar cells. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2005, 109(19): 9505–9516 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp050745x pmid: 16852143
31	Jia Z, Wei Y, Wang X, et al.. Improvement of morphology and performance of P3HT/ZnO hybrid solar cells induced by liquid crystal molecules. Chemical Physics Letters, 2016, 661: 119–124 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2016.08.062
32	Prosa T J, Winokur M J, Moulton J, et al.. X-ray structural studies of poly(3-alkylthiophenes): an example of an inverse comb. Macromolecules, 1992, 25(17): 4364–4372 https://doi.org/10.1021/ma00043a019
33	Hu Z, Tang S, Ahlvers A, et al.. Near-infrared photoresponse sensitization of solvent additive processed poly(3-hexylthiophene)/fullerene solar cells by a low band gap polymer. Applied Physics Letters, 2012, 101(5): 053308 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4742143
34	Salim T, Lee H W, Wong L H, et al.. Semiconducting carbon nanotubes for improved efficiency and thermal stability of polymer‒fullerene solar cells. Advanced Functional Materials, 2016, 26(1): 51–65 https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201503256
35	Zhang L Y, Yin L W, Wang C X, et al.. Origin of visible photoluminescence of ZnO quantum dots: defect-dependent and size-dependent. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2010, 114(21): 9651–9658 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp101324a
36	Lai C H, Lee W F, Wu I C, et al.. Highly luminescent, homogeneous ZnO nanoparticles synthesized via semiconductive polyalkyloxylthiophene template. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 2009, 19(39): 7284–7289 https://doi.org/10.1039/b909042h
37	Chien S C, Chen F C, Chung M K, et al.. Self-assembled poly(ethylene glycol) buffer layers in polymer solar cells: toward superior stability and efficiency. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2012, 116(1): 1354–1360 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp211089n
38	Zhang S M, Guo Y L, Fan H J, et al.. Low bandgap π-conjugated copolymers based on fused thiophenes and benzothiadiazole: Synthesis and structure‒property relationship study. Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 2009, 47(20): 5498–5508 doi:10.1002/pola.23601
39	Zhang Z G, Liu Y L, Yang Y, et al.. Alternating copolymers of carbazole and triphenylamine with conjugated side chain attaching acceptor groups synthesis and photovoltaic application. Macromolecules, 2010, 43(22): 9376–9383 https://doi.org/10.1021/ma101491c
40	Meng L, Shang Y, Li Q, et al.. Dynamic Monte Carlo simulation for highly efficient polymer blend photovoltaics. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2010, 114(1): 36–41 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp907167u pmid: 20000370

[1]	Pengcheng WU, Chang LIU, Yan LUO, Keliang WU, Jianning WU, Xuhong GUO, Juan HOU, Zhiyong LIU. A novel black TiO₂/ZnO nanocone arrays heterojunction on carbon cloth for highly efficient photoelectrochemical performance[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2019, 13(1): 43-53.
[2]	Cuicui HU, Huanhuan ZHANG, Yanjun XING. Alkylamine-mediated synthesis and photocatalytic properties of ZnO[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2019, 13(1): 33-42.
[3]	Yazi WANG, Wei LI, Yimeng FENG, Shasha LV, Mingyang LI, Zhengcao LI. Nitrogen ion irradiation effect on enhancing photocatalytic performance of CdTe/ZnO heterostructures[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2018, 12(4): 392-404.
[4]	Wenyan ZHAO, Chuanjin TIAN, Zhipeng XIE, Changan WANG, Wuyou FU, Haibin YANG. Hydrothermal growth of symmetrical ZnO nanorod arrays on nanosheets for gas sensing applications[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2017, 11(3): 271-275.
[5]	Xian-Ping WANG,Yi ZHANG,Yu XIA,Wei-Bing JIANG,Hui LIU,Wang LIU,Yun-Xia GAO,Tao ZHANG,Qian-Feng FANG. Enhanced micro-vibration sensitive high-damping capacity and mechanical strength achieved in Al matrix composites reinforced with garnet-like lithium electrolyte[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2017, 11(1): 75-81.
[6]	Ya ZHANG,Qingzhi CUI,Zhanyong WANG,Gan LIU,Tian TIAN,Jiayue XU. Up-converted ultraviolet luminescence of Er³⁺:BaGd₂ZnO₅ phosphors for healthy illumination[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2016, 10(3): 328-333.
[7]	C. Selene CORIA-MONROY,Mérida SOTELO-LERMA,Hailin HU. Influence of acid and alkaline sources on optical, structural and photovoltaic properties of CdSe nanoparticles precipitated from aqueous solution[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2016, 10(2): 168-177.
[8]	David ADOLPH,Tobias TINGBERG,Thorvald ANDERSSON,Tommy IVE. *Plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy of ZnO on in-situ* grown GaN/4H-SiC buffer layers**[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2015, 9(2): 185-191.
[9]	Jin WANG,Tomoya HIGASHIHARA. *Effects of catalyst loading amount on the synthesis of poly(3-hexylthiophene) via* externally initiated Kumada catalyst-transfer polycondensation**[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2014, 8(4): 383-390.
[10]	R. ELILARASSI, G. CHANDRASEKARAN. Structural, optical and electron paramagnetic resonance studies on Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized using a novel auto-combustion method[J]. Front Mater Sci, 2013, 7(2): 196-201.
[11]	BIAN Xin-chao, HUO Chun-qing, ZHANG Yue-fei, CHEN Qiang. Preparation and photoluminescence of ZnO with nanostructure by hollow-cathode discharge[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2008, 2(1): 31-36.
[12]	JIN Chenggang, WU Xuemei, SHA Zhendong, ZHUGE Lanjian. The structure and photoluminescence properties of ZnO/SiC multilayer film on Si substrate[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2007, 1(2): 158-161.
[13]	LAN Wei, PENG Xingping, LIU Xueqin, HE Zhiwei, WANG Yinyue. Preparation and properties of ZnO thin films deposited by sol-gel technique[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2007, 1(1): 88-91.

Viewed

Full text

Abstract

Cited

Shared

Discussed