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Diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymer:fullerene nanoparticle films with thermally stable morphology for organic photovoltaic applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 February 2017

Natalie P. Holmes ,
Ben Vaughan ,
Evan L. Williams ,
Renee Kroon ,
Mats R. Anderrson ,
A.L.David Kilcoyne ,
Prashant Sonar ,
Xiaojing Zhou ,
Paul C. Dastoor  and
Warwick J. Belcher
Natalie P. Holmes*
Affiliation:
Centre for Organic Electronics, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia
Ben Vaughan
Affiliation:
Centre for Organic Electronics, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia CSIRO Energy Technology, P. O. Box 330, Newcastle 2300, Australia
Evan L. Williams
Affiliation:
Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore
Renee Kroon
Affiliation:
Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, SA 5095, Australia Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering/Polymer Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
Mats R. Anderrson
Affiliation:
Ian Wark Research Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, SA 5095, Australia Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering/Polymer Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Göteborg, Sweden
A.L.David Kilcoyne
Affiliation:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Advanced Light Source, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Prashant Sonar
Affiliation:
Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Singapore 138634, Singapore School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane 4000, Australia
Xiaojing Zhou
Affiliation:
Centre for Organic Electronics, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia
Paul C. Dastoor
Affiliation:
Centre for Organic Electronics, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia
Warwick J. Belcher
Affiliation:
Centre for Organic Electronics, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia
*
Address all correspondence to Natalie P. Holmes at natalie.holmes@newcastle.edu.au
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Abstract

Polymer:fullerene nanoparticles (NPs) offer two key advantages over bulk heterojunction (BHJ) films for organic photovoltaics (OPVs), water-processability and potentially superior morphological control. Once an optimal active layer morphology is reached, maintaining this morphology at OPV operating temperatures is key to the lifetime of a device. Here we study the morphology of the PDPP-TNT (poly{3,6-dithiophene-2-yl-2,5-di(2-octyldodecyl)-pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione-alt-naphthalene}):PC71BM ([6,6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester) NP system and then compare the thermal stability of NP and BHJ films to the common poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT): phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) system. We find that material Tg plays a key role in the superior thermal stability of the PDPP-TNT:PC71BM system; whereas for the P3HT:PC61BM system, domain structure is critical.

Type
Research Letters
Information
MRS Communications , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 2017 , pp. 67 - 73
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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

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