Revealing aggregation of non-fullerene acceptors in intermixed phase by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy

Fang, Jin; Wang, Zhen; Chen, Yiyao; Zhang, Qing; Zhang, Jianqi; Zhu, Lingyun; Zhang, Maojie; Cui, Zheng; Wei, Zhixiang; Ade, Harald; Ma, Chang-Qi

doi:10.1016/j.xcrp.2022.100983

Revealing aggregation of non-fullerene acceptors in intermixed phase by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy

Journal Article · Tue Jul 12 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Cell Reports Physical Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrp.2022.100983· OSTI ID:1981797

Fang, Jin ^[1]; Wang, Zhen ^[2]; Chen, Yiyao ^[1]; Zhang, Qing ^[1]; Zhang, Jianqi ^[3]; Zhu, Lingyun ^[3]; Zhang, Maojie ^[4]; Cui, Zheng ^[1]; Wei, Zhixiang ^[3]; Ade, Harald ^[2]; ^[1]

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (China)
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (United States)
National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (China)
Soochow University, Suzhou (China)

Non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) aggregation is crucial in determining bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) organic photovoltaic (OPV) performance. However, it is still a big challenge to characterize the nanostructure of NFAs in the disordered donor-acceptor intermixed phase. Here, we demonstrate a method to characterize NFA aggregation and composition in the intermixed phase by measuring NFA concentration-dependent ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectroscopy of BHJ films. In various polymer:NFA films, an absorption shift as a function of increasing molecular concentration (ASIMC) phenomenon is observed, and different NFA aggregation behaviors can be distinguished. The ASIMC method was then applied to study the influence of processing conditions on the NFA concentration in the intermixed phase of devices to establish a correlation with device efficiency. The current work provides a feasible tool to study the nanostructure of NFAs in the complex polymer matrix and to understand the variations in the NFA concentration in the intermixed phase under non-equilibrium conditions.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source (ALS)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); US Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1981797

Journal Information:: Cell Reports Physical Science, Journal Name: Cell Reports Physical Science Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 3; ISSN 2666-3864

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Revealing aggregation of non-fullerene acceptors in intermixed phase by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy

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