Appropriate Donor-Acceptor Phase Separation Structure for the Enhancement of Charge Generation and Transport in Polymer Solar Cells

The morphology of active layer for polymer solar cells is critical to enhance the performance especially for fill factor of the devices. To investigate the relationship between active layer morphology and performance of polymer solar cells (PSCs), 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) additive, and [6,6]-phenyl-C(71)-butyric acid methyl ester (PC(71)BM) electron acceptor were used to regulate the aggregation morphology of copolymer poly(thieno[3,4-b]-thiophene/benzodithiophene) (PTB7) electron donor from solution state to solid state. Atom force microscopy (AFM), steady-state absorption (UV-Vis), time-resolved absorption (TA), spectroelectrochemistry (SEC) and current-voltage (J-V) measurements were employed to characterize the morphology, optical and electrical characteristics of active layers and to reveal the relationship among the morphology, photophysical property, and performance of PTB7-based devices. The results show that DIO can refine the aggregation scale of PTB7 during the dissolution process, whereas both the aggregation scale and aggregation behaviors of PTB7 donor are affected by PC(71)BM acceptor molecules. Furthermore, the bulk heterojunction structure (BHJ) morphology of active layer can be optimized during the DIO evaporation process. TA kinetic data indicate that the population and lifetime of charged species are improved in the DIO-treated BHJ active layer. Moreover, the active layers with DIO treatment have a relative low highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level, which makes hole transport more easily in PTB7 donor phase. As a result, the performance of PTB7-based PSCs is enhanced.