Abstract The influence of halogen substitutions (F, Cl, Br, and I) on the energy levels of the self‐assembled hole‐extracting molecule [2‐(9H‐Carbazol‐9‐yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (2PACz), is investigated. It is found that the formation of self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) of [2‐(3,6‐Difluoro‐9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (F‐2PACz), [2‐(3,6‐Dichloro‐9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (Cl‐2PACz), [2‐(3,6‐Dibromo‐9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (Br‐2PACz), and [2‐(3,6‐Diiodo‐9H‐carbazol‐9‐yl)ethyl]phosphonic acid (I‐2PACz) directly on indium tin oxide (ITO) increases its work function from 4.73 eV to 5.68, 5.77, 5.82, and 5.73 eV, respectively. Combining these ITO/SAM electrodes with the ternary bulk‐heterojunction (BHJ) system PM6:PM7‐Si:BTP‐eC9 yields organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells with power conversion efficiency (PCE) in the range of 17.7%–18.5%. OPVs featuring Cl‐2PACz SAMs yield the highest PCE of 18.5%, compared to cells with F‐2PACz (17.7%), Br‐2PACz (18.0%), or I‐2PACz (18.2%). Data analysis reveals that the enhanced performance of Cl‐2PACz‐based OPVs relates to the increased hole mobility, decreased interface resistance, reduced carrier recombination, and longer carrier lifetime. Furthermore, OPVs featuring Cl‐2PACz show enhanced stability under continuous illumination compared to ITO/PEDOT:PSS‐based cells. Remarkably, the introduction of the n‐dopant benzyl viologen into the BHJ further boosted the PCE of the ITO/Cl‐2PACz cells to a maximum value of 18.9%, a record‐breaking value for SAM‐based OPVs and on par with the best‐performing OPVs reported to date.
more »
« less
Effects of hole transporting PEDOT:PSS on the photoemission of upconverted hot electron in Mn-doped CdS/ZnS quantum dots
In this work, we investigated the effect of hole transporting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) interfacing with Mn-doped CdS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) deposited on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate on the photoemission of upconverted hot electrons under weak continuous wave photoexcitation in a vacuum. Among the various factors that can influence the photoemission of the upconverted hot electrons, we studied the role of PEDOT:PSS in facilitating the hole transfer from QDs and altering the energy of photoemitted hot electrons. Compared to hot electrons emitted from QDs deposited directly on the ITO substrate, the addition of the PEDOT:PSS layer between the QD and ITO layers increased the energy of the photoemitted hot electrons. The increased energy of the photoemitted hot electrons is attributed in part to the reduced steady-state positive charge on the QDs under continuous photoexcitation, which reduces the energy required to eject the electron from the conduction band.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2003961
- PAR ID:
- 10483398
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Institute of Physics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Journal of Chemical Physics
- Volume:
- 159
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0021-9606
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
CdSe is potentially an important material for making tandem junction solar cells with Si and CIGS. Thermodynamic calculations reveal the potential Shockley-Queisser efficiency of such a tandem cell to be in the 45% range. CdSe has the optimum bandgap (1.72eV) for a tandem cell with Si. In this paper, we show that this material system is indeed capable of achieving good electronic properties and reasonable devices can be made in the material. We report on fabricating CdSe materials and heterojunction CdSe solar cells in both superstrate and substrate configurations on FTO/glass and metal substrates. CdSe layer was deposited using thermal evaporation and then was post-treated with CdCl2 to enhance the grainsize and passivate grain boundaries. The device was an ideal heterojunction structure consisting of glass/FTO/n+CdS/ n-CdSe/p organic layer/NiO/ITO. The n+ CdS layer acted to prevent hole recombination at the n+/n interface, and the p organic layer (such as PEDOT:PSS or P3HT) acted to prevent electron recombination at the p+/n interface. The NiO layer was deposited on top of the organic layer to prevent decomposition of the organic layer during ITO deposition. World-record open-circuit voltages exceeding 800 mV and currents of ~15 mA/cm2 were obtained in devices. Detailed material measurements such as SEM revealed large grain sizes approaching 8 micrometer in some of the films after grain enhancement. Optical measurements and QE measurements show the bandgap to be 1.72 eV. XPS measurements showed the CdSe film to be n type. Space-charge limited current was used to measure electron mobilities which were in the range of 1-2 cm2/V-s. Capacitance spectroscopy showed the doping densities to be in the range of a few x 1015/cm3. For substrate devices, the quantum efficiency obtained was in the 90% range.more » « less
-
Molecular materials offer a boundless design palette for light absorption and charge transport in both natural photosynthesis and engineered photovoltaics. They function in combination as chromophores, donors, conductors, and acceptors, enabling the excitation and charge carrier transport through space and wire-like intramolecular pathways. Although quantum coher- ence is believed to enhance photoexcitation and photoinduced charge transfer, fluctuating and inhomogeneous environments accelerate decoherence. Here, we assemble a nanoporous medium consisting of a templated bipyridyl ethylene (BPE) molecule array on a Ag(111) surface that functions as an exceptional intermolecular nonnuclear quantum well conductor of coherent electron waves spanning over 20 Å length. Time-periodic driving of the Ag/BPE interface by femtosecond pulses promotes electrons into a ladder of Floquet quasi-energy donor states, where intermolecular quantum well states act as a resonant doorway for coherent electron transport into BPE/vacuum image potential acceptor states. The bifurcation of electron passage between the Floquet donor ladder and the charge transfer acceptor channel is recorded by projecting the active electrons into the photoemission continuum in an interferometric time- and angle-resolved multiphoton photoemission experiment. We find that exceptional decoupling of electrons from the metal substrate by the molecule- dressed vacuum preserves the coherence on the ∼150 fs time scale. This offers a new paradigm for quantum state design where a molecule-dressed vacuum mediates coherent electron transport in nanoporous molecular architectures.more » « less
-
The thermal stability of n/n + β -Ga 2 O 3 epitaxial layer/substrate structures with sputtered ITO on both sides to act as rectifying contacts on the lightly doped layer and Ohmic on the heavily doped substrate is reported. The resistivity of the ITO deposited separately on Si decreased from 1.83 × 10 −3 Ω.cm as-deposited to 3.6 × 10 −4 Ω.cm after 300 °C anneal, with only minor reductions at higher temperatures (2.8 × 10 −4 Ω.cm after 600 °C anneals). The Schottky barrier height also decreased with annealing, from 0.98 eV in the as-deposited samples to 0.85 eV after 500 °C annealing. The reverse breakdown voltage exhibited a negative temperature coefficient of −0.46 V.C −1 up to an annealing temperature of 400 °C and degraded faster at higher temperatures. Transmission Electron Microscopy showed significant reaction at the ITO and Ga 2 O 3 interface above 300 °C, with a very degraded contact stack after annealing at 500 °C.more » « less
-
The efficient light-driven fuel production from homogeneous photocatalytic systems is one promising avenue towards an alternative energy economy. However, electron transfer from a conventional photosensitizer to a catalyst is short-range and necessitates spatial proximity between them. Here we show that energetic hot electrons generated by Mn-doped semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) allow for long-range sensitization of Ni(cyclam)-based molecular catalysts, enabling photocatalytic reduction of CO 2 to CO without requiring chemical linkages between the QDs and catalyst molecules. Our results demonstrate the potential of hot electron sensitization in simplifying the design of hybrid catalyst systems while improving photocatalytic activity.more » « less
An official website of the United States government

