Effect of Palladium‐Tetrakis(Triphenylphosphine) Catalyst Traces on Charge Recombination and Extraction in Non‐Fullerene‐based Organic Solar Cells

Abstract

The effect of the cross‐coupling catalyst tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0) (Pd(PPh3)4) on the performance of a model organic bulk‐heterojunction solar cell composed of a blend of poly([2,6′‐4,8‐di(5‐ethylhexylthienyl)benzo[1,2‐b;3,3‐b]dithiophene]{3‐fluoro‐2[(2‐ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4‐b]thiophenediyl}) (PTB7‐Th) donor and 3,9‐bis(2‐methylene‐((3‐(1,1‐dicyanomethylene)‐6,7‐difluoro)‐indanone))‐5,5,11,11‐tetrakis(4‐hexylphenyl)‐dithieno[2,3‐d:2′,3′‐d′]‐s‐indaceno[1,2‐b:5,6‐b′]dithiophene (IOTIC‐4F) non‐fullerene acceptor is investigated. The effect of intentional addition of different amounts of Pd(PPh3)4 on morphology, free charge carrier generation, non‐geminate bulk trap‐ and surface trap‐assisted recombination as well as bimolecular recombination and charge extraction is quantified. This work shows that free charge carrier generation is affected significantly, while the impact of Pd(PPh3)4 on non‐geminate recombination processes is limited because the catalyst does not facilitate efficient trap‐assisted recombination. The studied system shows substantial robustness towards the addition of Pd(PPh3)4 in small amounts.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Feb 08, 2021
Source ID
10.1002/adfm.202009363

Entities

People

  • Akchheta Karki
  • Alana L. Dixon
  • Guillermo C. Bazan
  • Harald Ade
  • Jaewon Lee
  • Kenneth R Graham
  • Nora Schopp
  • Thuc-Quyen Nguyen
  • Tuo Liu
  • Viktor Brus
  • Zhengxing Peng

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Chungnam National University
  • Nazarbayev University
  • North Carolina State University
  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Department of Energy
  • University of California, Santa Barbara
  • University of Kentucky

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Chemistry

Readers

  • Organic Chemistry
  • Plasma Physics.
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.