Solvent additives are prevalent in today's high-performance organic photovoltaics, yet the mechanism underlying their role in improving power conversion efficiency has remained elusive.  The general picture of a correlation between solvent constituents and the morphology within the deposited active layer film is clear, but the nature of this correlation is unknown�and it must be deciphered in order to adopt a more rational approach to improving device function.  Using a combination of characterization techniques including x-ray and neutron scattering as well as advanced electron microscopy, we probe the influence of additives on active layer morphology in several state-of-the-art bulk heterojunction blend systems.  Through the integrated analysis of real- and reciprocal-space data, we uncover new insights into the role of additives that can be generalized across multiple materials.

Decoding the mystery of additives in organic solar cells

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.