@article{ChenSavateevPronkinetal.2017, author = {Chen, Zupeng and Savateev, Aleksandr and Pronkin, Sergey and Papaefthimiou, Vasiliki and Wolff, Christian Michael and Willinger, Marc Georg and Willinger, Elena and Neher, Dieter and Antonietti, Markus and Dontsova, Dariya}, title = {"The Easier the Better" Preparation of Efficient Photocatalysts-Metastable Poly(heptazine imide) Salts}, series = {Advanced materials}, volume = {29}, journal = {Advanced materials}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {0935-9648}, doi = {10.1002/adma.201700555}, pages = {21800 -- 21806}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Cost-efficient, visible-light-driven hydrogen production from water is an attractive potential source of clean, sustainable fuel. Here, it is shown that thermal solid state reactions of traditional carbon nitride precursors (cyanamide, melamine) with NaCl, KCl, or CsCl are a cheap and straightforward way to prepare poly(heptazine imide) alkali metal salts, whose thermodynamic stability decreases upon the increase of the metal atom size. The chemical structure of the prepared salts is confirmed by the results of X-ray photoelectron and infrared spectroscopies, powder X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy studies, and, in the case of sodium poly(heptazine imide), additionally by atomic pair distribution function analysis and 2D powder X-ray diffraction pattern simulations. In contrast, reactions with LiCl yield thermodynamically stable poly(triazine imides). Owing to the metastability and high structural order, the obtained heptazine imide salts are found to be highly active photo-catalysts in Rhodamine B and 4-chlorophenol degradation, and Pt-assisted sacrificial water reduction reactions under visible light irradiation. The measured hydrogen evolution rates are up to four times higher than those provided by a benchmark photocatalyst, mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride. Moreover, the products are able to photocatalytically reduce water with considerable reaction rates, even when glycerol is used as a sacrificial hole scavenger.}, language = {en} } @article{InalKoelschSellrieetal.2013, author = {Inal, Sahika and K{\"o}lsch, Jonas D. and Sellrie, Frank and Schenk, J{\"o}rg A. and Wischerhoff, Erik and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter}, title = {A water soluble fluorescent polymer as a dual colour sensor for temperature and a specific protein}, series = {Journal of materials chemistry : B, Materials for biology and medicine}, volume = {1}, journal = {Journal of materials chemistry : B, Materials for biology and medicine}, number = {46}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {2050-750X}, doi = {10.1039/c3tb21245a}, pages = {6373 -- 6381}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We present two thermoresponsive water soluble copolymers prepared via free radical statistical copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEGMAs), respectively, with a solvatochromic 7-(diethylamino)-3-carboxy-coumarin (DEAC)-functionalized monomer. In aqueous solutions, the NIPAm-based copolymer exhibits characteristic changes in its fluorescence profile in response to a change in solution temperature as well as to the presence of a specific protein, namely an anti-DEAC antibody. This polymer emits only weakly at low temperatures, but exhibits a marked fluorescence enhancement accompanied by a change in its emission colour when heated above its cloud point. Such drastic changes in the fluorescence and absorbance spectra are observed also upon injection of the anti-DEAC antibody, attributed to the specific binding of the antibody to DEAC moieties. Importantly, protein binding occurs exclusively when the polymer is in the well hydrated state below the cloud point, enabling a temperature control on the molecular recognition event. On the other hand, heating of the polymer-antibody complexes releases a fraction of the bound antibody. In the presence of the DEAC-functionalized monomer in this mixture, the released antibody competitively binds to the monomer and the antibody-free chains of the polymer undergo a more effective collapse and inter-aggregation. In contrast, the emission properties of the OEGMA-based analogous copolymer are rather insensitive to the thermally induced phase transition or to antibody binding. These opposite behaviours underline the need for a carefully tailored molecular design of responsive polymers aimed at specific applications, such as biosensing.}, language = {en} } @article{InalKoelschSelrieetal.2013, author = {Inal, Sahika and K{\"o}lsch, Jonas D. and Selrie, Frank and Schenk, J{\"o}rg A. and Wischerhoff, Erik and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Neher, Dieter}, title = {A water soluble fluorescent polymer as a dual colour sensor for temperature and a specific protein}, doi = {10.1039/c3tb21245a}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We present two thermoresponsive water soluble copolymers prepared via free radical statistical copolymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and of oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEGMAs), respectively, with a solvatochromic 7-(diethylamino)-3-carboxy-coumarin (DEAC)-functionalized monomer. In aqueous solutions, the NIPAm-based copolymer exhibits characteristic changes in its fluorescence profile in response to a change in solution temperature as well as to the presence of a specific protein, namely an anti-DEAC antibody. This polymer emits only weakly at low temperatures, but exhibits a marked fluorescence enhancement accompanied by a change in its emission colour when heated above its cloud point. Such drastic changes in the fluorescence and absorbance spectra are observed also upon injection of the anti-DEAC antibody, attributed to the specific binding of the antibody to DEAC moieties. Importantly, protein binding occurs exclusively when the polymer is in the well hydrated state below the cloud point, enabling a temperature control on the molecular recognition event. On the other hand, heating of the polymer-antibody complexes releases a fraction of the bound antibody. In the presence of the DEAC-functionalized monomer in this mixture, the released antibody competitively binds to the monomer and the antibody-free chains of the polymer undergo a more effective collapse and inter-aggregation. In contrast, the emission properties of the OEGMA-based analogous copolymer are rather insensitive to the thermally induced phase transition or to antibody binding. These opposite behaviours underline the need for a carefully tailored molecular design of responsive polymers aimed at specific applications, such as biosensing.}, language = {en} } @article{ShalomInalNeheretal.2014, author = {Shalom, Menny and Inal, Sahika and Neher, Dieter and Antonietti, Markus}, title = {SiO2/carbon nitride composite materials: The role of surfaces for enhanced photocatalysis}, series = {Catalysis today : a serial publication dealing with topical themes in catalysis and related subjects}, volume = {225}, journal = {Catalysis today : a serial publication dealing with topical themes in catalysis and related subjects}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0920-5861}, doi = {10.1016/j.cattod.2013.12.013}, pages = {185 -- 190}, year = {2014}, abstract = {The effect of SiO2 nanoparticles on carbon nitride (C3N4) photoactivity performance is described. The composite SiO2-C3N4 materials exhibit a higher activity in the photo degradation of RhB dye. A detailed analysis of the chemical and optical properties of the composite C3N4 materials shows that the photo activity increases with higher SiO2 concentration. We found out that the presence of SiO2 nanoparticles strongly affects the fluorescence intensity of the matrix and life time by the creation of new energy states for charge transfer within the C3N4. Furthermore, the use of SiO2 in the synthesis of C3N4 leads to new morphology with higher surface area which results in another, secondary improvement of C3N4 photoactivity. The effect of different surfaces within C3N4 on its chemical and electronic properties is discussed and a tentative mechanism is proposed. The utilization of SiO2 nanoparticles improves both photophysical and chemical properties of C3N4 and opens new possibilities for further enhancement of C3N4 catalytic properties by the formation of composites with many other materials.}, language = {en} } @article{LandfesterMontenegroScherfetal.2002, author = {Landfester, Katharina and Montenegro, Rivelino V. D. and Scherf, Ullrich and G{\"u}nter, R. and Asawapirom, Udom and Patil, S. and Neher, Dieter and Kietzke, Thomas}, title = {Semiconducting polymer nanospheres in aqeous dispersion prepared by a miniemulsion process}, year = {2002}, language = {en} } @misc{BubeckLaschewskyLupoetal.1991, author = {Bubeck, Christoph and Laschewsky, Andr{\´e} and Lupo, Donald and Neher, Dieter and Ottenbreit, Petra and Paulus, Wolfgang and Prass, Werner and Ringsdorf, Helmut and Wegner, Gerhard}, title = {Amphiphilic dyes for nonlinear optics: Dependence of second harmonic generation on functional group substitution}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-17201}, year = {1991}, language = {en} } @article{AlbrechtGrootoonkNeubertetal.2014, author = {Albrecht, Steve and Grootoonk, Bjorn and Neubert, Sebastian and Roland, Steffen and Wordenweber, Jan and Meier, Matthias and Schlatmann, Rutger and Gordijn, Aad and Neher, Dieter}, title = {Efficient hybrid inorganic/organic tandem solar cells with tailored recombination contacts}, series = {Solar energy materials \& solar cells : an international journal devoted to photovoltaic, photothermal, and photochemical solar energy conversion}, volume = {127}, journal = {Solar energy materials \& solar cells : an international journal devoted to photovoltaic, photothermal, and photochemical solar energy conversion}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0927-0248}, doi = {10.1016/j.solmat.2014.04.020}, pages = {157 -- 162}, year = {2014}, abstract = {In this work, the authors present a 7.5\% efficient hybrid tandem solar cell with the bottom cell made of amorphous silicon and a Si-PCPDTBT:PC70BM bulk heterojunction top cell. Loss-free recombination contacts were realized by combing Al-doped ZnO with either the conducting polymer composite PEDOT:PSS or with a bilayer of ultrathin Al and MoO3. Optimization of these contacts results in tandem cells with high fill factors of 70\% and an open circuit voltage close to the sum of those of the sub-cells. This is the best efficiency reported for this type of hybrid tandem cell so far. Optical and electrical device modeling suggests that the efficiency can be increased to similar to 12\% on combining a donor polymer with suitable absorption onset with PCBM. We also describe proof-of-principle studies employing light trapping in hybrid tandem solar cells, suggesting that this device architecture has the potential to achieve efficiencies well above 12\%. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{ZenNeherSilmyetal.2005, author = {Zen, Achmad and Neher, Dieter and Silmy, Kamel and Hollander, A. and Asawapirom, Udom and Scherf, Ullrich}, title = {Improving the performance of organic field effect transistor by optimizing the gate insulator surface}, year = {2005}, abstract = {The effect of oxygen plasma treatment and/or silanization with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) on the surface chemistry and the morphology of the SiO2-gate insulator were studied with respect to the performance of organic field effect transistors. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), it is shown that silanization leads to the growth of a polysiloxane interfacial layer and that longer silanization times increase the thickness of this layer. Most important, silanization reduces the signal from surface contaminations such as oxidized hydrocarbon molecules. In fact, the lowest concentration of these contaminations was found after a combined oxygen plasma/silanization treatment. The results of these investigations were correlated with the characteristic device parameters of polymer field effect transistors with poly(3-hexylthiophene)s as the semiconducting layer. We found that the field effect mobility correlates with the concentration of contaminations as measured by XPS. We, finally, demonstrate that silanization significantly improves the operational stability of the device in air compared to the untreated devices}, language = {en} } @article{DaeublerGlowackiScherfetal.1999, author = {D{\"a}ubler, Thomas Karl and Glowacki, Ireneusz and Scherf, Ullrich and Ulanski, J. and H{\"o}rhold, Hans-Heinrich and Neher, Dieter}, title = {Photogeneration and transport of charge carriers in hybrid materials of conjugated polymers and dye-sensitized TiO2}, year = {1999}, language = {en} } @misc{LiBabuTurneretal.2013, author = {Li, Hongguang and Babu, Sukumaran Santhosh and Turner, Sarah T. and Neher, Dieter and Hollamby, Martin J. and Seki, Tomohiro and Yagai, Shiki and Deguchi, Yonekazu and M{\"o}hwald, Helmuth and Nakanishi, Takashi}, title = {Alkylated-C60 based soft materials}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-95358}, pages = {1943 -- 1951}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Derivatization of fullerene (C60) with branched aliphatic chains softens C60-based materials and enables the formation of thermotropic liquid crystals and room temperature nonvolatile liquids. This work demonstrates that by carefully tuning parameters such as type, number and substituent position of the branched chains, liquid crystalline C60 materials with mesophase temperatures suited for photovoltaic cell fabrication and room temperature nonvolatile liquid fullerenes with tunable viscosity can be obtained. In particular, compound 1, with branched chains, exhibits a smectic liquid crystalline phase extending from 84 °C to room temperature. Analysis of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells with a ca. 100 nm active layer of compound 1 and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as an electron acceptor and an electron donor, respectively, reveals an improved performance (power conversion efficiency, PCE: 1.6 ± 0.1\%) in comparison with another compound, 10 (PCE: 0.5 ± 0.1\%). The latter, in contrast to 1, carries linear aliphatic chains and thus forms a highly ordered solid lamellar phase at room temperature. The solar cell performance of 1 blended with P3HT approaches that of PCBM/P3HT for the same active layer thickness. This indicates that C60 derivatives bearing branched tails are a promising class of electron acceptors in soft (flexible) photovoltaic devices.}, language = {en} } @article{GorenflotPaulkePiersimonietal.2018, author = {Gorenflot, Julien and Paulke, Andreas and Piersimoni, Fortunato and Wolf, Jannic and Kan, Zhipeng and Cruciani, Federico and El Labban, Abdulrahman and Neher, Dieter and Beaujuge, Pierre M. and Laquai, Frederic}, title = {From recombination dynamics to device performance}, series = {dvanced energy materials}, volume = {8}, journal = {dvanced energy materials}, number = {4}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1614-6832}, doi = {10.1002/aenm.201701678}, pages = {12}, year = {2018}, abstract = {An original set of experimental and modeling tools is used to quantify the yield of each of the physical processes leading to photocurrent generation in organic bulk heterojunction solar cells, enabling evaluation of materials and processing condition beyond the trivial comparison of device performances. Transient absorption spectroscopy, "the" technique to monitor all intermediate states over the entire relevant timescale, is combined with time-delayed collection field experiments, transfer matrix simulations, spectral deconvolution, and parametrization of the charge carrier recombination by a two-pool model, allowing quantification of densities of excitons and charges and extrapolation of their kinetics to device-relevant conditions. Photon absorption, charge transfer, charge separation, and charge extraction are all quantified for two recently developed wide-bandgap donor polymers: poly(4,8-bis((2-ethylhexyl)oxy)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-3,4-difluorothiophene) (PBDT[2F]T) and its nonfluorinated counterpart poly(4,8-bis((2-ethylhexyl)oxy)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-3,4-thiophene) (PBDT[2H]T) combined with PC71BM in bulk heterojunctions. The product of these yields is shown to agree well with the devices' external quantum efficiency. This methodology elucidates in the specific case studied here the origin of improved photocurrents obtained when using PBDT[2F]T instead of PBDT[2H]T as well as upon using solvent additives. Furthermore, a higher charge transfer (CT)-state energy is shown to lead to significantly lower energy losses (resulting in higher VOC) during charge generation compared to P3HT:PCBM.}, language = {en} } @article{LiBabuTurneretal.2013, author = {Li, Hongguang and Babu, Sukumaran Santhosh and Turner, Sarah T. and Neher, Dieter and Hollamby, Martin J. and Tomohito, Seki and Yagai, Shiki and deguchi, Yonekazu and M{\"o}hwald, Helmuth and Nakanishi, Takashi}, title = {Alkylated-C60 based soft materials: regulation of self-assembly and optoelectronic properties by chain branching}, doi = {10.1039/C3TC00066D}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Derivatization of fullerene (C60) with branched aliphatic chains softens C60-based materials and enables the formation of thermotropic liquid crystals and room temperature nonvolatile liquids. This work demonstrates that by carefully tuning parameters such as type, number and substituent position of the branched chains, liquid crystalline C60 materials with mesophase temperatures suited for photovoltaic cell fabrication and room temperature nonvolatile liquid fullerenes with tunable viscosity can be obtained. In particular, compound 1, with branched chains, exhibits a smectic liquid crystalline phase extending from 84°C to room temperature. Analysis of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells with a ca. 100 nm active layer of compound 1 and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as an electron acceptor and an electron donor, respectively, reveals an improved performance (power conversion efficiency, PCE: 1.6 {\~n} 0.1\%) in comparison with another compound, 10 (PCE: 0.5 {\~n} 0.1\%). The latter, in contrast to 1, carries linear aliphatic chains and thus forms a highly ordered solid lamellar phase at room temperature. The solar cell performance of 1 blended with P3HT approaches that of PCBM/P3HT for the same active layer thickness. This indicates that C60 derivatives bearing branched tails are a promising class of electron acceptors in soft (flexible) photovoltaic devices.}, language = {en} } @article{BlakesleySchubertSteyrleuthneretal.2011, author = {Blakesley, James C. and Schubert, Marcel and Steyrleuthner, Robert and Chen, Zhihua and Facchetti, Antonio and Neher, Dieter}, title = {Time-of-flight measurements and vertical transport in a high electron-mobility polymer}, series = {Applied physics letters}, volume = {99}, journal = {Applied physics letters}, number = {18}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0003-6951}, doi = {10.1063/1.3657827}, pages = {3}, year = {2011}, abstract = {We investigate charge transport in a high-electron mobility polymer, poly(N, N-bis 2-octyldodecyl-naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis dicarboximide-2,6-diyl-alt-5,5-2,2-bithiophene) [P(NDI2OD-T2), Polyera ActivInk (TM) N2200]. Time-of-flight measurements reveal electron mobilities approaching those measured in field-effect transistors, the highest ever recorded in a conjugated polymer using this technique. The modest temperature dependence and weak dispersion of the transients indicate low energetic disorder in this material. Steady-state electron-only current measurements reveal a barrier to injection of about 300 meV. We propose that this barrier is located within the P(NDI2OD-T2) film and arises from molecular orientation effects.}, language = {en} } @article{GhaniOpitzPingeletal.2015, author = {Ghani, Fatemeh and Opitz, Andreas and Pingel, Patrick and Heimel, Georg and Salzmann, Ingo and Frisch, Johannes and Neher, Dieter and Tsami, Argiri and Scherf, Ullrich and Koch, Norbert}, title = {Charge Transfer in and Conductivity of Molecularly Doped Thiophene-Based Copolymers}, series = {Journal of polymer science : B, Polymer physics}, volume = {53}, journal = {Journal of polymer science : B, Polymer physics}, number = {1}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0887-6266}, doi = {10.1002/polb.23631}, pages = {58 -- 63}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The electrical conductivity of organic semiconductors can be enhanced by orders of magnitude via doping with strong molecular electron acceptors or donors. Ground-state integer charge transfer and charge-transfer complex formation between organic semiconductors and molecular dopants have been suggested as the microscopic mechanisms causing these profound changes in electrical materials properties. Here, we study charge-transfer interactions between the common molecular p-dopant 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane and a systematic series of thiophene-based copolymers by a combination of spectroscopic techniques and electrical measurements. Subtle variations in chemical structure are seen to significantly impact the nature of the charge-transfer species and the efficiency of the doping process, underlining the need for a more detailed understanding of the microscopic doping mechanism in organic semiconductors to reliably guide targeted chemical design.}, language = {en} } @article{PhuongHosseiniSandbergetal.2020, author = {Phuong, Le Quang and Hosseini, Seyed Mehrdad and Sandberg, Oskar J. and Zou, Yingping and Woo, Han Young and Neher, Dieter and Shoaee, Safa}, title = {Quantifying quasi-fermi level splitting and open-circuit voltage losses in highly efficient nonfullerene organic solar cells}, series = {Solar RRL}, volume = {5}, journal = {Solar RRL}, number = {1}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {2367-198X}, doi = {10.1002/solr.202000649}, pages = {6}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of state-of-the-art organic solar cells is still limited by significant open-circuit voltage (V-OC) losses, partly due to the excitonic nature of organic materials and partly due to ill-designed architectures. Thus, quantifying different contributions of the V-OC losses is of importance to enable further improvements in the performance of organic solar cells. Herein, the spectroscopic and semiconductor device physics approaches are combined to identify and quantify losses from surface recombination and bulk recombination. Several state-of-the-art systems that demonstrate different V-OC losses in their performance are presented. By evaluating the quasi-Fermi level splitting (QFLS) and the V-OC as a function of the excitation fluence in nonfullerene-based PM6:Y6, PM6:Y11, and fullerene-based PPDT2FBT:PCBM devices with different architectures, the voltage losses due to different recombination processes occurring in the active layers, the transport layers, and at the interfaces are assessed. It is found that surface recombination at interfaces in the studied solar cells is negligible, and thus, suppressing the non-radiative recombination in the active layers is the key factor to enhance the PCE of these devices. This study provides a universal tool to explain and further improve the performance of recently demonstrated high-open-circuit-voltage organic solar cells.}, language = {en} } @article{TokmoldinHosseiniRaoufietal.2020, author = {Tokmoldin, Nurlan and Hosseini, Seyed Mehrdad and Raoufi, Meysam and Phuong, Le Quang and Sandberg, Oskar J. and Guan, Huilan and Zou, Yingping and Neher, Dieter and Shoaee, Safa}, title = {Extraordinarily long diffusion length in PM6:Y6 organic solar cells}, series = {Journal of materials chemistry : A, materials for energy and sustainability}, volume = {8}, journal = {Journal of materials chemistry : A, materials for energy and sustainability}, number = {16}, publisher = {Royal Society of Chemistry}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {2050-7488}, doi = {10.1039/d0ta03016c}, pages = {7854 -- 7860}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The PM6:Y6 bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) blend system achieves high short-circuit current (J(SC)) values in thick photovoltaic junctions. Here we analyse these solar cells to understand the observed independence of the short-circuit current upon photoactive layer thickness. We employ a range of optoelectronic measurements and analyses, including Mott-Schottky analysis, CELIV, photoinduced absorption spectroscopy, mobility measurements and simulations, to conclude that, the invariant photocurrent for the devices with different active layer thicknesses is associated with the Y6's diffusion length exceeding 300 nm in case of a 300 nm thick cell. This is despite unintentional doping that occurs in PM6 and the associated space-charge effect, which is expected to be even more profound upon photogeneration. This extraordinarily long diffusion length - which is an order of magnitude larger than typical values for organics - dominates transport in the flat-band region of thick junctions. Our work suggests that the performance of the doped PM6:Y6 organic solar cells resembles that of inorganic devices with diffusion transport playing a pivotal role. Ultimately, this is expected to be a key requirement for the fabrication of efficient, high-photocurrent, thick organic solar cells.}, language = {en} } @article{TurnerPingelSteyrleuthneretal.2011, author = {Turner, Sarah T. and Pingel, Patrick and Steyrleuthner, Robert and Crossland, Edward J. W. and Ludwigs, Sabine and Neher, Dieter}, title = {Quantitative analysis of bulk heterojunction films using linear absorption spectroscopy and solar cell performance}, series = {Advanced functional materials}, volume = {21}, journal = {Advanced functional materials}, number = {24}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1616-301X}, doi = {10.1002/adfm.201101583}, pages = {4640 -- 4652}, year = {2011}, abstract = {A fundamental understanding of the relationship between the bulk morphology and device performance is required for the further development of bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. Here, non-optimized (chloroform cast) and nearly optimized (solvent-annealed o-dichlorobenzene cast) P3HT:PCBM blend films treated over a range of annealing temperatures are studied via optical and photovoltaic device measurements. Parameters related to the P3HT aggregate morphology in the blend are obtained through a recently established analytical model developed by F. C. Spano for the absorption of weakly interacting H-aggregates. Thermally induced changes are related to the glass transition range of the blend. In the chloroform prepared devices, the improvement in device efficiency upon annealing within the glass transition range can be attributed to the growth of P3HT aggregates, an overall increase in the percentage of chain crystallinity, and a concurrent increase in the hole mobilities. Films treated above the glass transition range show an increase in efficiency and fill factor not only associated with the change in chain crystallinity, but also with a decrease in the energetic disorder. On the other hand, the properties of the P3HT phase in the solvent-annealed o-dichlorobenzene cast blends are almost indistinguishable from those of the corresponding pristine P3HT layer and are only weakly affected by thermal annealing. Apparently, slow drying of the blend allows the P3HT chains to crystallize into large domains with low degrees of intra- and interchain disorder. This morphology appears to be most favorable for the efficient generation and extraction of charges.}, language = {en} } @article{BagnichImBassleretal.2004, author = {Bagnich, Sergey A. and Im, C. and Bassler, H. and Neher, Dieter and Scherf, Ullrich}, title = {Energy transfer in a ladder-type methyl-poly(para-phenylene) doped by Pt(II)octaethylporphyrin}, issn = {0301-0104}, year = {2004}, abstract = {The luminescence of a ladder-type methyl-poly(para-phenylene) (MeLPPP) doped by platinum-porphyrin dye PtOEP covering the concentration 10(-3) to 5\% by weight has been measured employing cw and transient techniques. Upon excitating into the range of absorption of the host strong phosphorescence of the dopant is observed. Possible ways of populating of the dopant triplet state are considered. It is shown that the main channel is singlet-singlet energy transfer among chromophor groups of the polymer followed by Forster-type transfer to the guest and subsequent intersystem crossing. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved}, language = {en} } @article{ShivhareErdmannHoermannetal.2018, author = {Shivhare, Rishi and Erdmann, Tim and Hoermann, Ulrich and Collado-Fregoso, Elisa and Zeiske, Stefan and Benduhn, Johannes and Ullbrich, Sascha and Huebner, Rene and Hambsch, Mike and Kiriy, Anton and Voit, Brigitte and Neher, Dieter and Vandewal, Koen and Mannsfeld, Stefan C. B.}, title = {Alkyl Branching Position in Diketopyrrolopyrrole Polymers}, series = {Chemistry of materials : a publication of the American Chemical Society}, volume = {30}, journal = {Chemistry of materials : a publication of the American Chemical Society}, number = {19}, publisher = {American Chemical Society}, address = {Washington}, issn = {0897-4756}, doi = {10.1021/acs.chemmater.8b02739}, pages = {6801 -- 6809}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based donor acceptor copolymers have gained a significant amount of research interest in the organic electronics community because of their high charge carrier mobilities in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and their ability to harvest near-infrared (NIR) photons in solar cells. In this study, we have synthesized four DPP based donor-acceptor copolymers with variations in the donor unit and the branching point of the solubilizing alkyl chains (at the second or sixth carbon position). Grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) results suggest that moving the branching point further away from the polymer backbone increases the tendency for aggregation and yields polymer phases with a higher degree of crystallinity (DoC). The polymers were blended with PC70BM and used as active layers in solar cells. A careful analysis of the energetics of the neat polymer and blend films reveals that the charge-transfer state energy (E-CT) of the blend films lies exceptionally close to the singlet energy of the donor (E-D*), indicating near zero electron transfer losses. The difference between the optical gap and open-circuit voltage (V-OC) is therefore determined to be due to rather high nonradiative 418 +/- 13 mV) and unavoidable radiative voltage losses (approximate to 255 +/- 8 mV). Even though the four materials have similar optical gaps, the short-circuit current density (J(SC)) covers a vast span from 7 to 18 mA cm(-2) for the best performing system. Using photoluminescence (PL) quenching and transient charge extraction techniques, we quantify geminate and nongeminate losses and find that fewer excitons reach the donor-acceptor interface in polymers with further away branching points due to larger aggregate sizes. In these material systems, the photogeneration is therefore mainly limited by exciton harvesting efficiency.}, language = {en} } @article{ProctorKimNeheretal.2013, author = {Proctor, Christopher M. and Kim, Chunki and Neher, Dieter and Thuc-Quyen Nguyen,}, title = {Nongeminate recombination and charge transport limitations in diketopyrrolopyrrole-based solution-processed small molecule solar cells}, series = {Advanced functional materials}, volume = {23}, journal = {Advanced functional materials}, number = {28}, publisher = {Wiley-VCH}, address = {Weinheim}, issn = {1616-301X}, doi = {10.1002/adfm.201202643}, pages = {3584 -- 3594}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Charge transport and nongeminate recombination are investigated in two solution-processed small molecule bulk heterojunction solar cells consisting of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based donor molecules, mono-DPP and bis-DPP, blended with [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). While the bis-DPP system exhibits a high fill factor (62\%) the mono-DPP system suffers from pronounced voltage dependent losses, which limit both the fill factor (46\%) and short circuit current. A method to determine the average charge carrier density, recombination current, and effective carrier lifetime in operating solar cells as a function of applied bias is demonstrated. These results and light intensity measurements of the current-voltage characteristics indicate that the mono-DPP system is severely limited by nongeminate recombination losses. Further analysis reveals that the most significant factor leading to the difference in fill factor is the comparatively poor hole transport properties in the mono-DPP system (2 x 10(-5) cm(2) V-1 s(-1) versus 34 x 10(-5) cm(2) V-1 s(-1)). These results suggest that future design of donor molecules for organic photovoltaics should aim to increase charge carrier mobility thereby enabling faster sweep out of charge carriers before they are lost to nongeminate recombination.}, language = {en} }