Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

In situ characterization methods for evaluating microstructure formation and drying kinetics of solution-processed organic bulk-heterojunction films

  • Invited Review
  • Published:
Journal of Materials Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Recently, in situ characterization methods have attracted increasing attention, especially in organic photovoltaics (OPV) field, since they provide greater insight into the mechanism of film formation, thus help to identify optimized processing conditions used to process the most efficient organic bulk-heterojunction thin films. In combination with various powerful X-ray-based characterization methods, several studies observed the morphological changes under the influence of different processing conditions. In this review, we summarize the fundamentals and implementation of X-ray-based and optical characterization methods, utilized in in situ mode and introduce the reader a better overview of the information acquired from a given technique in terms of microstructure formation in OPV. While we give a chronological development of in situ characterization methods in the field of OPV, we discuss the interplay between thermodynamics of solutions and drying kinetics of different types of organic blends.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

FIG. 1
FIG. 2
FIG. 3
FIG. 4
FIG. 5
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
FIG. 8
FIG. 9
FIG. 10
FIG. 11
FIG. 12
FIG. 13
FIG. 14
FIG. 15
FIG. 16
FIG. 17

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. D. Wöhrle and D. Meissner: Organic solar cells. Adv. Mater. 3(3), 129 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. L. Dou, J. You, Z. Hong, Z. Xu, G. Li, R.A. Street, and Y. Yang: 25th anniversary article: A decade of organic/polymeric photovoltaic research. Adv. Mater. 25(46), 6642 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. C.J. Brabec, N.S. Sariciftci, and J.C. Hummelen: Plastic solar cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 11(1), 15 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. A.J. Heeger: 25th anniversary article: Bulk heterojunction solar cells: Understanding the mechanism of operation. Adv. Mater. 26(1), 10 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. G. Luo, X. Ren, S. Zhang, H. Wu, W.C.H. Choy, Z. He, and Y. Cao: Recent advances in organic photovoltaics: Device structure and optical engineering optimization on the nanoscale. Small 12(12), 1547 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. J. Nelson: Organic photovoltaic films. Mater. Today 5(5), 20 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. L.J.A. Koster, S.E. Shaheen, and J.C. Hummelen: Pathways to a new efficiency regime for organic solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater. 2(10), 1246 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. G. Yu and A.J. Heeger: Charge separation and photovoltaic conversion in polymer composites with internal donor:acceptor heterojunctions. J. Appl. Phys. 78(7), 4510 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. J.J.M. Halls, C.A. Walsh, N.C. Greenham, E.A. Marseglia, R.H. Friend, S.C. Moratti, and A.B. Holmes: Efficient photodiodes from interpenetrating polymer networks. Nature 376, 498 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. C.J. Brabec, M. Heeney, I. McCulloch, and J. Nelson: Influence of blend microstructure on bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic performance. Chem. Soc. Rev. 40(3), 1185 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. J. Zhao, Y. Li, G. Yang, K. Jiang, H. Lin, H. Ade, W. Ma, and H. Yan: Efficient organic solar cells processed from hydrocarbon solvents. Nat. Energy 1(2), 15027 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Heliatek (2016).

  13. M.C. Scharber and N.S. Sariciftci: Efficiency of bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells. Prog. Polym. Sci. 38(12), 1929 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. D.M. DeLongchamp, R.J. Kline, and A. Herzing: Nanoscale structure measurements for polymer-fullerene photovoltaics. Energy Environ. Sci. 5(3), 5980 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. A. Salleo, R.J. Kline, D.M. DeLongchamp, and M.L. Chabinyc: Microstructural characterization and charge transport in thin films of conjugated polymers. Adv. Mater. 22(34), 3812 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. H. Yan, B.A. Collins, E. Gann, C. Wang, H. Ade, and C.R. Mcneill: Correlating the efficiency and nanomorphology of polymer blend solar cells utilizing resonant soft X-ray scattering. ACS Nano 6(1), 677 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. H.C. Liao, C.C. Ho, C.Y. Chang, M.H. Jao, S.B. Darling, and W.F. Su: Additives for morphology control in high-efficiency organic solar cells. Mater. Today 16(9), 326 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. W. Ma, J.R. Tumbleston, M. Wang, E. Gann, F. Huang, and H. Ade: Domain purity, miscibility, and molecular orientation at donor:acceptor interfaces in high performance organic solar cells: Paths to further improvement. Adv. Energy Mater. 3(7), 864 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. K. Vandewal, S. Himmelberger, and A. Salleo: Structural factors that affect the performance of organic bulk heterojunction solar cells. Macromolecules 46(16), 6379 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Y. Diao, L. Shaw, and S.C.B. Mannsfeld: Morphology control strategies for solution-processed organic semiconductor thin films. Energy Environ. Sci. 7(7), 2145 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. N.D. Treat and M.L. Chabinyc: Phase separation in bulk heterojunctions of semiconducting polymers and fullerenes for photovoltaics. Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. 65, 59 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. N. Gasparini, A. Katsouras, M.I. Prodromidis, A. Avgeropoulos, D. Baran, M. Salvador, S. Fladischer, E. Spiecker, C.L. Chochos, T. Ameri, and C.J. Brabec: Photophysics of molecular-weight-induced losses in indacenodithienothiophene-based solar cells. Adv. Funct. Mater. 25(30), 4898 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. H.W. Ro, J. Downing, S. Engmann, A. Herzing, D.M. DeLongchamp, L. Richter, S. Mukherjee, H. Ade, M. Abdelsamie, A. Amassian, L.K. Jagadamma, H. Yan, and Y. Liu: Morphology changes upon scaling a high efficiency, solution-processed solar cell from spin-coating to roll-to-roll coating. Energy Environ. Sci. 9, 2835 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. S. Kouijzer, J.J. Michels, M. Van Den Berg, V.S. Gevaerts, M. Turbiez, M.M. Wienk, and R. Janssen: Predicting morphologies of solution processed polymer:fullerene blends. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135(32), 12057 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. L.A. Perez, K.W. Chou, J.A. Love, T.S. Van Der Poll, D.M. Smilgies, T.Q. Nguyen, E.J. Kramer, A. Amassian, and G.C. Bazan: Solvent additive effects on small molecule crystallization in bulk heterojunction solar cells probed during spin casting. Adv. Mater. 25(44), 6380 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. C. Koerner, C. Elschner, N.C. Miller, R. Fitzner, F. Selzer, E. Reinold, P. Beuerle, M.F. Toney, M.D. McGehee, K. Leo, and M. Riede: Probing the effect of substrate heating during deposition of DCV4T:C60 blend layers for organic solar cells. Org. Electron. 13(4), 623 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. R. Hegde, N. Henry, B. Whittle, H. Zang, B. Hu, J. Chen, K. Xiao, and M. Dadmun: The impact of controlled solvent exposure on the morphology, structure and function of bulk heterojunction solar cells. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 107, 112 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. F.C. Krebs: Fabrication and processing of polymer solar cells: A review of printing and coating techniques. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 93(4), 394 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. N. Shin, L.J. Richter, A.A. Herzing, R.J. Kline, and D.M. DeLongchamp: Effect of processing additives on the solidification of blade-coated polymer fullerene blend films via in situ structure measurements. Adv. Energy Mater. 3(7), 938 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. S. Guo, E.M. Herzig, A. Naumann, G. Tainter, J. Perlich, and P. Müller-Buschbaum: Influence of solvent and solvent additive on the morphology of PTB7 films probed via X-ray scattering. J. Phys. Chem. B 118(1), 344 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. G. Giri, D.M. Delongchamp, J. Reinspach, D.A. Fischer, L.J. Richter, J. Xu, S. Benight, A. Ayzner, M. He, L. Fang, G. Xue, M.F. Toney, and Z. Bao: Effect of solution shearing method on packing and disorder of organic semiconductor polymers. Chem. Mater. 27(7), 2350 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. N.J. Harrick: Determination of refractive index and film thickness from interference fringes. Appl. Opt. 10(10), 2344 (1971).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. R. Swanepoel: Determination of the thickness and optical constants of amorphous silicon. J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 16(12), 1214 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Z. Ficek and S. Swain: Quantum Interference and Coherence, 1st ed. (Springer-Verlag, New York, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  35. M. Campoy-Quiles, M. Schmidt, D. Nassyrov, O. Pena, A.R. Goni, M.I. Alonso, and M. Garriga: Real-time studies during coating and post-deposition annealing in organic semiconductors. Thin Solid Films 519(9), 2678 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. B. Berne and R. Pecora: Dynamic Light Scattering-with Applications to Chemistry, Biology and Physics (Wiley Interscience, New York, 1976).

    Google Scholar 

  37. K. Zhao, H. Hu, E. Spada, L.K. Jagadamma, B. Yan, M. Abdelsamie, Y. Yang, L. Yu, R. Munir, R. Li, G.O.N. Ndjawa, and A. Amassian: Highly efficient polymer solar cells with printed photoactive layer:rational process transfer from spin-coating. J. Mater. Chem. A 4, 16036 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. M. Abdelsamie, K. Zhao, M.R. Niazi, K.W. Chou, and A. Amassian: In situ UV-visible absorption during spin-coating of organic semiconductors: A new probe for organic electronics and photovoltaics. J. Mater. Chem. C 2(17), 3373 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. J.A. Woollam: Wiley Encycl. Electr. Electron. Eng. (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  40. M. Losurdo and K. Hingerl: Ellipsometry at the Nanoscale, 1st ed. (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2013).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  41. H.G. Tompkins and E.A. Irene: Handbook of Ellipsometry, 1st ed. (William Andrew Inc, Norwich, 2005).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  42. M. Weik: Fiber Optics Standard Dictionary, 3rd ed. (Springer Science+Business Media, New York, 1997).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  43. K. Hinrichs and K.J. Eichhorn: Ellipsometry of Functional Organic Surfaces and Films, 1st ed. (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2014).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  44. J.R. Lakowicz: Principles of Fluorescence Spectroscopy Principles of Fluorescence Spectroscopy (Springer, New York, 2006).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  45. O.V. Mikhnenko: Singlet and Triplet Excitons in Organic Semiconductors (University of Groningen, Groningen, 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  46. A. Köhler and H. Bässler: Triplet states in organic semiconductors. Mater. Sci. Eng., R 66(4–6), 71 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. H. Yersin and W.J. Finkenzeller: Highly Effic. OLEDs with Phosphorescent Mater. (Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim, 2008); pp. 1–97.

    Google Scholar 

  48. T.Q. Nguyen, I.B. Martini, J. Liu, and B.J. Schwartz: Controlling interchain interactions in conjugated polymers: The effects of chain morphology on exciton–exciton annihilation and aggregation in MEH-PPV films. J. Phys. Chem. B 104(2), 237 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. N.S. Güldal, T. Kassar, M. Berlinghof, T. Ameri, A. Osvet, R. Pacios, G. Li Destri, T. Unruh, and C.J. Brabec: Real-time evaluation of thin film drying kinetics using an advanced, multi-probe optical setup. J. Mater. Chem. C 11, 2178 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. P. Wang, C.J. Collison, and L.J. Rothberg: Origins of aggregation quenching in luminescent phenylenevinylene polymers. J. Photochem. Photobiol., A 144(1), 63 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. S. Engmann, F.A. Bokel, H.W. Ro, D.M. Delongchamp, and L.J. Richter: Real-time photoluminescence studies of structure evolution in organic solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater. 6(10), 1 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. M.P. Diebold: Application of Light Scattering to Coatings, 1st ed. (Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  53. W. Schaertl: Light Scattering from Polymer Solutions and Nanoparticle (Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, 2007).

    Google Scholar 

  54. I. Teraoka: Polymer Solutions—An Introduction to Physical Properties (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 2002).

    Google Scholar 

  55. J.J. van Franeker, M. Turbiez, W. Li, M.M. Wienk, and R. Janssen: A real-time study of the benefits of co-solvents in polymer solar cell processing. Nat. Commun. 6, 6229 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. G. Renaud, R. Lazzari, and F. Leroy: Probing surface and interface morphology with grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering. Surf. Sci. Rep. 64(8), 255 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. W. Chen, M.P. Nikiforov, and S.B. Darling: Morphology characterization in organic and hybrid solar cells. Energy Environ. Sci. 5(8), 8045 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. F. Liu, Y. Gu, X. Shen, S. Ferdous, H-W. Wang, and T.P. Russell: Characterization of the morphology of solution-processed bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics. Prog. Polym. Sci. 38(12), 1990 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. M. Born and E. Wolf: Principles of Optics: Electromagnetic Theory of Propagation, Interference and Diffraction of Light, 7th ed. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  60. G. Giri, R. Li, D-M. Smilgies, E.Q. Li, Y. Diao, K.M. Lenn, M. Chiu, D.W. Lin, R. Allen, J. Reinspach, S.C.B. Mannsfeld, S.T. Thoroddsen, P. Clancy, Z. Bao, and A. Amassian: One-dimensional self-confinement promotes polymorph selection in large-area organic semiconductor thin films. Nat. Commun. 5, 3573 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. D.M. Smilgies, R. Li, G. Giri, K.W. Chou, Y. Diao, Z. Bao, and A. Amassian: Look fast: Crystallization of conjugated molecules during solution shearing probed in situ and in real time by X-ray scattering. Phys. Status Solidi RRL 7(3), 177 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. S.K. Sinha, E.B. Sirota, S. Garoff, and H.B. Stanley: X-ray and neutron scattering from rough surfaces. Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter Mater. Phys. 38(4), 2297 (1988).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. M. Rauscher, T. Salditt, and H. Spohn: Small-angle X-ray scattering under grazing incidence: The cross section in the distorted-wave Born approximation. Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter Mater. Phys. 52(23), 16855 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  64. Y. Yoneda: Anomalous surface reflection of X-rays. Phys. Rev. 131(5), 2010 (1963).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  65. Z. Jiang, D.R. Lee, S. Narayanan, J. Wang, and S.K. Sinha: Waveguide-enhanced grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering of buried nanostructures in thin films. Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter Mater. Phys. 84(7), 75440 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  66. W-R. Wu, U-S. Jeng, C-J. Su, K-H. Wei, M-S. Su, M-Y. Chiu, C-Y. Chen, W-B. Su, C-H. Su, and A-C. Su: Competition between fullerene aggregation and poly(3-hexylthiophene) crystallization upon annealing of bulk heterojunction solar cells. ACS Nano 5(8), 6233 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. C. Zhang, A. Mumyatov, S. Langner, J.D. Perea, T. Kassar, J. Min, L. Ke, H. Chen, K.L. Gerasimov, D.V. Anokhin, D.A. Ivanov, T. Ameri, A. Osvet, D.K. Susarova, T. Unruh, N. Li, P. Troshin, and C.J. Brabec: Overcoming the thermal instability of efficient polymer solar cells by employing novel fullerene-based acceptors. Adv. Energy Mater. 7(3), 1601204 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. J.D. Roehling, D. Baran, J. Sit, T. Kassar, T. Ameri, T. Unruh, C.J. Brabec, and A.J. Moulé: Nanoscale morphology of PTB7 based organic photovoltaics as a function of fullerene size. Sci. Rep. 6, 30915 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  69. A. Hexemer and P. Müller Buschbaum: Advanced grazing-incidence techniques for modern soft-matter materials analysis. IUCrJ 2(Pt 1), 106 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  70. D-M. Smilgies: Scherrer grain-size analysis adapted to grazing-incidence scattering with area detectors. J. Appl. Crystallogr. 42(6), 1030 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  71. J. Rivnay, S.C.B. Mannsfeld, C.E. Miller, A. Salleo, and M.F. Toney: Quantitative determination of organic semiconductor microstructure from the molecular to device scale. Chem. Rev. 112(10), 5488 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  72. B.W. Boudouris, V. Ho, L.H. Jimison, M.F. Toney, A. Salleo, and R.A. Segalman: Real-time observation of poly(3-alkylthiophene) crystallization and correlation with transient optoelectronic properties. Macromolecules 44(17), 6653 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  73. E.D. Gomez, K.P. Barteau, H. Wang, M.F. Toney, and Y-L. Loo: Correlating the scattered intensities of P3HT and PCBM to the current densities of polymer solar cells. Chem. Commun. 47(1), 436 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  74. P. Müller-Buschbaum: A basic introduction to grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering. In Applications of Synchrotron Light to Scattering and Diffraction in Materials and Life Sciences, M. Gomez, A. Nogales, M.C. Garcia-Gutierrez, and T.A. Ezquerra, eds. (Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2009); pp. 61–89.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  75. P. Müller Buschbaum: The active layer morphology of organic solar cells probed with grazing incidence scattering techniques. Adv. Mater. 26(46), 7692 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  76. R. Lazzari: IsGISAXS: A program for grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering analysis of supported islands. J. Appl. Crystallogr. 35(4), 406 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  77. D. Babonneau: FitGISAXS: Software package for modelling and analysis of GISAXS data using IGOR Pro. J. Appl. Crystallogr. 43(4), 929 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  78. C. Durniak, M. Ganeva, G. Pospelov, W. Van Herck, and J. Wuttke: www.bornagainproject.org (2015).

  79. T. Kassar, N.S. Güldal, M. Berlinghof, T. Ameri, A. Kratzer, B.C. Schroeder, G.L. Destri, A. Hirsch, M. Heeney, I. McCulloch, C.J. Brabec, and T. Unruh: Real-time investigation of intercalation and structure evolution in printed polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction thin films. Adv. Energy Mater. 6(5), 1502025 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  80. E. Moons: Conjugated polymer blends: Linking film morphology to performance of light emitting diodes and photodiodes. J. Phys. Condens. Matter 14(47), 12235 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  81. M. Granstrom, K. Petritsch, A.C. Arias, A. Lux, M.R. Andersson, and R.H. Friend: Laminated fabrication of polymeric photovoltaic diodes. Nature 395(1994), 257 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  82. P.C. Jukes, S.Y. Heriot, J.S. Sharp, and R.A.L. Jones: Time-resolved light scattering studies of phase separation in thin film semiconducting polymer blends during spin-coating. Macromolecules 38(6), 2030 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  83. C.R. McNeill and N.C. Greenham: Conjugated-polymer blends for optoelectronics. Adv. Mater. 21(38–39), 3840 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  84. S.Y. Heriot and R.A.L. Jones: An interfacial instability in a transient wetting layer leads to lateral phase separation in thin spin-cast polymer-blend films. Nat. Mater. 4(10), 782 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  85. S. Ebbens, R. Hodgkinson, A.J. Parnell, A. Dunbar, S.J. Martin, P.D. Topham, N. Clarke, and J.R. Howse: In situ imaging and height reconstruction of phase separation processes in polymer blends during spin coating. ACS Nano 5(6), 5124 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  86. X. Gu, H. Yan, T. Kurosawa, B.C. Schroeder, K.L. Gu, Y. Zhou, J.W.F. To, S.D. Oosterhout, V. Savikhin, F. Molina-lopez, C.J. Tassone, S.C.B. Mannsfeld, C. Wang, M.F. Toney, and Z. Bao: Comparison of the morphology development of polymer–fullerene and polymer–polymer solar cells during solution-shearing blade coating. Adv. Energy Mater. 6(22), 1601225 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  87. S. Holliday, R.S. Ashraf, A. Wadsworth, D. Baran, S.A. Yousaf, C.B. Nielsen, C-H. Tan, S.D. Dimitrov, Z. Shang, N. Gasparini, M. Alamoudi, F. Laquai, C.J. Brabec, A. Salleo, J.R. Durrant, and I. McCulloch: High-efficiency and air-stable P3HT-based polymer solar cells with a new non-fullerene acceptor. Nat. Commun. 7, 11585 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  88. T. Earmme, Y-J. Hwang, N.M. Murari, S. Subramaniyan, and S.A. Jenekhe: All-polymer solar cells with 3.3% efficiency based on naphthalene diimide-selenophene copolymer acceptor. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135(40), 14960 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  89. L. Gao, Z.G. Zhang, L. Xue, J. Min, J. Zhang, Z. Wei, and Y. Li: All-polymer solar cells based on absorption-complementary polymer donor and acceptor with high power conversion efficiency of 8.27%. Adv. Mater. 28(9), 1884 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  90. S. Li, H. Zhang, W. Zhao, L. Ye, H. Yao, B. Yang, S. Zhang, and J. Hou: Green-solvent-processed all-polymer solar cells containing a perylene diimide-based acceptor with an efficiency over 6.5%. Adv. Energy Mater. 6(5), 1501991 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  91. B. Schmidt-Hansberg, M.F.G. Klein, K. Peters, F. Buss, J. Pfeifer, S. Walheim, A. Colsmann, U. Lemmer, P. Scharfer, and W. Schabel: In situ monitoring the drying kinetics of knife coated polymer–fullerene films for organic solar cells. J. Appl. Phys. 106(12), 124501 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  92. T. Wang, A.D.F. Dunbar, P.A. Staniec, A.J. Pearson, P.E. Hopkinson, J.E. MacDonald, S. Lilliu, C. Pizzey, N.J. Terrill, A.M. Donald, A.J. Ryan, R.A.L. Jones, and D.G. Lidzey: The development of nanoscale morphology in polymer:fullerene photovoltaic blends during solvent casting. Soft Matter 6(17), 4128 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  93. M. Sanyal, B. Schmidt-Hansberg, M.F.G. Klein, A. Colsmann, C. Munuera, A. Vorobiev, U. Lemmer, W. Schabel, H. Dosch, and E. Barrena: In situ X-ray study of drying-temperature influence on the structural evolution of bulk-heterojunction polymer–fullerene solar cells processed by doctor-blading. Adv. Energy Mater. 1(3), 363 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  94. M. Sanyal, B. Schmidt-Hansberg, M.F.G. Klein, C. Munuera, A. Vorobiev, A. Colsmann, P. Scharfer, U. Lemmer, W. Schabel, H. Dosch, and E. Barrena: Effect of photovoltaic polymer/fullerene blend composition ratio on microstructure evolution during film solidification investigated in real time by X-ray diffraction. Macromolecules 44(10), 3795 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  95. K.W. Chou, B. Yan, R. Li, E.Q. Li, K. Zhao, D.H. Anjum, S. Alvarez, R. Gassaway, A. Biocca, S.T. Thoroddsen, A. Hexemer, and A. Amassian: Spin-cast bulk heterojunction solar cells: A dynamical investigation. Adv. Mater. 25(13), 1923 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  96. B. Schmidt-Hansberg, M. Sanyal, M.F.G. Klein, M. Pfaff, N. Schnabel, S. Jaiser, A. Vorobiev, E. Müller, A. Colsmann, P. Scharfer, D. Gerthsen, U. Lemmer, E. Barrena, and W. Schabel: Moving through the phase diagram: Morphology formation in solution cast polymer–fullerene blend films for organic solar cells. ACS Nano 5(11), 8579 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  97. S. Engmann, W. Ro, A. Herzing, C.R. Snyder, L.J. Richter, B. Geraghty, and D.J. Jones: Film morphology evolution during solvent vapor annealing of highly efficient small molecule donor/acceptor blends. J. Mater. Chem. A 4(40), 15511 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  98. Y. Huang, E.J. Kramer, A.J. Heeger, and G.C. Bazan: Bulk heterojunction solar cells: Morphology and performance relationships. Chem. Rev. 114(14), 7006 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  99. J.T. Rogers, K. Schmidt, M.F. Toney, G.C. Bazan, and E.J. Kramer: Time-resolved structural evolution of additive-processed bulk heterojunction solar cells. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134(6), 2884 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  100. J. Peet, J.Y. Kim, N.E. Coates, W.L. Ma, D. Moses, A.J. Heeger, and G.C. Bazan: Efficiency enhancement in low-bandgap polymer solar cells by processing with alkane dithiols. Nat. Mater. 6(7), 497 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  101. F. Machui, P. Maisch, I. Burgués-Ceballos, S. Langner, J. Krantz, T. Ameri, and C.J. Brabec: Classification of additives for organic photovoltaic devices. ChemPhysChem 16(6), 1275 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  102. N.S. Güldal, M. Berlinghof, T. Kassar, X. Du, X. Jiao, M. Meyer, T. Ameri, A. Osvet, N. Li, G. Li-Destri, R.H.H. Fink, H. Ade, T. Unruh, and C.J. Brabec: Controlling additive behavior to reveal an alternative morphology formation mechanism in polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunctions. J. Mater. Chem. A 4(41), 16136 (2016).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  103. L.J. Richter, D.M. Delongchamp, F.A. Bokel, S. Engmann, K.W. Chou, A. Amassian, E. Schaible, and A. Hexemer: In situ morphology studies of the mechanism for solution additive effects on the formation of bulk heterojunction films. Adv. Energy Mater. 5(3), 140975 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  104. L.H. Rossander, N.K. Zawacka, H.F. Dam, F.C. Krebs, and J.W. Andreasen: In situ monitoring of structure formation in the active layer of polymer solar cells during roll-to-roll coating. AIP Adv. 4(8), 87105 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  105. F. Liu, S. Ferdous, E. Schaible, A. Hexemer, M. Church, X. Ding, C. Wang, and T.P. Russell: Fast printing and in situ morphology observation of organic photovoltaics using slot-die coating. Adv. Mater. 27(5), 886 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  106. S.H. Park, A. Roy, S. Beaupre, S. Cho, N. Coates, J.S. Moon, D. Moses, M. Leclerc, K. Lee, and A.J. Heeger: Bulk heterojunction solar cells with internal quantum efficiency approaching 100%. Nat. Photonics 3(5), 297 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  107. A.J. Pearson, T. Wang, A.D.F. Dunbar, H. Yi, D.C. Watters, D.M. Coles, P.A. Staniec, A. Iraqi, R.A.L. Jones, and D.G. Lidzey: Morphology development in amorphous polymer:fullerene photovoltaic blend films during solution casting. Adv. Funct. Mater. 24(5), 659 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  108. Y. Liu, J. Zhao, Z. Li, C. Mu, W. Ma, H. Hu, K. Jiang, H. Lin, H. Ade, and H. Yan: Aggregation and morphology control enables multiple cases of high-efficiency polymer solar cells. Nat. Commun. 5, 5293 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  109. T.S. van der Poll, J.A. Love, T-Q. Nguyen, and G.C. Bazan: Non-basic high-performance molecules for solution-processed organic solar cells. Adv. Mater. 24(27), 3646 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  110. Q. Zhang, B. Kan, F. Liu, G. Long, X. Wan, X. Chen, Y. Zuo, W. Ni, H. Zhang, M. Li, Z. Hu, F. Huang, Y. Cao, Z. Liang, M. Zhang, T.P. Russell, and Y. Chen: Small-molecule solar cells with efficiency over 9%. Nat. Photonics 9(1), 35 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  111. S. Engmann, F.A. Bokel, A.A. Herzing, H.W. Ro, C. Girotto, B. Caputo, C.V. Hoven, E. Schaible, A. Hexemer, D.M. DeLongchamp, and L.J. Richter: Real-time X-ray scattering studies of film evolution in high performing small-molecule:fullerene organic solar cells. J. Mater. Chem. A 3(16), 8764 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  112. M. Abdelsamie, N.D. Treat, K. Zhao, C. McDowell, M.A. Burgers, R. Li, D-M. Smilgies, N. Stingelin, G.C. Bazan, and A. Amassian: Toward additive-free small-molecule organic solar cells: roles of the donor crystallization pathway and dynamics. Adv. Mater. 27(45), 7285 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  113. C. McDowell, M. Abdelsamie, K. Zhao, D-M. Smilgies, G.C. Bazan, and A. Amassian: Synergistic impact of solvent and polymer additives on the film formation of small molecule blend films for bulk heterojunction solar cells. Adv. Energy Mater. 5(18), 1501121 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  114. S. Kwon, J.K. Park, J. Kim, G. Kim, K. Yu, J. Lee, Y-R. Jo, B-J. Kim, H. Kang, J. Kim, H. Kim, and K. Lee: In situ studies of the molecular packing dynamics of bulk-heterojunction solar cells induced by the processing additive 1-chloronaphthalene. J. Mater. Chem. A 3(15), 7719 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  115. S. Kwon, H. Kang, J. Lee, J. Lee, S. Hong, H. Kim, and K. Lee: Effect of processing additives on organic photovoltaics: Recent progress and future prospects. Adv. Energy Mater., in press (2016).

Download references

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors gratefully thank Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in the framework of SFB 953 (Synthetic Carbon Allotropes) and Cluster of Excellence ‘Engineering of Advanced Materials’ and GRK 1896 In situ Microscopy with Electrons, X-rays and Scanning Probes.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials for Energy Technology and Electronics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, 91058, Germany

    Nusret Sena Güldal & Christoph J. Brabec

  2. Chair for Crystallography and Structural Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, 91058, Germany

    Thaer Kassar, Marvin Berlinghof & Tobias Unruh

  3. Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE Bayern), Erlangen, 91058, Germany

    Christoph J. Brabec

Authors
  1. Nusret Sena Güldal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thaer Kassar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marvin Berlinghof
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tobias Unruh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Christoph J. Brabec
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nusret Sena Güldal.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Güldal, N.S., Kassar, T., Berlinghof, M. et al. In situ characterization methods for evaluating microstructure formation and drying kinetics of solution-processed organic bulk-heterojunction films. Journal of Materials Research 32, 1855–1879 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2017.190

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2017.190

Search

Navigation