dissolving kinetics of cy3-tris/pcbm film in ito hexane ...quick tips (--this section does not...

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-6.5 -6.0 -5.5 -5.0 -4.5 -4.0 -3.5 -6.1 -6.2 -4.5 -4.3 -5.9 -5.4 -4.2 -4.3 Ag/Al -5.3 Energy Level / eV Cy3-TRIS, Cy3-PF6 Cy7-TRIS, Cy7-PF6 PCBM C 60 -4.7 ITO MoO 3 TiO 2 -4.3 -3.8 Introduction Basic Properties Understanding BHJ Morphology & Performance Improving BHJ Cell Performance Conclusions & Outlook In general, it is found in this study that: Cy7-TRIS dye salt is a promising NIR light harvesting material for OSCs and TSCs. Cy3-PF6 dye salt shows good response to visible light and gives the best performance (in bi-layer structure) among all fabricated cells. The photovoltaic performance and BHJ morphology both strongly depend on the interplay between cyanine dye molecular structure and the counter ions. Dyes with TRISPHAT counter ion demonstrate smaller phase separation domains (ca. 50-150 nm) and higher relative BHJ performance (compared to bi-layer cells), which make them more promising candidate for cyanine dye-based BHJ (CDBHJ) cells. The reason why CDBHJ cells’ performance is generally inferior to their bi-layer counterparts, on one hand, is due to their large phase separation domains (3-10 times larger than common L D ) and on the other hand, could be due to the highly intermixed phases which form isolated domains to trap generated charges. Initial improvement of BHJ cells is achieved with thermal annealing, being more effective in Cy7-TRIS cell. A novel photophysical phenomenon in cyanine dye thin film: a long-lived, red-shifted strong emission peak. Further understanding of the influence of dye structure and counter ions as well as the red-shifted new emission peak are necessary. Efforts are also needed to further improve the performance of CDBHJ cells. 1 Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. 2 Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland. Contact: Chuyao Peng via [email protected], Dr. Jakob Heier via [email protected]. Chuyao Peng 1 , Anna C. Véron 2 , Jakob Heier 2 , Hany Roland 2 , Frank Nüesch 1,2 , Thomas Geiger 2 . Thin Film Solar Cells and Photophysics based on Cationic Cyanine Dyes Solar Cell Performance & BHJ Morphology References & Acknowledgement [1] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 4328; [2] Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2008, 29, 651; [3] ACS Nano 2012, 6, 7185; [4] Adv. Energy Mater. 2013, 3, 472; [5] App. Phys. Lett. 2013, 102, 183903; [6] J. Appl. Phys. 2009, 105, 053711;[7] Rep. Prog. Phys. 2010, 73, 096401; [8] Chem. Soc. Rev. 2012,41,4245; [9] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 9281; [10] Adv. Funct. Mater. 2013, 23, 47; [11] W. Ma, J. R. Tumbleston, M. Wang, E. Gann, F. Huang, H. Ade, Adv. Energy Mater. 2013, n/a; [12] Adv. Funct. Mater. 2009,19,1227; [13] Chem. Rev. 2013, 113, 3734; [14] Adv. Energy Mater. 2013, 3, 356; [15] J. Phys. Chem. A 2007, 111, 1593; [16] J. Phys. Chem. A 2000, 104, 6416. Basic properties of four different dye salts reveal their viability for OSC application and their similarity/difference in solution and solid state. Energy diagram illustrates a device-favorable energy alignment of these dye salts relative to other device components used in this study. Solution absorption spectra show that these cyanine dyes have extraordinarily high molar extinction coefficient (generally 2-6 times higher than common absorbers used in OSCs [8] ). From the thin film absorption spectrum of each dye salts, which will be broadened and more red-shifted along with more intimate intermolecular packing, [9] dyes with larger π-conjugated system and smaller counter ions have more intimate molecular packing (which often result in better charge transport properties [10] ), verified by crystal structure of these dyes salts according to unpublished data in the lab. Cy7 dyes show excellent NIR response and high visible light transmittance in Cy7-TRIS bi-layer device, manifesting their potential for NIR light harvesting and TSCs applications. Molecular Structures Thin Film Absorption Spectra Acknowledgements: Brazilian Swiss Joint Research Programme is acknowledged for the funding. I would like to thank Dr. Gaëtan Wicht, Hui Zhang, Jean-Nicolas Tisserant and Dr. Matthias Nagel for helpful discussions and assistances. A New Photophysical Phenomenon in Cyanine Dyes Films Thermal annealing is an effective technique to improve the performance of polymer and small molecule BHJ solar cells, via enhancing the phase separation and crystallinity of the blend. [13,14] Thermal annealing includes two types: pre- annealing and post-annealing. Pre-annealing is to anneal the film soon after its spin casting, before evaporating any other layers on top. Post- annealing is to anneal the whole device. Post-annealing is shown to be effective in Cy7- TRIS BHJ cells, enhancing the PCE for 25.7% in maximum. However, in Cy3-TRIS BHJ cells, in most trials, thermal annealing does not or exert little positive influence on device performance. This difference may lie at the difference on intermolecular interaction and hence the tendency for crystallization, due to the different size of counter ions, which insert between dye molecules observed from their crystal structures. 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 Normalized Absorbance Wavelength / nm Cy3-TRIS ( max = 570nm) Cy3-PF 6 ( max = 574nm) Cy7-TRIS ( max = 836nm) Cy7-PF 6 ( max = 845nm) Energy Diagram Solution Absorption and Emission Properties a a All the BHJ devices have been optimized to their best blend ratio. All devices are measured under 1 sun AM1.5 condition. In the chart, V oc is open- circuit (J=0) voltage, J sc is short-circuit (V=0) current density. FF is fill factor. PCE is power conversion efficiency. b The dye film of Cy7-PF6 bi-layer cell is coated from TFP, which is harmful for device performance. Films for all the other cells are casted from CB. Device Parameters of Solar Cells based on Four Dye Salts a J-V Curves of BHJ Cells J-V Curves of Bi-layer Cells Surface and Internal BHJ Blend Film Morphology of Four Dye Salts/PC 61 BM These cyanine dye salts demonstrate promising photovoltaic performance. Cy7-TRIS dye is especially favorable for efficient NIR light harvesting and TSC applications. Device performance and BHJ morphology both strongly depend on the interplay between dye structure and counter ions. BHJ device performance also depends on device structure and blend ratio. Dyes with TRISPHAT counter ions are more suitable for BHJ cell, due to its smaller phase separation domain size and higher relative (to bi-layer cells) performance. a 1,1,2,2,-tetrafluoropropanol (TFP) dissolves only dyes away in all blend films, exposing the surface PCBM domains. b n-hexane removes only PCBM away in the Cy3-PF6 blend film, exposing only dye domains, while in Cy3-TRIS and Cy7-TRIS blend film, removes both dyes and PCBM away, exposing inner PCBM domains in the blend films. 0s 10s 30s 70s 70s + 2.5min heating dissolving 70s + 6.5min heating dissolving 70s + 18.5min heating dissolving 24 hours 300 400 500 600 700 800 -0.05 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 (1a) Cy3-TRIS/PCBM Film on ITO Dissolving in TFP for Various Time Film Absorbance Wavelength / nm 300 400 500 600 700 800 -0.05 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 Film Absorbance Wavelength / nm 0s 10s 20s 30s 35s 40s 50s 60s 80s (1b) Cy3-TRIS/PCBM Film on ITO Dissolving in Hexane for Various Time Dye in blend on ITO PCBM in blend on ITO Dye in blend on MoO 3 PCBM in blend on MoO 3 Pure PCBM Pure Dye 300 400 500 600 700 800 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 Absorbance Wavelength / nm Blend Film on TiO2, pristine Blend Film on TiO2, in hexane for 150s 0 20 40 60 80 100 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 (1c) Dissolving Kinetics of Cy3-TRIS/PCBM Film in Hexane (film) Normalized Film Absorbance Dissolving Time in Hexane / s Film on MoO 3 , Dye Peak Film on MoO 3 , PCBM Peak Film on ITO, Dye Peak Film on ITO, PCBM Peak Film on TiO 2 , Dye Peak Film on TiO 2 , PCBM Peak 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 (1d) Dissolving Kinetics of Cy3-TRIS/PCBM Film in Hexane (solvent) Hexane Absorbance Dissolving Time in Hexane/ s Though dyes with TRISPHAT counter ion give more favorable BHJ morphology and performance, in general the efficiency of cyanine dye-based BHJ cells are lower than their bi-layer cells. Cy3- TRIS:PCBM blend film is taken as the model system to study the origin. The charge injection from Cy3-TRIS dye to PCBM is highly efficient (99.7%) from photoluminescence quenching test, but few charges can be extracted out, revealed by its low J sc and FF. Thus, it is suspected that there are highly intermixed phases, forming isolated dye or PCBM domains which prevent charges to flow out. [11] To verify this problem, how the species are being dissolved away from the blend film and how the morphology at different dissolving time looks like are studied. Cy3-TRIS dye film is dissolved away 2.5 times quicker than PCBM film in hexane.(Fig. 1c) However, in the blend film, the dyes and PCBM are dissolved away with similar kinetics and slow down at the same dissolving time, indicating dye is taking PCBM away during dissolving.(Fig. 1c,d) Besides, long time dissolving in TFP or hexane cannot remove all the dyes away from the blend film, indicating that some dyes are being trapped in the PCBM.(Fig. 1a,b,c) These two observations both point toward the presence of intermixed phases. Cy3-TRIS, Conv. Cy3-TRIS, Inverted Cy7-TRIS, Conv. Cy7-TRIS, Inverted Cy3-PF6, Inverted Cy7-PF6, Inverted -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 Current density / mA cm -2 Voltage / V Cy3-TRIS Cy7-TRIS Cy3-PF6 Cy7-PF6 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 -10 -8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 Current density (mA cm -2 ) Voltage / V Device Structures Organic thin film solar cell is an emerging technology that enables a shift from a relatively heavy, rigid and expensive silicon solar cells into low-cost, light-weight, flexible and even transparent counterpart. Cationic cyanine dyes possess several characters such as extraordinarily high light absorption coefficient, ease to realize strong near infrared (NIR) response, high tunability of functional properties via changing counter ions/dye molecular structure, [1,2] making them favorable for organic solar cell (OSC) application and especially for ‘transparent solar cell’(TSC) [3] which could serve as the light harvesting windows or screens in the future. Recent developments on cyanine dye-based solar cell have propelled its highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) to 2.9 %-3.7 %, realized via a bi-layer cell device structure. [4,5] However, even if at the wavelength of their maximum light-to-electricity conversion peak, only < 50 % sunlight can be converted by these bi-layer cells, and even lower at the other wavelength of solar irradiation spectrum. This is mainly due to the limited thickness of the cyanine dye light harvesting layer, restricted by its exciton diffusion length L D (normally < 20 nm [6] ). Thus, bulk heterojunction (BHJ) devices [7] are needed to break the limitation of L D , in which the cyanine dyes and PCBM are blended together in solution, spin-casted onto certain hole/electron conducting substrate, and then phase separate to form far larger charge separation/generation interfaces compared to bi-layer cells, provided that a favorable morphology (domain size<L D , bicontinuous interpenetrating dye/PCBM network for charge transport) is present. [7] Meanwhile, tuning the properties of cyanine dye salts via new dyes and/or new counter ions is also necessary to further improve the performance of cyanine dye-based organic solar cells and TSCs. This study starts with testing the basic photophysical and electrochemical properties of four cationic cyanine dyes salts (i.e. Coulombically bound ‘cyanine dye-counter ion pairs’). Then, bi-layer cells and BHJ cells based on these dye salts, joint with blend film morphology of four dyes salts:PC 61 BM, are studied to examine their intrinsic photovoltaic performance and suitability for BHJ cells. Further, to understand why the performance of cyanine dye-based BHJ (CDBHJ) cell is inferior, a time-controlled dissolving test of the blend film and a dissolving time- dependent internal morphology detection are conducted. After that, initial results on improving the performance of CDBHJ cells are shown. Finally, a novel photophysical phenomenon discovered in cyanine dye films is presented. Cy7-TRIS (4:1), pristine Cy7-TRIS (4:1), annealed -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 Current density / mA cm -2 Voltage / V Cell Voc / V Jsc / mA cm -2 FF / % PCE / % Increased pristine 0.738 2.2 33.7 0.547 annealed 0.741 2.3 36 0.614 12.2% Cy7-TRIS:PCBM (4:1) Cell, Post-annealed at 150°C for 6 min Cy7-TRIS (2:1), pristine Cy7-TRIS (2:1), annealed -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 Cy7-TRIS:PCBM (2:1) Cell, Post-annealed at 150°C for 6 min Current density / mA cm -2 Voltage / V Cell Voc / V Jsc / mA cm -2 FF / % PCE / % Increased pristine 0.727 2.35 33.8 0.576 annealed 0.734 2.68 36.8 0.724 25.7% Cy3-TRIS (1:2), pristine Cy3-TRIS (1:2), annealed -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 Cy3-TRIS:PCBM (1:2) Cell, Pre-annealed at 150°C for 3 min Current density / mA cm -2 Voltage / V Cell Voc / V Jsc / mA cm -2 FF / % PCE / % Increased pristine 0.64 1.1 32.2 0.226 annealed 0.55 1.14 38.4 0.241 6.6% 0 3 6 9 12 2.4 2.6 2.8 34 35 36 37 0.58 0.62 0.67 0.72 J sc / mA cm -2 Post-annealing time / min Jsc FF / % FF Cy7-TRIS:PCBM (2:1) Cell, Post-annealed at 150°C for Various Time PCE / % PCE Cy3-TRIS 598nm peak, avg = 0.085 ns Cy3-TRIS 685nm peak, avg = 1.069 ns Cy3-PF6 683nm peak, avg = 0.668 ns 0.0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Counted Photons Time / ns (3b) Photoluminescence Lifetime of Cy3-TRIS and Cy3-PF6 Dye Film Emission of Cy3-TRIS Film Emission of Cy3-TRIS Solution Absorption of Cy3-TRIS Film 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 Normalized Emission Wavelength (nm) a ~90 nm red-shifted strong emission peak (3a) Photoluminescence and Absorption Spectra of Cy3-TRIS dye The fluorescence peak of Cy3-TRIS film, where the film is supposed to emit. 550 600 650 700 750 800 0 50000 100000 150000 200000 250000 300000 300 400 500 600 700 800 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 Absorbance Wavelength (nm) Emission Intensity Wavelength (nm) Cy3-TRIS Film Cy3-PF 6 - Film Cy3-I - Film Cy3-ClO 4 - Film Cy-bound SO 3 2- Film (3c) Photoluminescence and Absorption(Inset) Spetra of Cyanine Dye with Different Counter Ions Cy3-TRIS Film excited at 480 nm Cy3-TRIS Solution excited at 480 nm Cy3-TRIS Solution excited at 620 nm 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 Emission Intensity Wavelength (nm) (3d) NIR Photoluminescence Spectra of Cy3-TRIS Film and Solution Singlet Oxygen Emission Peak A strong emission peak with exceptionally large Stokes shift (110 nm) is first observed in Cy3-TRIS thin film, but not in dye/CB solution, during the photoluminescence (PL) test (Fig. 3a). PL lifetime test shows that (Fig. 3b), this new emission (685 nm peak, the new excited state) has a 12.5 times longer average lifetime than the fluorescence (598 nm peak, lowest singlet state), and is also present in Cy3-PF6 film. Further test (Fig. 3c) shows that film of Cy3 dyes with I - counter ion also has this red-shifted emission peak, but not observed in dyes with other counter ions. A seemingly singlet oxygen emission peak is observed in Cy3-TRIS CB solution (Fig. 3d) but not in thin film, indicating that this excited state is immediately quenched by dissolved O 2 , thus no such red-shifted emission is observed in solution. This relatively long-lived lower excited state could be a triplet state or a new excited state triggered by external heavy atom effect from counter ions and/or by the photoisomerization of cyanine dyes. [15,16] Morphological Model BHJ morphology of the film at different dissolving time in hexane/TFP on various substrates (corresponding to the absorption spectra and dissolving kinetics on the left) Combining the dissolving kinetics with the evolution of blend film morphology at different dissolving time,(Fig. 2a-d) a general model for the morphology of Cy3-TRIS:PCBM blend film is constructed,(on the right) illustrating these intermixed, isolated phases.(extendable to Cy7-TRIS due to their similar morphological mode) Inverted BHJ cells can take advantage of this vertical concentration gradient (PCBM-rich phase near the coating substrate TiO 2 , which both conduct electrons), explaining why their performance are better than those of conventional BHJ cell. [12] Dye Salts λ max (abs) ε Oscillator Strength λ max (em) / nm / M -1 cm -1 / nm Cy3-TRIS 557 135'000 1.01 574 Cy3-PF6 558 164'000 1.16 571 Cy7-TRIS 796 360’000 1.41 809 Cy7-PF6 795 305'000 1.32 811 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 0 20 40 60 80 100 Cy7-TRIS bi-layer cell (excluding metal electrode) Transmittance (%) Wavelength (nm) Transmittance Spectra of Cy7-TRIS Cell a all solution photophysical properties are obtained with four dye salts dissolved in chlorobenzene (CB). Dyes Device Structure Optimum Blend Ratio (dye:PCBM in moles) V oc / V J sc / mA cm -2 FF / % PCE / % Cy3-TRIS Conv. Bi-layer 0.79 2.05 41.5 0.67 Conv. BHJ 1:3 0.77 0.93 28.9 0.21 Inverted BHJ 1:2 0.73 1.08 27.6 0.22 Cy7-TRIS Conv. Bi-layer 0.58 6.73 62.3 2.41 Conv. BHJ 1:2 0.63 3.51 43.2 0.96 Inverted BHJ 1:2 0.71 4.06 37.9 1.09 Cy3-PF6 Conv. Bi-layer 0.95 5.71 59.7 3.25 Inverted BHJ 2:1 0.82 2.44 34.5 0.69 Cy7-PF6 Conv. Bi-layer b 0.38 5.35 46.1 0.92 Inverted BHJ 1:5 0.27 1.43 38.5 0.15

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Page 1: Dissolving Kinetics of Cy3-TRIS/PCBM Film in ITO Hexane ...QUICK TIPS (--THIS SECTION DOES NOT PRINT--) This PowerPoint template requires basic PowerPoint (version 2007 or newer) skills

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-6.5

-6.0

-5.5

-5.0

-4.5

-4.0

-3.5

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-6.2

-4.5

-4.3

-5.9

-5.4

-4.2-4.3

Ag/Al

-5.3

Energ

y L

evel / eV

Cy3-TRIS, Cy3-PF6

Cy7-TRIS, Cy7-PF6

PCBM

C60

-4.7

ITO

MoO3

TiO2

-4.3

-3.8

Introduction

Basic Properties

Understanding BHJ Morphology & Performance

Improving BHJ Cell Performance

Conclusions & Outlook In general, it is found in this study that:

• Cy7-TRIS dye salt is a promising NIR light harvesting material for OSCs and TSCs. Cy3-PF6 dye salt shows good

response to visible light and gives the best performance (in bi-layer structure) among all fabricated cells.

• The photovoltaic performance and BHJ morphology both strongly depend on the interplay between cyanine dye

molecular structure and the counter ions. Dyes with TRISPHAT counter ion demonstrate smaller phase

separation domains (ca. 50-150 nm) and higher relative BHJ performance (compared to bi-layer cells), which

make them more promising candidate for cyanine dye-based BHJ (CDBHJ) cells.

• The reason why CDBHJ cells’ performance is generally inferior to their bi-layer counterparts, on one hand, is

due to their large phase separation domains (3-10 times larger than common LD) and on the other hand, could

be due to the highly intermixed phases which form isolated domains to trap generated charges.

• Initial improvement of BHJ cells is achieved with thermal annealing, being more effective in Cy7-TRIS cell.

• A novel photophysical phenomenon in cyanine dye thin film: a long-lived, red-shifted strong emission peak.

Further understanding of the influence of dye structure and counter ions as well as the red-shifted new

emission peak are necessary. Efforts are also needed to further improve the performance of CDBHJ cells.

1Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. 2Laboratory for Functional Polymers, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.

Contact: Chuyao Peng via [email protected], Dr. Jakob Heier via [email protected].

Chuyao Peng1, Anna C. Véron2, Jakob Heier2, Hany Roland2, Frank Nüesch1,2, Thomas Geiger2.

Thin Film Solar Cells and Photophysics based on Cationic Cyanine Dyes

Solar Cell Performance & BHJ Morphology

References & Acknowledgement [1] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 4328; [2] Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2008, 29, 651; [3] ACS Nano 2012, 6, 7185; [4] Adv. Energy Mater.

2013, 3, 472; [5] App. Phys. Lett. 2013, 102, 183903; [6] J. Appl. Phys. 2009, 105, 053711;[7] Rep. Prog. Phys. 2010, 73, 096401; [8] Chem.

Soc. Rev. 2012,41,4245; [9] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 9281; [10] Adv. Funct. Mater. 2013, 23, 47; [11] W. Ma, J. R. Tumbleston, M. Wang,

E. Gann, F. Huang, H. Ade, Adv. Energy Mater. 2013, n/a; [12] Adv. Funct. Mater. 2009,19,1227; [13] Chem. Rev. 2013, 113, 3734; [14] Adv.

Energy Mater. 2013, 3, 356; [15] J. Phys. Chem. A 2007, 111, 1593; [16] J. Phys. Chem. A 2000, 104, 6416.

Basic properties of four different dye salts reveal their viability for OSC application and their similarity/difference in

solution and solid state. Energy diagram illustrates a device-favorable energy alignment of these dye salts relative to

other device components used in this study. Solution absorption spectra show that these cyanine dyes have

extraordinarily high molar extinction coefficient (generally 2-6 times higher than common absorbers used in OSCs[8]).

From the thin film absorption spectrum of each dye salts, which will be broadened and more red-shifted along with

more intimate intermolecular packing,[9] dyes with larger π-conjugated system and smaller counter ions have more

intimate molecular packing (which often result in better charge transport properties[10]), verified by crystal structure of

these dyes salts according to unpublished data in the lab. Cy7 dyes show excellent NIR response and high visible light

transmittance in Cy7-TRIS bi-layer device, manifesting their potential for NIR light harvesting and TSCs applications.

Molecular Structures

Thin Film Absorption Spectra

Acknowledgements: Brazilian Swiss Joint Research Programme is acknowledged for the funding. I would like to thank Dr.

Gaëtan Wicht, Hui Zhang, Jean-Nicolas Tisserant and Dr. Matthias Nagel for helpful discussions and assistances.

A New Photophysical Phenomenon in Cyanine Dyes Films

Thermal annealing is an effective technique to

improve the performance of polymer and small

molecule BHJ solar cells, via enhancing the phase

separation and crystallinity of the blend.[13,14]

Thermal annealing includes two types: pre-

annealing and post-annealing. Pre-annealing is to

anneal the film soon after its spin casting, before

evaporating any other layers on top. Post-

annealing is to anneal the whole device.

Post-annealing is shown to be effective in Cy7-

TRIS BHJ cells, enhancing the PCE for 25.7% in

maximum. However, in Cy3-TRIS BHJ cells, in

most trials, thermal annealing does not or exert

little positive influence on device performance.

This difference may lie at the difference on

intermolecular interaction and hence the

tendency for crystallization, due to the different

size of counter ions, which insert between dye

molecules observed from their crystal structures.

300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

No

rma

lize

d A

bso

rba

nce

Wavelength / nm

Cy3-TRIS (max

= 570nm)

Cy3-PF6 (

max = 574nm)

Cy7-TRIS (max

= 836nm)

Cy7-PF6 (

max = 845nm)

Dye Salts λmax(abs) ε f c λmax(em)

/ nm / M-1cm-1 / nm

Cy3-TRIS 557 135'000 1.01 574

Cy3-PF6 558 164'000 1.16 571

Cy7-TRIS 796 360’000 1.41 809

Cy7-PF6 795 305'000 1.32 811

Inverted BHJ Cells

TiOx

ITO/Glass

Active layer(Cyanine/PCBM

Blend Film)

MoO3

Ag 80 nm

30 nm

30 nmh+

e- 50 nm

Dye Salts λmax(abs) ε f c λmax(em)

/ nm / M-1cm-1 / nm

Cy3-TRIS 557 135'000 1.01 574

Cy3-PF6 558 164'000 1.16 571

Cy7-TRIS 796 360’000 1.41 809

Cy7-PF6 795 305'000 1.32 811

Energy Diagram

Solution Absorption and Emission

Properties a

a All the BHJ devices have been optimized to their best blend ratio. All

devices are measured under 1 sun AM1.5 condition. In the chart, Voc is open-

circuit (J=0) voltage, Jsc is short-circuit (V=0) current density. FF is fill

factor. PCE is power conversion efficiency. b The dye film of Cy7-PF6 bi-layer cell is coated from TFP, which is harmful

for device performance. Films for all the other cells are casted from CB.

Device Parameters of Solar Cells based on Four Dye Salts a

J-V Curves of BHJ Cells J-V Curves of Bi-layer Cells

Surface and Internal BHJ Blend Film Morphology of Four Dye Salts/PC61BM • These cyanine dye salts

demonstrate promising

photovoltaic performance.

Cy7-TRIS dye is especially

favorable for efficient NIR

light harvesting and TSC

applications.

• Device performance and

BHJ morphology both

strongly depend on the

interplay between dye

structure and counter ions.

• BHJ device performance

also depends on device

structure and blend ratio.

• Dyes with TRISPHAT

counter ions are more

suitable for BHJ cell, due

to its smaller phase

separation domain size and

higher relative (to bi-layer

cells) performance.

Dyes Device

Structure

Voc / V

Jsc / mA cm-2

FF / %

PCE

/ %

Rs b

/ Ω cm2

Rsh b

/ Ω cm2

Cy3-TRIS

Conv. Bi-layer 0.79 2.05 41.5 0.67 239.4 1170.

9

Conv. BHJ 0.77 0.93 28.9 0.21 300.3 1012.

8

Inverted BHJ 0.73 1.08 27.6 0.22 555.6 766.3

Cy3-PF6 Conv. Bi-layer 0.95 5.71 59.7 3.25 37.1

1429.

4

Inverted BHJ 0.82 2.44 34.5 0.69 143.5 514.4

Cy7-TRIS

Conv. Bi-layer 0.58 6.73 62.3 2.41 15.6 1128.

0

Conv. BHJ 0.63 3.51 43.2 0.96 33.8 433.1

Inverted BHJ 0.71 4.06 37.9 1.09 42.4 413.1

Cy7-PF6 Conv. Bi-layer 0.38 5.35 46.1 0.92 24.2 535.8

Inverted BHJ 0.27 1.43 38.5 0.15 84.2 330.8

a 1,1,2,2,-tetrafluoropropanol (TFP) dissolves only dyes away in all blend films, exposing the surface PCBM domains. b n-hexane removes only PCBM away in the Cy3-PF6 blend film, exposing only dye domains, while in Cy3-TRIS and

Cy7-TRIS blend film, removes both dyes and PCBM away, exposing inner PCBM domains in the blend films.

0s

10s

30s

70s

70s + 2.5min heating dissolving

70s + 6.5min heating dissolving

70s + 18.5min heating dissolving

24 hours

300 400 500 600 700 800-0.05

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

0.35

0.40

(1a) Cy3-TRIS/PCBM Film on ITO Dissolving in TFP for Various Time

Film

Absorb

ance

Wavelength / nm

300 400 500 600 700 800-0.05

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

Film

Absorb

ance

Wavelength / nm

0s

10s

20s

30s

35s

40s

50s

60s

80s

(1b) Cy3-TRIS/PCBM Film on ITO Dissolving in Hexane for Various Time

Dye in blend on ITO

PCBM in blend on ITO

Dye in blend on MoO3

PCBM in blend on MoO3

Pure PCBM

Pure Dye

300 400 500 600 700 8000.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

Absorb

ance

Wavelength / nm

Blend Film on TiO2, pristine

Blend Film on TiO2, in hexane for 150s

0 20 40 60 80 1000.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

(1c) Dissolving Kinetics of Cy3-TRIS/PCBM Film in Hexane (film)

No

rma

lize

d F

ilm A

bso

rba

nce

Dissolving Time in Hexane / s

Film on MoO3, Dye Peak

Film on MoO3, PCBM Peak

Film on ITO, Dye Peak

Film on ITO, PCBM Peak

Film on TiO2, Dye Peak

Film on TiO2, PCBM Peak

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

0.00

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10

(1d) Dissolving Kinetics of Cy3-TRIS/PCBM Film in Hexane (solvent)

Hexane A

bsorb

ance

Dissolving Time in Hexane/ s

Though dyes with TRISPHAT counter ion give more favorable BHJ morphology and performance, in general the efficiency of cyanine dye-based BHJ cells are lower than their bi-layer cells. Cy3-TRIS:PCBM blend film is taken as the model system to study the origin. The charge injection from Cy3-TRIS dye to PCBM is highly efficient (99.7%) from photoluminescence quenching test, but few charges can be extracted out, revealed by its low Jsc and FF. Thus, it is suspected that there are highly intermixed phases, forming isolated dye or PCBM domains which prevent charges to flow out.[11] To verify this problem, how the species are being dissolved away from the blend film and how the morphology at different dissolving time looks like are studied.

Cy3-TRIS dye film is dissolved away 2.5 times quicker than PCBM film in hexane.(Fig. 1c) However, in the blend film, the dyes and PCBM are dissolved away with similar kinetics and slow down at the same dissolving time, indicating dye is taking PCBM away during dissolving.(Fig. 1c,d) Besides, long time dissolving in TFP or hexane cannot remove all the dyes away from the blend film, indicating that some dyes are being trapped in the PCBM.(Fig. 1a,b,c) These two observations both point toward the presence of intermixed phases.

Cy3-TRIS, Conv.

Cy3-TRIS, Inverted

Cy7-TRIS, Conv.

Cy7-TRIS, Inverted

Cy3-PF6, Inverted

Cy7-PF6, Inverted

-0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

Curr

en

t d

en

sity /

mA

cm

-2

Voltage / V

Cy3-TRIS

Cy7-TRIS

Cy3-PF6

Cy7-PF6

-0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0-10

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

Curr

ent density (

mA

cm

-2)

Voltage / V

Device Structures

Organic thin film solar cell is an emerging technology that enables a shift from a relatively heavy, rigid and

expensive silicon solar cells into low-cost, light-weight, flexible and even transparent counterpart. Cationic

cyanine dyes possess several characters such as extraordinarily high light absorption coefficient, ease to realize

strong near infrared (NIR) response, high tunability of functional properties via changing counter ions/dye

molecular structure,[1,2] making them favorable for organic solar cell (OSC) application and especially for

‘transparent solar cell’(TSC)[3] which could serve as the light harvesting windows or screens in the future.

Recent developments on cyanine dye-based solar cell have propelled its highest power conversion efficiency (PCE)

to 2.9 %-3.7 %, realized via a bi-layer cell device structure.[4,5] However, even if at the wavelength of their

maximum light-to-electricity conversion peak, only < 50 % sunlight can be converted by these bi-layer cells, and

even lower at the other wavelength of solar irradiation spectrum. This is mainly due to the limited thickness of

the cyanine dye light harvesting layer, restricted by its exciton diffusion length LD (normally < 20 nm[6]). Thus, bulk

heterojunction (BHJ) devices[7] are needed to break the limitation of LD, in which the cyanine dyes and PCBM are

blended together in solution, spin-casted onto certain hole/electron conducting substrate, and then phase

separate to form far larger charge separation/generation interfaces compared to bi-layer cells, provided that a

favorable morphology (domain size<LD, bicontinuous interpenetrating dye/PCBM network for charge transport) is

present.[7] Meanwhile, tuning the properties of cyanine dye salts via new dyes and/or new counter ions is also

necessary to further improve the performance of cyanine dye-based organic solar cells and TSCs.

This study starts with testing the basic photophysical and electrochemical properties of four cationic cyanine dyes

salts (i.e. Coulombically bound ‘cyanine dye-counter ion pairs’). Then, bi-layer cells and BHJ cells based on these

dye salts, joint with blend film morphology of four dyes salts:PC61BM, are studied to examine their intrinsic

photovoltaic performance and suitability for BHJ cells. Further, to understand why the performance of cyanine

dye-based BHJ (CDBHJ) cell is inferior, a time-controlled dissolving test of the blend film and a dissolving time-

dependent internal morphology detection are conducted. After that, initial results on improving the performance

of CDBHJ cells are shown. Finally, a novel photophysical phenomenon discovered in cyanine dye films is presented.

Cy7-TRIS (4:1), pristine

Cy7-TRIS (4:1), annealed

-0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

Curr

ent density / m

A c

m-2

Voltage / V

Cell Voc / V Jsc / mA cm-2 FF / % PCE / % Increased

pristine 0.738 2.2 33.7 0.547

annealed 0.741 2.3 36 0.61412.2%

Cy7-TRIS:PCBM (4:1) Cell, Post-annealed at 150°C for 6 min

Cy7-TRIS (2:1), pristine

Cy7-TRIS (2:1), annealed

-0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

Cy7-TRIS:PCBM (2:1) Cell, Post-annealed at 150°C for 6 min

Curr

ent density / m

A c

m-2

Voltage / V

Cell Voc / V Jsc / mA cm-2 FF / % PCE / % Increased

pristine 0.727 2.35 33.8 0.576

annealed 0.734 2.68 36.8 0.72425.7%

Cy3-TRIS (1:2), pristine

Cy3-TRIS (1:2), annealed

-0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

Cy3-TRIS:PCBM (1:2) Cell, Pre-annealed at 150°C for 3 min

Curr

ent density / m

A c

m-2

Voltage / V

Cell Voc / V Jsc / mA cm-2 FF / % PCE / % Increased

pristine 0.64 1.1 32.2 0.226

annealed 0.55 1.14 38.4 0.2416.6%

0 3 6 9 12

2.4

2.6

2.8

34

35

36

37

0.58

0.62

0.67

0.72

Jsc /

mA

cm

-2

Post-annealing time / min

Jsc

FF

/ %

FF

Cy7-TRIS:PCBM (2:1) Cell, Post-annealed at 150°C for Various Time

PC

E / %

PCE

Cy3-TRIS 598nm peak, avg

= 0.085 ns

Cy3-TRIS 685nm peak, avg

= 1.069 ns

Cy3-PF6 683nm peak, avg

= 0.668 ns

0.0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Counte

d P

hoto

ns

Time / ns

(3b) Photoluminescence Lifetime of Cy3-TRIS and Cy3-PF6 Dye Film

Emission of Cy3-TRIS Film

Emission of Cy3-TRIS Solution

Absorption of Cy3-TRIS Film

450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

No

rma

lize

d E

mis

sio

n

Wavelength (nm)

a ~90 nm red-shifted strong emission peak

(3a) Photoluminescence and Absorption Spectra of Cy3-TRIS dye

The fluorescence peak of Cy3-TRIS film, where the film is supposed to emit.

550 600 650 700 750 800

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

300 400 500 600 700 800

-0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Ab

sorb

ance

Wavelength (nm)

Em

issio

n I

nte

nsity

Wavelength (nm)

Cy3-TRIS Film

Cy3-PF6

- Film

Cy3-I- Film

Cy3-ClO4

- Film

Cy-bound SO3

2- Film

(3c) Photoluminescence and Absorption(Inset) Spetra of Cyanine Dye

with Different Counter Ions Cy3-TRIS Film excited at 480 nm

Cy3-TRIS Solution excited at 480 nm

Cy3-TRIS Solution excited at 620 nm

1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500

0.00

0.01

0.02

0.03

0.04

0.05

0.06

0.07

0.08

Em

issio

n I

nte

nsity

Wavelength (nm)

(3d) NIR Photoluminescence Spectra of Cy3-TRIS Film and Solution

Singlet Oxygen

Emission Peak

A strong emission peak with exceptionally large Stokes shift (110 nm) is first observed in Cy3-TRIS thin film, but not in dye/CB solution, during the photoluminescence (PL) test (Fig. 3a). PL lifetime test shows that (Fig. 3b), this new emission (685 nm peak, the new excited state) has a 12.5 times longer average lifetime than the fluorescence (598 nm peak, lowest singlet state), and is also present in Cy3-PF6 film. Further test (Fig. 3c) shows that film of Cy3 dyes with I- counter ion also has this red-shifted emission peak, but not observed in dyes with other counter ions. A seemingly singlet oxygen emission peak is observed in Cy3-TRIS CB solution (Fig. 3d) but not in thin film, indicating that this excited state is immediately quenched by dissolved O2, thus no such red-shifted emission is observed in solution. This relatively long-lived lower excited state could be a triplet state or a new excited state triggered by external heavy atom effect from counter ions and/or by the photoisomerization of cyanine dyes.[15,16]

Morphological Model

BHJ morphology of the film at different dissolving time in hexane/TFP on various substrates (corresponding to the absorption spectra and dissolving kinetics on the left)

Combining the dissolving kinetics with the evolution of blend film morphology at different dissolving time,(Fig. 2a-d) a general model for the morphology of Cy3-TRIS:PCBM blend film is constructed,(on the right) illustrating these intermixed, isolated phases.(extendable to Cy7-TRIS due to their similar morphological mode) Inverted BHJ cells can take advantage of this vertical concentration gradient (PCBM-rich phase near the coating substrate TiO2, which both conduct electrons), explaining why their performance are better than those of conventional BHJ cell.[12]

Dye Salts λmax (abs) ε Oscillator

Strength

λmax (em)

/ nm / M-1

cm-1 / nm

Cy3-TRIS 557 135'000 1.01 574

Cy3-PF6 558 164'000 1.16 571

Cy7-TRIS 796 360’000 1.41 809

Cy7-PF6 795 305'000 1.32 811

300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 11000

20

40

60

80

100 Cy7-TRIS bi-layer cell

(excluding metal electrode)

Tra

nsm

itta

nce (

%)

Wavelength (nm)

Transmittance Spectra of Cy7-TRIS Cell

a all solution photophysical properties

are obtained with four dye salts

dissolved in chlorobenzene (CB).

Dyes Device

Structure

Optimum

Blend Ratio

(dye:PCBM

in moles)

Voc / V

Jsc / mA cm-2

FF / %

PCE

/ %

Cy3-TRIS

Conv. Bi-layer 0.79 2.05 41.5 0.67

Conv. BHJ 1:3 0.77 0.93 28.9 0.21

Inverted BHJ 1:2 0.73 1.08 27.6 0.22

Cy7-TRIS

Conv. Bi-layer 0.58 6.73 62.3 2.41

Conv. BHJ 1:2 0.63 3.51 43.2 0.96

Inverted BHJ 1:2 0.71 4.06 37.9 1.09

Cy3-PF6 Conv. Bi-layer 0.95 5.71 59.7 3.25

Inverted BHJ 2:1 0.82 2.44 34.5 0.69

Cy7-PF6 Conv. Bi-layer

b 0.38 5.35 46.1 0.92

Inverted BHJ 1:5 0.27 1.43 38.5 0.15