The fabrication of pressure sensors based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as the sensing material is challenging due to the intrinsic hydrophobic behavior of graphene oxide inks as well as the ...agglomeration of graphene oxide flakes after reduction. Hydrazine (a reducing agent) and a dual-component additive comprising benzisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone in appropriate proportion were used to synthesize a rGO ink with a hydrophilic nature. Utilizing this hydrophilic rGO ink mixed with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), a very simple, low-cost approach is demonstrated for the fabrication of a pressure sensor based on polyurethane (PU) foam coated with the MWNT–rGO ink (MWNT–rGO@PU foam). The MWNT–rGO@PU foam-based devices are shown to be versatile pressure sensors with the potential to detect both small-scale and large-scale movements. At low pressure (below 2.7 kPa, 50% strain), the formation of microcracks that scatter electrical charges results in a detectable increase in resistance suitable for detecting small-scale motion. At a higher pressure, the compressive contact of the coated faces of the PU foam results in a sharp decrease in resistance suitable for monitoring of large-scale motion. Moreover, these sensors exhibit good flexibility and reproducibility over 5000 cycles. The versatility of this sensor has been demonstrated in a wide range of applications, such as speech recognition, health monitoring, and body motion detection. The significant advantages of this sensor are that its cost is low, it is easy to fabricate, and it has a versatility that renders it favorable to health-monitoring applications.
The molecular orientation and microstructure of films of the high-mobility semiconducting polymer poly(N,N-bis-2-octyldodecylnaphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis-dicarboximide-2,6-diyl-alt-5,5-2,2-bithiophene) ...(P(NDI2OD-T2)) are probed using a combination of grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. In particular a novel approach is used whereby the bulk molecular orientation and surface molecular orientation are simultaneously measured on the same sample using NEXAFS spectroscopy in an angle-resolved transmission experiment. Furthermore, the acquisition of bulk-sensitive NEXAFS data enables a direct comparison of the information provided by GIWAXS and NEXAFS. By comparison of the bulk-sensitive and surface-sensitive NEXAFS data, a distinctly different molecular orientation is observed at the surface of the film compared to the bulk. While a more “face-on” orientation of the conjugated backbone is observed in the bulk of the film, consistent with the lamella orientation observed by GIWAXS, a more “edge-on” orientation is observed at the surface of the film with surface-sensitive NEXAFS spectroscopy. This distinct edge-on surface orientation explains the high in-plane mobility that is achieved in top-gate P(NDI2OD-T2) field-effect transistors (FETs), while the bulk face-on texture explains the high out-of-plane mobilities that are observed in time-of-flight and diode measurements. These results also stress that GIWAXS lacks the surface sensitivity required to probe the microstructure of the accumulation layer that supports charge transport in organic FETs and hence may not necessarily be appropriate for correlating film microstructure and FET charge transport.
Conjugated-Polymer Blends for Optoelectronics McNeill, Christopher R.; Greenham, Neil C.
Advanced materials (Weinheim),
October 19, 2009, Letnik:
21, Številka:
38-39
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Solution‐processed polymer optoelectronic devices such as light‐emitting diodes and solar cells have many advantages for large‐area manufacture, and show increasing levels of performance. Here, we ...review recent progress in using blends of two conjugated polymers for optoelectronic devices. The blending of two or more polymers allows tuning of device performance, and for photovoltaics presents an attractive way to combine donor and acceptor materials with a morphology controlled by polymer phase separation. We discuss recent advances in imaging the microstructure of conjugated polymer blends, and we demonstrate how the blend structure leads to performance advantages in both LEDs and photovoltaic devices.
Conjugated‐polymer blends can be solution processed to form the active layer in efficient organic light‐emitting diodes and solar cells. In this progress report, we discuss recent advances in imaging blend microstructure, and we demonstrate how the blend structure leads to performance advantages in both LEDs and photovoltaic devices.
Azulene is a promising candidate for constructing optoelectronic materials. An effective strategy is presented to obtain high‐performance conjugated polymers by incorporating 2,6‐connected azulene ...units into the polymeric backbone, and two conjugated copolymers P(TBAzDI‐TPD) and P(TBAzDI‐TFB) were designed and synthesized based on this strategy. They are the first two examples for 2,6‐connected azulene‐based conjugated polymers and exhibit unipolar n‐type transistor performance with an electron mobility of up to 0.42 cm2 V−1 s−1, which is among the highest values for n‐type polymeric semiconductors in bottom‐gate top‐contact organic field‐effect transistors. Preliminary all‐polymer solar cell devices with P(TBAzDI‐TPD) as the electron acceptor and PTB7‐Th as the electron donor display a power conversion efficiency of 1.82 %.
An effective strategy for achieving high‐performance polymers in optoelectronic materials by incorporation of 2,6‐connected azulene units into the polymeric backbone is presented. Two examples of 2,6‐connected azulene‐based conjugated polymers were designed and synthesized, with an electron mobility of >0.4 cm2 V−1 s−1 for BGTC OFETs and a power conversion efficiency of >1.8 % for all‐polymer solar cells.
Quasi‐2D layered organometal halide perovskites have recently emerged as promising candidates for solar cells, because of their intrinsic stability compared to 3D analogs. However, relatively low ...power conversion efficiency (PCE) limits the application of 2D layered perovskites in photovoltaics, due to large energy band gap, high exciton binding energy, and poor interlayer charge transport. Here, efficient and water‐stable quasi‐2D perovskite solar cells with a peak PCE of 18.20% by using 3‐bromobenzylammonium iodide are demonstrated. The unencapsulated devices sustain over 82% of their initial efficiency after 2400 h under relative humidity of ≈40%, and show almost unchanged photovoltaic parameters after immersion into water for 60 s. The robust performance of perovskite solar cells results from the quasi‐2D perovskite films with hydrophobic nature and a high degree of electronic order and high crystallinity, which consists of both ordered large‐bandgap perovskites with the vertical growth in the bottom region and oriented small‐bandgap components in the top region. Moreover, due to the suppressed nonradiative recombination, the unencapsulated photovoltaic devices can work well as light‐emitting diodes (LEDs), exhibiting an external quantum efficiency of 3.85% and a long operational lifetime of ≈96 h at a high current density of 200 mA cm−2 in air.
High‐crystallinity quasi‐2D perovskite films with oriented structure are fabricated by using 3‐bromobenzylammonium iodide, leading to perovskite solar cells with a high efficiency of 18.20%. Moreover, the unencapsulated devices exhibit excellent moisture resistance, retaining 82% of the initial efficiency after 2400 h under ambient conditions. Even after immersion into water for 60 s, the unsealed device shows little decay.
Development of high‐performance organic thermoelectric (TE) materials is of vital importance for flexible power generation and solid‐cooling applications. Demonstrated here is the significant ...enhancement in TE performance of selenium‐substituted diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives. Along with strong intermolecular interactions and high Hall mobilities of 1.0–2.3 cm2 V−1 s−1 in doping‐states for polymers, PDPPSe‐12 exhibits a maximum power factor and ZT of up to 364 μW m−1 K−2 and 0.25, respectively. The performance is more than twice that of the sulfur‐based DPP derivative and represents the highest value for p‐type organic thermoelectric materials based on high‐mobility polymers. These results reveal that selenium substitution can serve as a powerful strategy towards rationally designed thermoelectric polymers with state‐of‐the‐art performances.
Packed in: A high‐performance p‐type organic thermoelectric material based on a selenium‐substituted diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) polymer was developed. With strong intermolecular interactions and ordered molecular packing, PDPPSe‐12 exhibits high Hall mobilities of 1.0–2.3 cm2 V−1 s−1 in doped states, yielding a maximum PF and ZT value of 364 μW m−1 K−2 and 0.25, respectively.
High-mobility semiconducting polymers offer the opportunity to develop flexible and large-area electronics for several applications, including wearable, portable and distributed sensors, monitoring ...and actuating devices. An enabler of this technology is a scalable printing process achieving uniform electrical performances over large area. As opposed to the deposition of highly crystalline films, orientational alignment of polymer chains, albeit commonly achieved by non-scalable/slow bulk alignment schemes, is a more robust approach towards large-area electronics. By combining pre-aggregating solvents for formulating the semiconductor and by adopting a room temperature wired bar-coating technique, here we demonstrate the fast deposition of submonolayers and nanostructured films of a model electron-transporting polymer. Our approach enables directional self-assembling of polymer chains exhibiting large transport anisotropy and a mobility up to 6.4 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), allowing very simple device architectures to operate at 3.3 MHz. Thus, the proposed deposition strategy is exceptionally promising for mass manufacturing of high-performance polymer circuits.
A new synthetic route, to prepare an alkylated indacenodithieno3,2‐bthiophene‐based nonfullerene acceptor (C8‐ITIC), is reported. Compared to the reported ITIC with phenylalkyl side chains, the new ...acceptor C8‐ITIC exhibits a reduction in the optical band gap, higher absorptivity, and an increased propensity to crystallize. Accordingly, blends with the donor polymer PBDB‐T exhibit a power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 12.4%. Further improvements in efficiency are found upon backbone fluorination of the donor polymer to afford the novel material PFBDB‐T. The resulting blend with C8‐ITIC shows an impressive PCE up to 13.2% as a result of the higher open‐circuit voltage. Electroluminescence studies demonstrate that backbone fluorination reduces the energy loss of the blends, with PFBDB‐T/C8‐ITIC‐based cells exhibiting a small energy loss of 0.6 eV combined with a high JSC of 19.6 mA cm−2.
The synthesis of a novel alkylated indacenodithioeno3,2‐bthiophene (C8‐IDTT) based nonfullerene acceptor (C8‐ITIC), is reported. Compared to ITIC with phenylalkyl side chains, the acceptor exhibits a redshifted absorption with increased absorptivity. Solar cell power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of up to 13.2 % are achieved, with the high PCE attributed to the broad absorption, high crystallinity of C8‐ITIC and low voltage loss.
Compared to organic solar cells based on narrow‐bandgap nonfullerene small‐molecule acceptors, the performance of all‐polymer solar cells (all‐PSCs) lags much behind due to the lack of ...high‐performance n‐type polymers, which should have low‐aligned frontier molecular orbital levels and narrow bandgap with broad and intense absorption extended to the near‐infrared region. Herein, two novel polymer acceptors, DCNBT‐TPC and DCNBT‐TPIC, are synthesized with ultranarrow bandgaps (ultra‐NBG) of 1.38 and 1.28 eV, respectively. When applied in transistors, both polymers show efficient charge transport with a highest electron mobility of 1.72 cm2 V−1 s−1 obtained for DCNBT‐TPC. Blended with a polymer donor, PBDTTT‐E‐T, the resultant all‐PSCs based on DCNBT‐TPC and DCNBT‐TPIC achieve remarkable power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 9.26% and 10.22% with short‐circuit currents up to 19.44 and 22.52 mA cm−2, respectively. This is the first example that a PCE of over 10% can be achieved using ultra‐NBG polymer acceptors with a photoresponse reaching 950 nm in all‐PSCs. These results demonstrate that ultra‐NBG polymer acceptors, in line with nonfullerene small‐molecule acceptors, are also available as a highly promising class of electron acceptors for maximizing device performance in all‐PSCs.
n‐Type polymer semiconductors with a broad absorption and ultranarrow bandgap down to 1.28 eV are synthesized. When applied as electron acceptor materials, a power conversion efficiency of over 10% with a photoresponse reaching 950 nm is realized for all‐polymer solar cells.
We report two strategies toward the synthesis of 3-alkyl-4-fluorothiophenes containing straight (hexyl and octyl) and branched (2-ethylhexyl) alkyl groups. We demonstrate that treatment of the ...dibrominated monomer with 1 equiv of alkyl Grignard reagent leads to the formation of a single regioisomer as a result of the pronounced directing effect of the fluorine group. Polymerization of the resulting species affords highly regioregular poly(3-alkyl-4-fluoro)thiophenes. Comparison of their properties to those of the analogous non-fluorinated polymers shows that backbone fluorination leads to an increase in the polymer ionization potential without a significant change in optical band gap. Fluorination also results in an enhanced tendency to aggregate in solution, which is ascribed to a more co-planar backbone on the basis of Raman and DFT calculations. Average charge carrier mobilities in field-effect transistors are found to increase by up to a factor of 5 for the fluorinated polymers.
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