Understanding the morphology of solution processed fullerene-free small molecule bulk heterojunction blends.

Bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) molecular blends prepared from small molecules based on diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) and perylene-diimide (PDI) chromophores have been studied using optical absorption, cyclic voltammetry, photoluminescence quenching, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and current-voltage measurements. The results provided useful insights into the use of DPP and PDI based molecules as donor-acceptor composites for organic photovoltaic (OPV) applications. Beside optoelectronic compatibility, the choice of active layer processing conditions is of key importance to improve the performance of BHJ solar cells.