Slot-Die-Coated Ternary Organic Photovoltaics for Indoor Light Recycling.

Efficient organic photovoltaics (OPVs) based on slot-die-coated (SD) ternary blends were developed for low-intensity indoor light harvesting. For active layers processed in air and from eco-friendly solvents, our device performances (under 1 sun and low light intensity) are the highest reported values for fluoro-dithiophenyl-benzothiadiazole donor polymer-based OPVs. The N-annulated perylene diimide dimer acceptor was incorporated into a blend of donor polymer (FBT) and fullerene acceptor (PCBM) to give ternary bulk heterojunction blends.

Indeno[1,2-b]thiophene End-capped Perylene Diimide: Should the 1,6-Regioisomers be systematically considered as a byproduct?

Usually considered as a byproduct, the 1,6-dibrominated PDI has rarely been functionalized for the preparation of electro-active conjugated molecules, particularly in the field of organic photovoltaics. In light of the literature, one can ask oneself: Does a 1,7-isomer based functional molecule systematically perform better than its 1,6-analogue? To answer this question, we report herein the synthesis and direct comparison of two indeno[1,2-b]thiophene (IDT) end-capped perylene diimide regioisomers (PDI) (1,6 and 1,7) used as non-fullerene acceptors in organic solar cells. It turned out that in our case, ie, when blended with the well-known PTB7-Th donor polymer, higher performance was reached for devices made with the 1,6-analogue.

Perylene Diimide Based Organic Photovoltaics with Slot-Die Coated Active Layers from Halogen-Free Solvents in Air at Room Temperature.

Herein, we investigate the role of processing solvent additives on the formation of polymer-perylene diimide bulk-heterojunction active layers for organic photovoltaics using both spin-coating and slot-die coating methods. We compare the effect of 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) and diphenyl ether (DPE) as solvent additives on the aggregation behavior of the non-fullerene acceptor, N-annulated perylene diimide dimer (tPDIN-EH), in neat films and blended films with the benzodithiophene-quinoxaline (BDT-QX, QX-3) donor polymer, processed from toluene in air. DIO processing crystallizes the tPDIN-EH acceptor and leads to the decreased solar cell performance.

Additive induced crystallization of a twisted perylene diimide dimer within a polymer matrix.

The controlled aggregation of organic π-conjugated molecular semiconductors within a host material (often a polymer) is important for obtaining appropriate organic film morphologies and mechanical properties for optoelectronic applications. In this study, we demonstrate how we have challenged the twisting effect in perylene diimide dimers, which is known to hinder their aggregation. Indeed, a twisted N-annulated perylene diimide dimer (tPDI2N-EH) can be induced to form crystalline aggregates within a host poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) polymer matrix using solution processing.