Abnormal strong burn-in degradation of highly efficient polymer solar cells caused by spinodal donor-acceptor demixing

Ning Li (), José Darío Perea, Thaer Kassar, Moses Richter, Thomas Heumueller, Gebhard J. Matt, Yi Hou, Nusret S. Güldal, Haiwei Chen, Shi Chen, Stefan Langner, Marvin Berlinghof, Tobias Unruh and Christoph J. Brabec ()
Additional contact information
Ning Li: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
José Darío Perea: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Thaer Kassar: Crystallography and Structural Physics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Moses Richter: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Thomas Heumueller: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Gebhard J. Matt: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Yi Hou: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Nusret S. Güldal: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Haiwei Chen: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Shi Chen: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Stefan Langner: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Marvin Berlinghof: Crystallography and Structural Physics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Tobias Unruh: Crystallography and Structural Physics, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg
Christoph J. Brabec: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The performance of organic solar cells is determined by the delicate, meticulously optimized bulk-heterojunction microstructure, which consists of finely mixed and relatively separated donor/acceptor regions. Here we demonstrate an abnormal strong burn-in degradation in highly efficient polymer solar cells caused by spinodal demixing of the donor and acceptor phases, which dramatically reduces charge generation and can be attributed to the inherently low miscibility of both materials. Even though the microstructure can be kinetically tuned for achieving high-performance, the inherently low miscibility of donor and acceptor leads to spontaneous phase separation in the solid state, even at room temperature and in the dark. A theoretical calculation of the molecular parameters and construction of the spinodal phase diagrams highlight molecular incompatibilities between the donor and acceptor as a dominant mechanism for burn-in degradation, which is to date the major short-time loss reducing the performance and stability of organic solar cells.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14541

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