Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/21545
Title: The Influence of Conjugated Polymer Side Chain Manipulation on the Efficiency and Stability of Polymer Solar Cells
Authors: Heckler, Ilona M.
KESTERS, Jurgen 
Defour, Maxime
Madsen, Morten V.
PENXTEN, Huguette 
D'HAEN, Jan 
Van Mele, Bruno
MAES, Wouter 
Bundgaard, Eva
Issue Date: 2016
Publisher: MDPI AG
Source: MATERIALS, 9 (3)
Abstract: The stability of polymer solar cells (PSCs) can be influenced by the introduction of particular moieties on the conjugated polymer side chains. In this study, two series of donor-acceptor copolymers, based on bis(thienyl)dialkoxybenzene donor and benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole (BT) or thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole (TzTz) acceptor units, were selected toward effective device scalability by roll-coating. The influence of the partial exchange (5% or 10%) of the solubilizing 2-hexyldecyloxy by alternative 2-phenylethoxy groups on efficiency and stability was investigated. With an increasing 2-phenylethoxy ratio, a decrease in solar cell efficiency was observed for the BT-based series, whereas the efficiencies for the devices based on the TzTz polymers remained approximately the same. The photochemical degradation rate for PSCs based on the TzTz polymers decreased with an increasing 2-phenylethoxy ratio. Lifetime studies under constant sun irradiance showed a diminishing initial degradation rate for the BT-based devices upon including the alternative side chains, whereas the (more stable) TzTz-based devices degraded at a faster rate from the start of the experiment upon partly exchanging the side chains. No clear trends in the degradation behavior, linked to the copolymer structural changes, could be established at this point, evidencing the complex interplay of events determining PSCs' lifetime.
Notes: [Heckler, Ilona M.; Madsen, Morten V.; Bundgaard, Eva] Tech Univ Denmark DTU, Dept Energy Convers & Storage, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark. [Kesters, Jurgen; Penxten, Huguette; D'Haen, Jan; Maes, Wouter] Hasselt Univ, Inst Mat Res IMO IMOMEC, Agoralaan 1 Bldg D, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium. [Defour, Maxime; Van Mele, Bruno] Vrije Univ Brussel, Phys Chem & Polymer Sci FYSC, Pl Laan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
Keywords: conjugated polymers; side chain variation; organic photovoltaics; roll-coating; photochemical and thermal stability;conjugated polymers; side chain variation; organic photovoltaics; roll-coating; photochemical and thermal stability
Document URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/21545
e-ISSN: 1996-1944
DOI: 10.3390/ma9030181
ISI #: 000373805400034
Rights: © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Category: A1
Type: Journal Contribution
Validations: ecoom 2017
Appears in Collections:Research publications

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