Methanofullerene Elongated Nanostructure Formation for Enhanced Organic Solar Cells

Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Z-contrast imaging we have demonstrated elongated nanostructure formation of fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) within an organic host through annealing. The annealing provides an enhanced mobility of the PCBM molec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2007-04
Main Authors: Reyes-Reyes, M, Lopez-Sandoval, R, Arenas-Alatorre, J, Garibay-Alonso, R, Carroll, D L, Lastras-Martinez, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Annealing
Butyric acid
Electron beams
Electron energy loss spectroscopy
Elongation
Energy dissipation
Fullerenes
Grain growth
Nanostructure
Organic chemistry
Photovoltaic cells
Polymers
Solar cells
Transmission electron microscopy
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Summary:Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Z-contrast imaging we have demonstrated elongated nanostructure formation of fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) within an organic host through annealing. The annealing provides an enhanced mobility of the PCBM molecules and, with good initial dispersion, allows for the formation of exaggerated grain growth within the polymer host. We have assembled these nanostructures within the regioregular conjugated polymer poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). This PCBM elongated nanostructure formation maybe responsible for the very high efficiencies observed, at very low loadings of PCBM (1:0.6, polymer to PCBM), in annealed photovoltaics. Moreover, our high resolution TEM and electron energy loss spectroscopy studies clearly show that the PCBM crystals remain crystalline and are unaffected by the 200-keV electron beam
ISSN:2331-8422