Issue 7, 2010

Influence of nanoscale phase separation on geminate versus bimolecular recombination in P3HT:fullerene blend films

Abstract

In this paper, we compare the charge recombination dynamics observed in films comprising poly(3-hexylthiophene) blended with three fullerene derivatives: PCBM and two alternative pyrazolinofullerenes. Transient absorption data indicate that replacement of PCBM with either of the pyrazolinofullerene derivatives results in a transition from bimolecular to monomolecular (geminate) recombination dynamics. We show that this transition cannot be explained by a difference in interfacial energetics. However, this transition does correlate with nanomorphology data which indicate that both pyrazolinofullerenes yield a much finer phase segregation, with correspondingly smaller domain sizes, than observed with PCBM. Our results therefore provide clear evidence of the role of nanomorphology in determining the nature of recombination dynamics in such donor/acceptor blends.

Graphical abstract: Influence of nanoscale phase separation on geminate versus bimolecular recombination in P3HT:fullerene blend films

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 Feb 2010
Accepted
20 May 2010
First published
05 Jun 2010

Energy Environ. Sci., 2010,3, 971-976

Influence of nanoscale phase separation on geminate versus bimolecular recombination in P3HT:fullerene blend films

S. Shoaee, M. P. Eng, E. Espíldora, J. L. Delgado, B. Campo, N. Martín, D. Vanderzande and J. R. Durrant, Energy Environ. Sci., 2010, 3, 971 DOI: 10.1039/C003394D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements