Plasmon-loss imaging of polymer-methanofullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells

Mendis, Budhika G.; Bishop, Sarah J.; Groves, Chris; Szablewski, Marek; Berlie, Adam; Halliday, Douglas P.

Abstract

The plasmon feature in an electron energy loss spectrum provides unique insight into poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) solar cells. Analysis of the intensity, shape, and energy of the plasmon reveals information about the type of phase, distribution of P3HT semi-crystalline fibres, and PCBM packing density at high spatial resolution. Plasmon-loss imaging has also revealed nano-scale residual solvent pockets with preferentially dissolved PCBM. A robust tomography method for reconstructing the 3D morphology of the bulk heterojunction thin-film via plasmon-loss images is also presented. The analysis techniques can be used to investigate morphology evolution during thin-film processing and its effect on device performance.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jun 25, 2013
• Deposit Date: Jul 5, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 1, 2014
• Journal: Applied Physics Letters
• Print ISSN: 0003-6951
• Electronic ISSN: 1077-3118
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 102
• Issue: 25
• Article Number: 253301
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4812485
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1453040