Long-range exciton diffusion in molecular non-fullerene acceptors

Yuliar Firdaus, Vincent M. Le Corre, Safakath Karuthedath, Wenlan Liu, Anastasia Markina, Wentao Huang, Shirsopratim Chattopadhyay, Masrur Morshed Nahid, Mohamad I. Nugraha, Yuanbao Lin, Akmaral Seitkhan, Aniruddha Basu, Weimin Zhang, Iain McCulloch, Harald Ade, John Labram, Frédéric Laquai, Denis Andrienko, L. Jan Anton Koster, Thomas D. Anthopoulos

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

228 Scopus citations

Abstract

The short exciton diffusion length associated with most classical organic semiconductors used in organic photovoltaics (5-20 nm) imposes severe limits on the maximum size of the donor and acceptor domains within the photoactive layer of the cell. Identifying materials that are able to transport excitons over longer distances can help advancing our understanding and lead to solar cells with higher efficiency. Here, we measure the exciton diffusion length in a wide range of nonfullerene acceptor molecules using two different experimental techniques based on photocurrent and ultrafast spectroscopy measurements. The acceptors exhibit balanced ambipolar charge transport and surprisingly long exciton diffusion lengths in the range of 20 to 47 nm. With the aid of quantum-chemical calculations, we are able to rationalize the exciton dynamics and draw basic chemical design rules, particularly on the importance of the end-group substituent on the crystal packing of nonfullerene acceptors.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number5220
JournalNature communications
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2020
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Chemistry
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Physics and Astronomy

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