title: Nanoscale geometric electric field enhancement in organic photovoltaics.
abstract: Generic design rules for electrode-organic semiconductor contacts that transcend specific materials are urgently required to guide the development of new electrodes and provide a framework for engineering this important class of interface. Herein a novel nanostructured window electrode is utilized in conjunction with three-dimensional electrostatic modeling to elucidate the importance of geometric electric field enhancement effects at the electrode interfaces in organic photovoltaics. The results of this study show that nanoscale protrusions at the electrode surfaces in organic photovoltaics dramatically improve the efficiency of photogenerated charge carrier extraction to the external circuit and that the origin of this improvement is the local amplification of the electrostatic field in the vicinity of said protrusions. This wholly geometric approach to engineering electrodes at the nanoscale is materials generic and can be employed to enhance the efficiency of charge carrier injection or extraction in a wide range of organic electronic devices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, England, CV4 7AL.
authors.forename: Lara-Jane
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Pegg
authors.forename: Ross A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hatton
mesh_terms: D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004566:Electrodes; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D010316:Particle Size; D012666:Semiconductors
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals