title: Visualization of hierarchical nanodomains in polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells.
abstract: Traditional electron microscopy techniques such as bright-field imaging provide poor contrast for organic films and identification of structures in amorphous material can be problematic, particularly in high-performance organic solar cells. By combining energy-filtered corrected transmission electron microscopy, together with electron energy loss and X-ray energy-dispersive hyperspectral imaging, we have imaged PTB7/PC61BM blended polymer optical photovoltaic films, and were able to identify domains ranging in size from several hundred nanometers to several nanometers in extent. This work verifies that microstructural domains exist in bulk heterojunctions in PTB7/PC61BM polymeric solar cells at multiple length scales and expands our understanding of optimal device performance providing insight for the design of even higher performance cells.
authors.affiliation: 1Argonne National Laboratory,Electron Microscopy Center,Nanoscience and Technology Division,9700 South Cass Avenue,Argonne,IL 60439,USA.
authors.forename: Jianguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: 1Argonne National Laboratory,Electron Microscopy Center,Nanoscience and Technology Division,9700 South Cass Avenue,Argonne,IL 60439,USA.
authors.forename: Dean J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: 2Argonne National Laboratory,Materials Science Division,9700 South Cass Avenue,Argonne,IL 60439,USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Chemistry,The James Franck Institute,The University of Chicago,929 E 57th Street,Chicago,IL 60637,USA.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Chemistry,The James Franck Institute,The University of Chicago,929 E 57th Street,Chicago,IL 60637,USA.
authors.forename: Luping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: 4Argonne National Laboratory,Center for Nanoscale Materials,Nanoscience and Technology Division,9700 South Cass Avenue,Argonne,IL 60439,USA.
authors.forename: Seth B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Darling
authors.affiliation: 1Argonne National Laboratory,Electron Microscopy Center,Nanoscience and Technology Division,9700 South Cass Avenue,Argonne,IL 60439,USA.
authors.forename: Nestor J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Zaluzec