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Ultrafast Exciton‐to‐Polaron Conversion in Densely Packed Small Organic Semiconducting Molecules
Author(s) -
Kozlov Oleg V.,
Luponosov Yuriy N.,
Solodukhin Alexander N.,
Flament Bruno,
Olivier Yoann,
Lazzaroni Roberto,
Cornil Jérôme,
Ponomarenko Sergei A.,
Pshenichnikov Maxim S.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced optical materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 91
ISSN - 2195-1071
DOI - 10.1002/adom.201700024
Subject(s) - polaron , organic solar cell , intermolecular force , materials science , exciton , energy conversion efficiency , optoelectronics , chemical physics , photoluminescence , organic semiconductor , acceptor , absorption (acoustics) , hybrid solar cell , molecule , electron , polymer solar cell , polymer , condensed matter physics , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , composite material
In the rapidly developing field of organic photovoltaics, the material design and device engineering are key factors that eventually determine the device efficiency. Design of the active layer material and intermolecular interactions largely determine the efficiency of organic solar cells. In this study, the authors discuss ultrafast photophysics of four star‐shaped molecules (SSMs) as benchmark materials with time‐resolved photoinduced absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy as experimental tools. The authors show that efficient exciton‐to‐charge conversion occurs in SSM films even without an external acceptor. This results in the lowering of the Coulomb binding between intermolecular electron–hole polaron pairs which, in turn, can lead to an increased open‐circuit voltage. The findings suggest that promoting intermolecular interactions in films of small organic molecules is one of the pathways to highly efficient organic solar cells.