Development of Photovoltaic Systems Utilizing Nanostructure Formation of Liquid-Crystalline Semiconductors

设计并合成了在400 - 700 nm范围内具有强可见光吸收特性的低能带隙液晶有机半导体。这些材料具有液晶特性，并与富勒烯衍生物（PCBM）形成了良好的纳米结构体异质结结构。用偏光显微镜、原子力显微镜和X射线衍射分析了共混物薄膜的形貌。研究了液晶性质对光伏器件性能的影响。采用本体异质结共混物膜的有机太阳能电池显示出超过4%的功率转换效率，具有约1 V的高开路电压。这些结果表明，液晶组织直接分子自组装是一种很有前途的策略，用于制造高性能的溶液处理的小分子有机太阳能电池。

Low-bandgap liquid-crystalline organic semiconductors, which have strong visible absorption characteristics in the range of 400-700 nm, have been designed and synthesized. These materials exhibits liquid-crystalline properties and forms well-developed nanostructured bulk heterojunctionarchitectures with a fullerene derivative (PCBM). The morphologies of the blend thin films have been examined by polarizing optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The effects of liquid-crystalline properties on photovoltaic device performances have been studied. Organic solar cells employing the bulk heterojunction blend films show a power conversion efficiency exceeding 4% with a high open-circuit voltage of about 1 V. These results demonstrate that liquid-crystalline organization to direct molecular self-assembly is a promising strategy for fabricating high-performance solution-processed small-molecule organic solar cells.