Solution-Processed Organic Solar Cells from Dye Molecules: An Investigation of Diketopyrrolopyrrole:Vinazene Heterojunctions

Although one of the most attractive aspects of organic solar cells is their low cost and ease of fabrication, the active materials incorporated into the vast majority of reported bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells include a semiconducting polymer and a fullerene derivative, classes of materials which are both typically difficult and expensive to prepare. In this study, we demonstrate that effective BHJs can be fabricated from two easily synthesized dye molecules. Solar cells incorporating a diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP)-based molecule as a donor and a dicyanoimidazole (Vinazene) acceptor function as an active layer in BHJ solar cells, producing relatively high open circuit voltages and power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) up to 1.1%. Atomic force microscope images of the films show that active layers are rough and apparently have large donor and acceptor domains on the surface, whereas photoluminescence of the blends is incompletely quenched, suggesting that higher PCEs might be obtained if the morphology could be improved to yield smaller domain sizes and a larger interfacial area between donor and acceptor phases. © 2011 American Chemical Society.