Versatile role of solvent additive for tailoring morphology in polymer solar cells for efficient charge transport

In this work role of solvent additive namely 1,8 diiodoctane (DIO) on the nanoscale morphology and its relation with the charge transport of poly(diketopyrrolopyrrole-terthiophene) (PDPP3T):PCBM solar cells has been investigated. Addition of DIO led to enhanced structural ordering as observed from optical measurements. Photovoltaic devices processed with DIO additive showed improved efficiencies due to significant enhancement in short circuit current density. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) images showed that DIO led to finer phase segregation that gave rise to better photovoltaic performance in additive processed active layers. Photoinduced current extraction by linearly increasing voltage (P-CELIV) measurements on PDPP3T:PCBM solar cells revealed higher mobility and extracted charge carrier density for DIO processed devices.