Understanding How Processing Additives Tune the Nanoscale Morphology of High Efficiency Organic Photovoltaic Blends: From Casting Solution to Spun-Cast Thin Film

Adding a small amount of a processing additive to the casting solution of photoactive organic blends has been demonstrated to be an effective method for achieving improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) in organic photovoltaics (OPVs). However, an understanding of the nano-structural evolution occurring in the transformation from casting solution to thin photoactive films is still lacking. In this report, the effects of the processing additive diiodooctane (DIO) on the morphology of the established blend of PBDTTT-C-T polymer and the fullerene derivative PC₇₁BM used for OPVs are investigated, starting in the casting solution and tracing the effects in spun-cast thin films by using neutron/X-ray scattering, neutron reflectometry, and other characterization techniques. The results reveal that DIO has no observable effect on the structures of PBDTTT-C-T and PC₇₁BM in solution; however, in the spun-cast films, it significantly promotes their molecular ordering and phase segregation, resulting in improved PCE. Thermodynamic analysis based on Flory-Huggins theory provides a rationale for the effects of DIO on different characteristics of phase segregation due to changes in concentration resulting from evaporation of the solvent and additive during film formation. Such information may help improve the rational design of ternary blends to more consistently achieve improved PCE for OPVs.