Organic electronics is a rapidly evolving field with vast number of applications having high potential for commercial success. Although a great progress has been made, many organic electronic applications: organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic fieldeffect transistors (OFETs), organic solar cells, etc; still require further optimization to fulfill the requirements for successful commercialization. For many applications, available at this time organic materials do not provide satisfactory performance and stability, which hinders the possibility of a large-scale production. Therefore, the key ingredient needed for a successful improvement in performance and stability of organic electronic devices is in-depth knowledge of physical and chemical properties of molecular and polymeric materials. Since many applications encompass several thin film layers made of organics, and often also inorganic materials, the understanding of both organic-organic and hybrid interfaces is yet another important issue necessary for the successful development of organic electronics. The research presented in this thesis is based mainly on photoelectron spectroscopy, which is an experimental technique especially suited to study both surfaces and interfaces of materials. In the thesis, the properties of one of the most successful polymeric materials, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), often abbreviated as PEDOT, have been extensively studied. The research was done in close cooperation with an industrial partner – AGFA Gevaert, Belgium. The study was focused on the exploration of the intrinsic properties of the material, such as stability, morphology and conductivity. In addition, however, a possibility of alternation of these properties was also explored. This thesis reports also about investigations of the properties of various organic-organic and hybrid interfaces. The energy level alignment at such interfaces plays important role in charge injection and performance of the thin film organic-based devices. The conditions for different energy level alignment regimes at the various interfaces have been studied. The studies on interfaces were performed in close collaboration with the R&D division of DuPont Corporation, USA. This work led to the significant advances in understanding of the interface energetics and properties of industryrelevant organic materials, as represented not only by published scientific papers, but also patent applications.

In bulk-heterojunction solar cells, device performance is influenced by both the intrinsic properties of the individual components - typically conjugated polymers and fullerene derivatives - and how they assemble and interact at their interface. The ability of fullerene to intercalate within the side-chains of a conjugated polymer can significantly affect the microstructure and overall device performance. Here, a series of computational chemistry approaches are applied to investigate the relationships between structure and property in intercalated polymer:fullerene blend. Using a combination of molecular mechanics (MM) calculation and simulations of 2D grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) patterns, we have determined the molecular packing configuration of poly (2,5-bis (3-tetradecyl thiophene-2-yl) thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PBTTT-C₁₄) and a blend of PBTTT-C₁₄ and [6,6]-phenyl-C₇₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM). Based on the confirmed packing structures, the electronic properties and morphological disorder were examined using density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) calculations, respectively; we also investigated the intermolecular interaction energies behind the structure formation. Finally, we examined the vibrational, redox, and optical properties of the pristine polymer and a series of fullerene derivatives to understand the characteristic modes related to the various charged states of the systems.

This work investigates organic solar cells made of small molecules. Using the material system α,ω-bis(dicyanovinylene)-sexithiophene (DCV6T) - C60 as model, the correlation between the photovoltaic active layer morphology and performance of the solar cell is studied. The chosen method for controlling the layer morphology is applying different substrate temperatures (Tsub ) during the deposition of the layer. In neat DCV6T layers, substrate heating induces higher crystallinity as is shown by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The absorption spectrum displays a more distinct fine structure, a redshift of the absorption peaks by up to 11 nm and a significant increase of the low energy absorption band at Tsub = 120°C compared to Tsub = 30°C. Contrary to general expectations, the hole mobility as measured in field effect transistors and with the method of charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage (CELIV) does not increase in samples with higher crystallinity. In mixed layers, investigations by AFM and UV-Vis spectroscopy reveal a stronger phase separation induced by substrate heating, leading to larger domains of DCV6T. This is indicated by an increased grain size and roughness of the topography, the increase of the DCV6T luminescence signal, and the more distinct fine structure of the DCV6T related absorption. Based on the results of the morphology analysis, the effect of different substrate temperatures on the performance of solar cells with flat and mixed DCV6T - C60 heterojunctions is investigated. In flat heterojunction solar cells, a slight increase of the photocurrent by about 10% is observed upon substrate heating, attributed to the increase of DCV6T absorption. In mixed DCV6T : C60 heterojunction solar cells, much more pronounced enhancements are achieved. By varying the substrate temperature from -7°C to 120°C, it is shown that the stronger phase separation upon substrate heating facilitates the charge transport, leading to a significant increase of the internal quantum efficiency (IQE), photocurrent, and fill factor. Consequently, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) increases from 0.5% at Tsub = -7°C to about 3.0 % at Tsub ≥ 77°C. Subsequent optimization of the DCV6T : C60 mixing ratio and the stack design of the solar cell lead to devices with PCE of 4.9±0.2 %. Using optical simulations, the IQE of these devices is studied in more detail to identify major remaining loss mechanisms. The evaluation of the absorption pattern in the wavelength range from 300 to 750 nm shows that only 77 % of the absorbed photons contribute to the exciton generation in photovoltaic active layers, while the rest is lost in passive layers. Furthermore, the IQE of the photovoltaic active layers, consisting of an intrinsic C60 layer and a mixed DCV6T : C60 layer, exhibits a lower exciton diffusion efficiency for C60 excitons compared to DCV6T excitons, attributed to exciton migration into the adjacent electron transport layer. / Diese Arbeit befasst sich mit organischen Solarzellen aus kleinen Molekülen. Anhand des Materialsystems α,ω-bis(Dicyanovinylen)-Sexithiophen (DCV6T) - C60 wird der Zusammenhang zwischen Morphologie der photovoltaisch aktiven Schicht und dem Leistungverhalten der Solarzellen untersucht. Zur Beeinflussung der Morphologie werden verschiedene Substrattemperaturen (Tsub ) während des Schichtwachstums der aktiven Schicht eingestellt. Beim Heizen des Substrates weisen DCV6T Einzelschichten eine erhöhte Kristallinität auf, die mittels Röntgenbeugung und Rasterkraftmikroskopie (AFM) erkennbar ist. Zudem bewirkt die Erhöhung der Substrattemperatur von 30°C auf 120°C eine ausgeprägtere Feinstrukturierung des Absorptionsspektrums, eine Rotverschiebung um bis zu 11 nm und eine Verstärkung der niederenergetischen Absorptionsbande. Entgegen den Erwartungen wird weder in Feldeffekttransistoren noch mit der Methode der Ladungsextraktion bei linear steigenden Spannungspulsen (CELIV) eine Verbesserung der Löcherbeweglichkeit in Zusammenhang mit der erhöhten Kristallinität gemessen. Mischschichten mit C60 weisen bei erhöhten Substrattemperaturen eine stärkere Phasentrennung auf, die zu größeren DCV6T Domänen innerhalb der Schicht führt. Dieser Effekt wird zum Einen durch größere Körnung und Rauigkeit der Topographie, zum Anderen durch die Erhöhung des Lumineszenzsignals von DCV6T sowie der Ausprägung der Feinstruktur im Absorptionsspektrum nachgewiesen. Ausgehend von den Ergebnissen der Morphologieuntersuchung werden die Auswirkungen von verschiedenen Substrattemperaturen auf das Leistungsverhalten von DCV6T - C60 Solarzellen mit planarem und Volumen-Heteroübergang analysiert. Solarzellen mit planarem Heteroübergang weisen eine geringe Verbesserung des Photostromes von etwa 10 % beim Heizen des Substrates auf. Diese wird durch die Erhöhung der DCV6T Absorption verursacht. In Volumen-Heteroübergängen führt die stärkere Phasentrennung bei steigender Substrattemperatur im untersuchten Temperaturbereich von -7°C bis 120°C zu einer Verbesserung des Ladungsträgertransports. Dadurch verbessern sich die interne Quanteneffizienz (IQE), der Photostrom und der Füllfaktor. Der Wirkungsgrad der Solarzellen erhöht sich von 0.5 % bei Tsub = -7°C auf 3.0 % bei Tsub ≥ 77°C. Eine weitere Optimierung des DCV6T : C60 Mischverhältnisses und des Schichtaufbaus ermöglicht Solarzellen mit Wirkungsgraden von 4.9±0.2 %. Mittels optischer Simulationen wird die IQE dieser Solarzellen näher untersucht, um verbleibende Verlustmechanismen zu identifizieren. Es ergibt sich, dass innerhalb des Wellenlängenbereichs von 300 bis 750 nm nur 77 % der absorbierten Photonen tatsächlich in den photovoltaisch aktiven Schichten absorbiert werden, während der Rest in nicht aktiven Schichten verloren geht. Des Weiteren kann nachgewiesen werden, dass C60 Exzitonen aus der aktiven Schicht, bestehend as einer intrinsischen C60 Schicht und einer DCV6T : C60 Mischschicht, durch Diffusion in die angrenzende Elektronentransportschicht verloren gehen.

Organic solar cells offer attractive properties for novel applications and continuous advances in material and concept development have led to significant improvements in device performance. To exploit their full potential (roll-to-roll production of flexible and top-illuminated devices, using e.g. opaque metal foil or textile as substrate), highly transparent, conductive, mechanically flexible, and cost-efficient top electrodes are of great importance. The current standard material indium tin oxide (ITO) is rigid, expensive and requires a high energy / high temperature deposition process, limiting ITO (and other transparent conductive oxides) to bottom electrode applications. This work presents fundamental investigations to understand and control the properties of transparent conductors and documents four different approaches to prepare transparent electrodes on top of efficient small molecule organic solar cells, with the aim to replace ITO. Fullerene C60 layers are investigated as completely carbon-based electrodes. For an optimized doping concentration, sheet resistance and transmittance are improved and efficient solar cells are realized. Since the lateral charge transport is still limited, a combination with a microstructured conductor is suggested. Pulsed laser deposition allows for the first time a damage-free preparation of gallium doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Ga) layers on top of organic devices by careful optimization of the deposition atmosphere. ZnO:Ga electrodes with a transmittance of Tvis = 82.7 % and sheet resistance Rs = 83 Ohm/sq are obtained. The formation of local shunts due to ZnO:Ga droplets is identified and then prevented by a shadow mask between the target and the sample, enabling solar cells with similar efficiency (2.9 %) compared to a reference device using a state-of-the-art metal top contact. Another very promising alternative are intrinsically flexible, ultra-thin silver layers. By introducing an oxide interlayer, the adverse interpenetration of silver and organic materials is prevented and the charge extraction from the solar cells is improved. With a second oxide layer on top, the silver electrode is significantly stabilized, leading to an increased solar cell lifetime of 4500 h (factor of 107). Scanning electron micrographs of Ag thin films reveal a poor wetting on organic and oxide substrates, which strongly limits the electrode performance. However, it is significantly improved by a 1 nm thin seed layer. An optimized Au/Ag film reaches Tvis = 78.1 % and Rs = 19 Ohm/sq, superior to ITO. Finally, silver electrodes blended with calcium show a unique microstructure which enables unusually high transmittance (84.3 % at 27.3 Ohm/sq) even above the expectations from bulk material properties and thin film optics. Such values have not been reached for transparent electrodes on top of organic material so far. Solar cells with a Ca:Ag top electrode achieve an efficiency of 7.2 %, which exceeds the 6.9 % of bottom-illuminated reference cells with conventional ITO electrodes and defines a new world record for top-illuminated organic solar cells. With these electrodes, semi-transparent and large-area devices, as well as devices on opaque and flexible substrates are successfully prepared. In summary, it is shown that ZnO:Ga and thin metal electrodes can replace ITO and fill the lack of high performance top electrodes. Moreover, the introduced concepts are not restricted to specific solar cell architectures or organic compounds but are widely applicable for a variety of organic devices.

Donor-acceptor (D-A) copolymers have revolutionized the field of organic electronics over the last decade. Comprised of a electron rich and an electron deficient molecular unit, these copolymers facilitate the systematic modification of the material's optoelectronic properties. The ability to tune the optical band gap and to optimize the molecular frontier orbitals as well as the manifold of structural sites that enable chemical modifications has created a tremendous variety of copolymer structures. Today, these materials reach or even exceed the performance of amorphous inorganic semiconductors. Most impressively, the charge carrier mobility of D-A copolymers has been pushed to the technologically important value of 10 cm^{2}V^{-1}s^{-1}. Furthermore, owed to their enormous variability they are the material of choice for the donor component in organic solar cells, which have recently surpassed the efficiency threshold of 10%. Because of the great number of available D-A copolymers and due to their fast chemical evolution, there is a significant lack of understanding of the fundamental physical properties of these materials. Furthermore, the complex chemical and electronic structure of D-A copolymers in combination with their semi-crystalline morphology impede a straightforward identification of the microscopic origin of their superior performance. In this thesis, two aspects of prototype D-A copolymers were analysed. These are the investigation of electron transport in several copolymers and the application of low band gap copolymers as acceptor component in organic solar cells. In the first part, the investigation of a series of chemically modified fluorene-based copolymers is presented. The charge carrier mobility varies strongly between the different derivatives, although only moderate structural changes on the copolymers structure were made. Furthermore, rather unusual photocurrent transients were observed for one of the copolymers. Numerical simulations of the experimental results reveal that this behavior arises from a severe trapping of electrons in an exponential distribution of trap states. Based on the comparison of simulation and experiment, the general impact of charge carrier trapping on the shape of photo-CELIV and time-of-flight transients is discussed. In addition, the high performance naphthalenediimide (NDI)-based copolymer P(NDI2OD-T2) was characterized. It is shown that the copolymer posses one of the highest electron mobilities reported so far, which makes it attractive to be used as the electron accepting component in organic photovoltaic cells.par Solar cells were prepared from two NDI-containing copolymers, blended with the hole transporting polymer P3HT. I demonstrate that the use of appropriate, high boiling point solvents can significantly increase the power conversion efficiency of these devices. Spectroscopic studies reveal that the pre-aggregation of the copolymers is suppressed in these solvents, which has a strong impact on the blend morphology. Finally, a systematic study of P3HT:P(NDI2OD-T2) blends is presented, which quantifies the processes that limit the efficiency of devices. The major loss channel for excited states was determined by transient and steady state spectroscopic investigations: the majority of initially generated electron-hole pairs is annihilated by an ultrafast geminate recombination process. Furthermore, exciton self-trapping in P(NDI2OD-T2) domains account for an additional reduction of the efficiency. The correlation of the photocurrent to microscopic morphology parameters was used to disclose the factors that limit the charge generation efficiency. Our results suggest that the orientation of the donor and acceptor crystallites relative to each other represents the main factor that determines the free charge carrier yield in this material system. This provides an explanation for the overall low efficiencies that are generally observed in all-polymer solar cells. / Donator-Akzeptor (D-A) Copolymere haben das Feld der organischen Elektronik revolutioniert. Bestehend aus einer elektronen-reichen und einer elektronen-armen molekularen Einheit,ermöglichen diese Polymere die systematische Anpassung ihrer optischen und elektronischen Eigenschaften. Zu diesen zählen insbesondere die optische Bandlücke und die Lage der Energiezustände. Dabei lassen sie sich sehr vielseitig chemisch modifizieren, was zu einer imensen Anzahl an unterschiedlichen Polymerstrukturen geführt hat. Dies hat entscheidend dazu beigetragen, dass D-A-Copolymere heute in Bezug auf ihren Ladungstransport die Effizienz von anorganischen Halbleitern erreichen oder bereits übetreffen. Des Weiteren lassen sich diese Materialien auch hervorragend in Organischen Solarzellen verwenden, welche jüngst eine Effizienz von über 10% überschritten haben. Als Folge der beträchtlichen Anzahl an unterschiedlichen D-A-Copolymeren konnte das physikalische Verständnis ihrer Eigenschaften bisher nicht mit dieser rasanten Entwicklung Schritt halten. Dies liegt nicht zuletzt an der komplexen chemischen und mikroskopischen Struktur im Film, in welchem die Polymere in einem teil-kristallinen Zustand vorliegen. Um ein besseres Verständnis der grundlegenden Funktionsweise zu erlangen, habe ich in meiner Arbeit sowohl den Ladungstransport als auch die photovoltaischen Eigenschaften einer Reihe von prototypischen, elektronen-transportierenden D-A Copolymeren beleuchtet. Im ersten Teil wurden Copolymere mit geringfügigen chemischen Variationen untersucht. Diese Variationen führen zu einer starken Änderung des Ladungstransportverhaltens. Besonders auffällig waren hier die Ergebnisse eines Polymers, welches sehr ungewöhnliche transiente Strom-Charakteristiken zeigte. Die nähere Untersuchung ergab, dass in diesem Material elektrisch aktive Fallenzustände existieren. Dieser Effekt wurde dann benutzt um den Einfluss solcher Fallen auf transiente Messung im Allgemeinen zu beschreiben. Zusätzlich wurde der Elektronentransport in einem neuartigen Copolymer untersucht, welche die bis dato größte gemesse Elektronenmobilität für konjugierte Polymere zeigte. Darauf basierend wurde versucht, die neuartigen Copolymere als Akzeptoren in Organischen Solarzellen zu implementieren. Die Optimierung dieser Zellen erwies sich jedoch als schwierig, konnte aber erreicht werden, indem die Lösungseigenschaften der Copolymere untersucht und systematisch gesteuert wurden. Im Weiteren werden umfangreiche Untersuchungen zu den relevanten Verlustprozessen gezeigt. Besonders hervorzuheben ist hier die Beobachtung, dass hohe Effizienzen nur bei einer coplanaren Packung der Donator/Akzeptor-Kristalle erreicht werden können. Diese Struktureigenschaft wird hier zum ersten Mal beschrieben und stellt einen wichtigen Erkenntnisgewinn zum Verständnis von Polymersolarzellen dar.

The present thesis is focused on rational design and synthesis of π-conjugated donoracceptor-donor (D-A-D) type oligomers and D-A type copolymers. Thesis is organized in seven chapters, apart from introduction remaining six chapters are grouped into two parts (A and B). Part A deals with Chapters 2, 3, 4 and Part B contains chapters 5, 6 and 7. A brief discussion on the content of individual chapters is provided below. Chapter 1 discusses the introduction to organic solar cell with operating principles and effect of spinodal decomposition on stability of the devices is presented. The status and literature related to the improvement of life time of the organic solar cells by self-assembly approach has been explored. In addition, design and synthesis of the fluorine substituted π-conjugated organic semiconductors for n-type OFETs and OLED has been discussed. Part A This part of the thesis attempt to address some of the challenges listed below (1) Investigation of miscibility of binary components in bulk heterojunction solar cells through H-bonding approach. (2) Synthesis of new low band gap molecular semiconductors having H-bonding sites. (3) Fabrication of bulk heterojunction solar cell devices using these new molecules and exploring the photovoltaics performance. Chapter 2, donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) concept has been employed to design low band gap oligomers named as TTB. Barbiturate functional group has been utilized to explore the concepts of supramolecular chemistry. It is shown that, TTB molecule self-organizes via intermolecular H-bonding between barbituric acid units. Interactions between the oligothiophene subunits were also found to be important, affording nanoribbons that were observed by atomic force and transmission electron microscopy. The applicability of TTB for organic electronic applications was investigated by fabricating organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and organic photovoltaic device. The crystalline nanoribbons were beneficial in understanding the phase morphology of PCBM and TTB blend. Chapter 3, the self-assemble property of TTB was disrupted by the substitution of methyl group on the nitrogen of the barbituric acid moiety. The optical and electrochemical properties of the new derivative have been investigated by UV-Visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Further investigations on the effect of self-assembly on organic solar cells were carried out by fabricating BHJ and OFET. The results proved that the self-assembly within the donor moieties led to complete phase separation between the donor and acceptor which had an adverse effect on the photovoltaic performance. Chapter 4, the conjugation of TTB was extended by the synthesis of two new copolymers by polymerizing with two oliogothiophene (terthiophene and benzobithiophene) derivatives with different donating strength. The investigation of photophysical and electrochemical properties of copolymers were studied by varying the donating strength. As we increase the donating strength of oligothiophenes, the intramolecular charge transfer band of DA copolymers was red shifted. Further, density functional theory (DFT) calculation of these materials was carried out to get insight into their photophysical properties. Part B This part of the thesis attempt to address some of the challenges listed below (1) Investigation of fluorine substituted organic semiconductos like 2,2’ bithiazole and pheanthroimidazole. (2) Synthesis of pentafluoro phenyl appended derivatives of 2,2’ bithiazole and pheanthroimidazole. (3) Fabrication of OFETs and OLEDs using these new molecules and elucidated the device performance with molecular structure. Chapter 5, pentafluorophenyl appended 2,2’-bithiazole derivatives were synthesized. The single crystal x-ray diffraction studies shows the unusual strong type-II F•••F interactions within the distance of 2.668 Å, at an angle of 89.14° and 174.15°. It also shows the usual type-I F•••F interaction within the distance of 2.825Å, at an angle of 137.38° and 135.93°. Upon bromination type-II Br•••Br interaction was observed and the packing was further stabilized by S•••Br interactions. The conjugation was further extended with different aromatic and heteroaromatic substituents and synthesized the star shaped structure. The band gap as well as the electronic energy levels was tuned by substituting various aromatic and heteroaromatic substituents. These star shaped derivatives shows electron mobilities in the order of 10-4 to 10-3cm2/Vs. Chapter 6, Novel D-A copolymers were synthesized by Stille condensation of electron acceptor fluorinated phenanthroimidazole with electron donors like terthiophene and benzobithiophene. Prior to that insoluble pentafluoro phenyl phenanthroimidazole was Nalkylated in presence of DMF which concurrently resulted in C-F activation of the pentafluoro phenyl moiety. As we increase the donor strength from benzobithiophene to terthiophene the absorbance spectra was red shifted from 446 nm to 482 nm in solution and 455 nm to 484 nm in solid state. The band gap of these copolymers was found to be 2.4 eV for PIBDT and 2.2 eV for PIDHTT from the absorbance spectra. The photoluminescence data shows that these materials are promising for the yellow colour as well as orange colour displays, of narrow wavelength range (FWHM 40 nm for PIBDT and 35 nm for PIDHTT), which can be achieved just by the manipulation of donor moieties in the copolymers. The preliminary electroluminiscence data shows high brightness of 888cd/m2 (orange luminescence) for PIDHTT and 410cd/m2 (yellow luminescence) for PIBDT. Chapter 7, Acenaphtho[1,2-b]quinoxaline based donor–acceptor type low band gap conjugated copolymers were synthesized by Stille coupling reaction with the corresponding oligothiophene derivatives. The optical properties of the copolymers were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectrometry while the electrochemical properties were determined by cyclic voltammetry. The band gap of these polymers was found to be in the range of 1.8-2.0 eV as calculated from the optical absorption band edge. The intense charge transfer band in absorption spectra shows the significant effect of acceptor in the copolymers. X-ray diffraction measurements show weak π–π stacking interactions between the polymer chains. The OFET devices fabricated using these co-polymers showed dominant p-channel transistor behavior with the highest mobility of 1×10-3cm2/Vs.

Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Untersuchung der Langzeitstabilität organischer Solarzellen. Die Solarzellen als Gegenstand dieser Untersuchungen sind dabei aus Materialien aufgebaut, die mittels thermischer Gasphasenabscheidung im Vakuum hergestellt werden. Das unterscheidet diese von vielen in der Literatur vorgestellten Alterungsstudien, die Polymersolarzellen behandeln. Als Standardsystem werden einfache pii-Bauelemente ausgewählt, die in ZnPc und C60 zwei gut untersuchte Materialien in der aktiven Donor-Akzeptor-Schicht nutzen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit sind dabei in drei Kapiteln zusammengefasst. In Kapitel 5 wird untersucht, wie sich verschiedene Faktoren auf die Lebensdauer der Solarzellen auswirken. Für verkapselte Solarzellen mit MeO-TPD in der Lochtransportschicht wird die thermische Beschleunigung der Degradation mit einem Arrhenius’schen Verhalten beschrieben und eine Aktivierungsenergie EA=712 meV gefunden. Aus dieser Beschreibung wird für verkapselte Solarzelle bei 100 mW cm-2 und 45°C eine Lebensdauer von 62.000 h extrapoliert, die experimentell nicht verifiziert werden kann. Auch der Einfluss der Beleuchtungsintensität auf die Degradationsgeschwindigkeit wird untersucht und kann systematisch erklärt werden: Die Beschleunigung, die sich aus einer Erhöhung der Intensität weißen Lichtes ergibt, kann beschrieben werden, indem man die Anzahl extrahierter Ladungsträger berechnet. Bei Alterungen unter verschiedene Intensitäten ist diese Zahl identisch, wenn man die Messung bei gleichem Grad der Degradation betrachtet. Diese Modell kann auch auf monochromatische Beleuchtung ausgedehnt werden und es zeigt sich bei einem Vergleich über alle untersuchten Wellenlängen, dass der Anstieg der fallenden Kurven umso steiler wird, je höher die kürzeste Wellenlänge des jeweiligen Spektrums ist. Der zweite Teil dieses Kapitels ist der Degradation unverkapselter Solarzellen mit BF-DPB als Lochtransportmaterial gewidmet. Durch Variation von Temperatur und relativer Luftfeuchte konnten beide Einflussfaktoren in einem kombinierten Modell, dem Peck-Modell, zusammengefasst werden. Dieses wurde bisher nicht zur Beschreibung des Degradationsverhaltens von Solarzellen verwendet. Eine Vorhersage der Lebensdauer bei beliebigen Werten für beide Parameter ist somit möglich. Deutlich sticht in diesem Experiment hervor, dass die Anwesenheit von Wasser die Degradation klar dominiert. Darauf folgen Messungen, bei denen die Wasserpermeationsrate (WVTR) der Verkapselung variiert wird. Dabei stellt sich heraus, dass diese besser als 10-3 g m-2 d-1 sein muss, um die Stabilität zu verbessern. Durch eine Trennung der WVTR der äußeren Barriere und jener der Aluminiumelektrode ist es möglich, den Wert WVTR(Al) zu ermitteln. Dieser beträgt 8 x10-4 g m-2 d-1. Zusätzlich kann die Wassermenge, die benötigt wird, um die untersuch-ten Solarzelle auf 50% des Startwertes zu degradieren, zu 10 mg m2 bestimmt werden. Kapitel 6 zeigt eine umfassende Charakterisierung von an Luft degradierten Solarzellen. Mit den chemischen Analysemethoden TOF-SIMS und LDI-TOF-MS können mehrere Reaktionen der verwendeten Materialien mit Luft identifiziert werden. Dabei sticht die Oxidation der BPhen-Aluminium-Grenzschicht, die zur Bildung von Al2O3 führt, hervor. Weitere Reaktionsprodukte, vor allem in Verbindung mit Fluor, welches aus der Zersetzung von C60F36 stammt, werden gezeigt. Die Oxidation der Organik-Aluminium-Grenzschicht kann mit Hilfe von Elektrolumineszenzmessungen untersucht werden. Bei diesen zeigt sich, dass die Abnahme der aktiven Fläche in vollem Umfang Ursache für die Reduktion der Kurzschlussstromdichte ist. Als Eintrittskanäle für Sauerstoff und Wasser werden neben pinholes auch die Seitenkanten der Solarzelle identifiziert. Hinweise für die flächige Diffusion von Wasser werden zusätzlich erbracht. Erster Ansatz zur Verbesserung der Langzeitstabilität ist der Austausch von BPhen durch ein dotiertes Elektronen-transportmaterial. Eine Variation von fünf Materialien zeigt, dass ein Zusammenhang zwischen Rauigkeit dieses Materials und der Lebensdauer besteht: So werden die besten Stabilität für Materialien wie C60 und Bis-HFl-NTCDI gezeigt, die mit einer geringen Rauigkeit aufwachsen. Die Lebensdauer beträgt am Beispiel von Bis-HFl-NTCDI bei [T=65°C; rH=2,2%] T50=762 h und ist damit etwa viermal so groß wie bei Verwendung von BPhen. Weitere Optimierungsversuche, zum Beispiel durch Variation der Elektrode, des p-Dotanden, oder der Invertierung der Struktur zeigen zwar zusätzliche Degradationspfade auf, führen aber zu keiner Verbesserung der Stabilität. Auf Basis zuvor durchgeführter Überlegungen zu Redoxreaktionen (organischer) Materialien mit Wasser und Sauerstoff wird zum Abschluss der Arbeit ein möglicher Aufbau für luftstabile organische Solarzellen vorgeschlagen.

This study focuses on the architectural modification of pin-type small-molecule organic solar cells, in particular on the absorption layer and its influence on the key solar cell parameters, such as short circuit current density, fill factor and open circuit voltage. Three different approaches have been applied to improve the match between the solar spectrum and the spectral sensitivity of organic solar cells. In the first part, deposition parameters such as substrate temperature, gradient strength and (graded) absorption layer thickness are evaluated and compared to organic solar cells with homogeneously deposited absorption layers. Moreover, the gradient-like distribution of the absorption layer is characterized optically and morphological effects have been extensively studied. In order to isolate the origin of the efficiency improvement due to the graded architecture, voltage-dependent spectral response measurements have been performed and gave new insights. The second part concentrates on the efficient in-coupling of converted UV light, which is usually lost because of the cut off properties of organic light in-coupling layers. Via Förster resonance energy transfer, the absorbed UV light is re-emitted as red light and contributes significantly to higher short circuit current densities. The correlation between doping concentration, simple stack architecture modifications and the performance improvement is duly presented. In the third and last part, the impact of tri-component bulk heterojunction absorption layers is investigated, as these have potential to broaden the sensitivity spectrum of organic solar cells without chemical modification of designated absorber molecules. Along with the possibility to easily increase the photocurrent, an interesting behavior of the open circuit voltage has been observed. Knowledge about the impact of slight modifications within the solar stack architecture is important in order to be able to improve the device efficiency for the production of cheap and clean energy.

Organic solar cells have the potential to become a low-cost photovoltaic technology. One approach to further increase the device efficiency aimsvto cover the near-infrared region of the sunvspectrum. However, suitable absorber materials are rare. This thesis focuses on the material class of aza-bodipy and dibenzo-aza-bodipy as near-infrared absorber materials for organic solar cells. Besides the synthesis of novel thiophene-substituted aza-bodipys, azadiisoindomethenes were prepared by the addition of Grignard reagents to phthalodinitrile an subsequent reduction with formamide. Starting from these azadiisoindomethenes as precursors, complexes with borondifluoride, boroncatechole and transition metals were synthesized. The optical and electrochemical properties of all compounds prepared were investigated by experimental and theoretical methods. The (dibenzo-)aza-bodipys are characterized by their electronic structure, comprising a central electron acceptor core and peripheral electron donor units. The substituents at the donor units offer a stronger impact on the HOMO energy than on the LUMO energy. Electron donating substituents at the donor units result in an overall decreased HOMO-LUMO gap. This allows to redshift the absorption maximum up to 800 nm. The corresponding dibenzo-analogues already demonstrate a bathochromic shift of the absorption compared to the (non-annulated) aza-bodipys. Yet, the central acceptor is weakened and a further redshift by substituents is less distinct. The compounds can be thermally evaporated in high vacuum. The required thermal stability is increased in some cases by boroncatechol compared to borondifluoride complexes, without significant influence on the optical and electrochemical properties. Besides the characterization of the molecular properties, promising materials were evaluated in thin fifilms and solar cell devices. The charge carrier mobility in the measured compounds were found to be between 10E-6 and 10E-4 cm2V-1s-1. The charge transport parameters were calculated on the basis of obtained single crystal structures. It was found that a high charge carrier mobility may be attributed to a better molecular overlap and a short intermolecular distance in the corresponding solid state structure. Selected materials were characterized in organic solar cells. In solution processed devices, the dibenzo-aza-bodipys reached efficiencies of 1.6 % and 2.1 %, as donor materials in combination with PC61BM and PC71BM as acceptor. The main limiting factor in these devices turned out to be the low fill factor of 30 %. From a series of vacuum processed devices with aza-bodipys and dibenzo-aza-bodipys, increased voltages were obtained with decreasing HOMO energy of the bodipy derivatives. A suitable near-infrared absorbing dibenzo-aza-bodipy exhibited a contribution to the photocurrent from 750 - 950 nm. / Die organische Photovoltaik hat das Potential eine kostengünstige Solarzellentechnologie zu werden. Ein Ansatz die Effizienz weiter zu steigern besteht darin den aktiven Spektralbereich in den nahen Infrarotbereich zu erweitern. Bisher gibt es jedoch nur wenige geeignete Materialien. In dieser Arbeit werden Verbindungen aus der Materialklasse der Aza-Bodipy und Dibenzo-Aza-Bodipy als Absorbermaterialien für den nahen Infrarotbereich zur Verwendung in organischen Solarzellen untersucht. Neben der Synthese von neuen Thiophen-substituierten Aza-Bodipys wurden Azadiisoindomethine durch die Addition von Grignardverbindungen an Phthalodinitril und anschließender Reduktion mit Formamid dargestellt. Ausgehend von den Azadiisoindomethinen sind neue Bordifluorid, Borbrenzcatechin und Übergangsmetallkomplexe synthetisiert worden. Alle Substanzen sind mit experimentellen und theoretischen Methoden auf ihre optischen und elektrochemischen Eigenschaften hin untersucht worden. Die elektronische Struktur der (Dibenzo-)Aza-Bodipys ist charakterisiert durch periphere Elektronendonoreinheiten um einen zentralen Elektronenakzeptor. Die langwelligste Absorptionsbande kann in beiden Systemen durch Elektronen schiebende Gruppen an den Donoreinheiten bathochrom, auf über 800 nm verschoben werden. Die Ursache liegt in einem stärkeren Einfluss der Substituenten auf das HOMO als auf das LUMO und einem damit einhergehenden stärkeren Anstieg der HOMO-Energie woraus eine verkleinerte HOMO-LUMO Lücke resultiert. Die Dibenzo-Aza-Bodipys zeichnen sich durch eine rotverschobene Absorption gegenüber den (nicht benzannulierten) Aza-Bodipys aus. Jedoch ist der Akzeptor in den Dibenzo-Aza-Bodipys abgeschwächt, so dass die Rotverschiebung durch die selben Substituenten weniger stark ausgeprägt ist und die Energieniveaus tendenziell höher liegen. Die Verbindungen lassen sich thermisch im Vakuum verdampfen. Die für das Verdampfen wichtige thermische Stabilität, kann durch Austausch von Bordifluorid mit Borbrenzcatechol erhöht werden, ohne die optischen und elektronischen Eigenschaften wesentlich zu beeinflussen. Neben der Charakterisierung der molekularen Eigenschaften, sind einige Verbindungen im Dünnfifilm auf ihre elektrischen Eigenschaften und in Solarzellen untersucht worden. Die Ladungsträgerbeweglichkeit liegt bei den gemessenen Verbindungen zwischen 10E-6 und 10E-4 cm2V-1s-1. Durch Berechnung der Ladungstransportparameter auf Basis erhaltener Kristallstrukturen ist eine höhere Beweglichkeit auf eine günstigere Packung und einen geringeren intermolekularen Abstand zurückgeführt worden. Ausgewählte Verbindungen sind als Donormaterialien in organischen Solarzellen charakterisiert worden. Aus Lösungsmittel prozessierte Solarzellen mit Dibenzo-Aza-Bodipys erreichen eine Effifizienz von 1.6 % mit PC61BM, und 2.1 % mit PC71BM als Akzeptor. Der Effizienz limitierende Faktor ist hierbei der niedrige Füllfaktor von ca. 30 %. In vakuumprozessierten Solarzellen mit planarem Dono-Akzeptor-Übergang von Aza-Bodipys und Dibenzo-Aza-Bodipys hat sich gezeigt, dass die erhaltene Spannung mit abnehmender HOMO Energie der Materialien gesteigert wird. Ein geeignetes Dibenzo-Aza-Bodipy Material ist mit einen Beitrag zum Photostrom im nahen Infrarotbereich, von 750 - 950 nm, gezeigt worden.

The objective of this research is to determine if it is possible to reduce the number of organic solar cells required to power a load using a DC to DC converter thereby reducing the cost of the organic solar array system. An organic solar power system designer may choose an organic implementation of a DC to DC converter to go along with the organic solar cell array. Common DC to DC converters include the buck converter, boost converter, buck/boost converter, and Cuk converter, all of which are not good candidates for organic implementation due to their use of inductors. Organic inductors are relatively more lossy than organic capacitors. So, an inductor-less DC to DC converter, such as the Dickson charge pump, would be a better candidate for organic implementation. Solar cells connected in an array configuration usually do not perform up to their full potential due to current and voltage mismatches between solar cells. These mismatches can be related to each solar cell's circuit model parameters such as the photon current density, diode ideality factor, diode reverse saturation current density, parallel resistance, and series resistance. This research varies these circuit model parameters as dependent variables, and observes the loads and power levels that make the Dickson charge pump a feasible option. The results show that current mismatch does produce an opportunity to use a DC to DC converter to save the use of a few solar cells. However, the Dickson charge pump was found to be infeasible due to an input voltage requirement that could not be met using the tested organic solar cells.