Polymer/Polymer Blend Solar Cells with 2.0% Efficiency Developed by Thermal Purification of Nanoscale-Phase-Separated Morphology

We have fabricated polymer/polymer blend solar cells consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) as the electron donor and poly{2,7-(9,9-didodecylfluorene)-alt-5,5-[4′,7′-bis(2-thienyl)-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole]} as the acceptor. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) was strongly dependent on solvents employed for spin coating. The best PCE of 2.0% was obtained for thermally annealed devices prepared from a chloroform solution, in contrast to devices fabricated from chlorobenzene and o-dichlorobenzene solutions. On the basis of the morphology–performance relationship in the polymer blends examined by atomic force microscopy and the photoluminescence quenching measurements, we conclude that the highly efficient performance is achieved by thermal purification of nanoscale-phase-separated domains formed by spin coating from chloroform.