Publications
26 results found
Zbiri M, Gilhooly-Finn PA, Fouquet P, et al., 2022, Structural Dynamics of Polymer:Non-Fullerene Organic Solar Cell Blends: A Neutron Spectroscopy Perspective, CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, Vol: 34, Pages: 7937-7946, ISSN: 0897-4756
Zbiri M, Finn PA, Nielsen CB, et al., 2021, Quantitative insights into the phase behaviour and miscibility of organic photovoltaic active layers from the perspective of neutron spectroscopy, JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C, Vol: 9, Pages: 11873-11881, ISSN: 2050-7526
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- Citations: 2
Guilbert AAY, Parr ZS, Kreouzis T, et al., 2021, Effect of substituting non-polar chains with polar chains on the structural dynamics of small organic molecule and polymer semiconductors, PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS, Vol: 23, Pages: 7462-7471, ISSN: 1463-9076
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- Citations: 3
Stoeckel M-A, Olivier Y, Gobbi M, et al., 2021, Analysis of External and Internal Disorder to Understand Band-Like Transport in n-Type Organic Semiconductors, ADVANCED MATERIALS, Vol: 33, ISSN: 0935-9648
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- Citations: 12
Zbiri M, Aitchison CM, Sprick RS, et al., 2021, Probing Dynamics of Water Mass Transfer in Organic Porous Photocatalyst Water-Splitting Materials by Neutron Spectroscopy, CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, Vol: 33, Pages: 1363-1372, ISSN: 0897-4756
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- Citations: 3
Guilbert AAY, Bai Y, Aitchison CM, et al., 2021, Impact of Chemical Structure on the Dynamics of Mass Transfer of Water in Conjugated Microporous Polymers: A Neutron Spectroscopy Study, ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS, Vol: 3, Pages: 765-776, ISSN: 2637-6105
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- Citations: 5
Rezasoltani E, Guilbert AAY, Yan J, et al., 2020, Correlating the phase behavior with the device performance in binary poly-3-hexylthiophene: nonfullerene acceptor blend using optical probes of the microstructure, Chemistry of Materials, Vol: 32, Pages: 8294-8305, ISSN: 0897-4756
The performance of photovoltaic devices based on blends of conjugated polymers with nonfullerene acceptors depends on the phase behavior and microstructure of the binary, which in turn depends on the chemical structures of the molecular components and the blend composition. We investigate the correlation between the molecular structure, composition, phase behavior, and device performance of a model system consisting of semicrystalline poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) as the donor polymer and three nonfullerene acceptors, two of which (O-IDTBR/EH-IDTBR) have a planar core with different side chains and one (O-IDFBR) of which has a twisted core. We combine differential scanning calorimetry with optical measurements including UV–Vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and Raman spectroscopy and photovoltaic device performance measurements, all at varying blend composition. For P3HT:IDTBR blends, the crystallinity of polymer and acceptor is preserved over a wide composition range and the blend displays a eutectic phase behavior, with the optimum solar cell composition lying close to the eutectic composition. For P3HT:IDFBR blends, increasing acceptor content disrupts the polymer crystallinity, and the optimum device composition appears to be limited by polymer connectivity rather than being linked to the eutectic composition. The optical probes allow us to probe both the crystalline and amorphous phases, clearly revealing the compositions at which component mixing disrupts crystallinity.
Woods DJ, Hillman S, Pearce D, et al., 2020, Side-chain tuning in conjugated polymer photocatalysts for improved hydrogen production from water, Energy & Environmental Science, Vol: 13, Pages: 1843-1855, ISSN: 1754-5692
Structure–property–activity relationships in solution processable polymer photocatalysts for hydrogen production from water were probed by varying the chemical structure of both the polymer side-chains and the polymer backbone. In both cases, the photocatalytic performance depends strongly on the inclusion of more polar groups, such as dibenzo[b,d]thiophene sulfone backbone units or oligo(ethylene glycol) side-chains. We used optical, spectroscopic, and structural characterisation techniques to understand the different catalytic activities of these systems. We find that although polar groups improve the wettability of the material with water in all cases, backbone and side-chain modifications affect photocatalytic performance in different ways: the inclusion of dibenzo[b,d]thiophene sulfone backbone units improves the thermodynamic driving force for hole transfer to the sacrificial donor, while the inclusion of oligo ethylene glycol side-chains aids the degree of polymer swelling and also extends the electron polaron lifetime. The best performing material, FS-TEG, exhibits a HER of 72.5 μmol h−1 for 25 mg photocatalyst (2.9 mmol g−1 h−1) when dispersed in the presence of a sacrificial donor and illuminated with λ > 420 nm light, corresponding to a hydrogen evolution EQE of 10% at 420 nm. When cast as a thin film, this HER was further boosted to 13.9 mmol g−1 h−1 (3.0 mmol m−2 h−1), which is among the highest rates in this field.
Hamid Z, Wadsworth A, Rezasoltani E, et al., 2020, Influence of Polymer Aggregation and Liquid Immiscibility on Morphology Tuning by Varying Composition in PffBT4T-2DT/Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells, ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS, Vol: 10, ISSN: 1614-6832
Guilbert AAY, Zbiri M, Finn PA, et al., 2019, Mapping Microstructural Dynamics up to the Nanosecond of the Conjugated Polymer P3HT in the Solid State, CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, Vol: 31, Pages: 9635-9651, ISSN: 0897-4756
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- Citations: 9
Sprick RS, Bai Y, Guilbert AAY, et al., 2019, Photocatalytic hydrogen evolution from water using fluorene and dibenzothiophene sulfone-conjugated microporous and linear polymers, Chemistry of Materials, Vol: 31, Pages: 305-313, ISSN: 0897-4756
Three series of conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) were studied as photocatalysts for hydrogen production from water using a sacrificial hole scavenger. In all cases, dibenzo[b,d]thiophene sulfone polymers outperformed their fluorene analogues. A porous network, S-CMP3, showed the highest hydrogen evolution rates of 6076 μmol h–1 g–1 (λ > 295 nm) and 3106 μmol h–1 g–1 (λ > 420 nm), with an external quantum efficiency of 13.2% at 420 nm. S-CMP3 outperforms its linear structural analogue, P35, whereas in other cases, nonporous linear polymers are superior to equivalent porous networks. This suggests that microporosity might be beneficial for sacrificial photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, if suitable linkers are used that do not limit charge transport and the material can be wetted by water as studied here by water sorption and quasi-elastic neutron scattering.
Sachs M, Sprick RS, Pearce D, et al., 2018, Understanding structure-activity relationships in linear polymer photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution, Nature Communications, Vol: 9, ISSN: 2041-1723
Conjugated polymers have sparked much interest as photocatalysts for hydrogen production. However, beyond basic considerations such as spectral absorption, the factors that dictate their photocatalytic activity are poorly understood. Here we investigate a series of linear conjugated polymers with external quantum efficiencies for hydrogen production between 0.4 and 11.6%. We monitor the generation of the photoactive species from femtoseconds to seconds after light absorption using transient spectroscopy and correlate their yield with the measured photocatalytic activity. Experiments coupled with modeling suggest that the localization of water around the polymer chain due to the incorporation of sulfone groups into an otherwise hydrophobic backbone is crucial for charge generation. Calculations of solution redox potentials and charge transfer free energies demonstrate that electron transfer from the sacrificial donor becomes thermodynamically favored as a result of the more polar local environment, leading to the production of long-lived electrons in these amphiphilic polymers.
Rice B, Guilbert AAY, Frost JM, et al., 2018, Polaron states in fullerene adducts modeled by coarse-grained molecular dynamics and tight binding, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Vol: 9, Pages: 6616-6623, ISSN: 1948-7185
Strong electron–phonon coupling leads to polaron localization in molecular semiconductor materials and influences charge transport, but it is expensive to calculate atomistically. Here, we propose a simple and efficient model to determine the energy and spatial extent of polaron states within a coarse-grained representation of a disordered molecular film. We calculate the electronic structure of the molecular assembly using a tight-binding Hamiltonian and determine the polaron state self-consistently by perturbing the site energies by the dielectric response of the surrounding medium to the charge. When applied to fullerene derivatives, the method shows that polarons extend over multiple molecules in C60 but localize on single molecules in higher adducts of phenyl-C61-butyric-acid-methyl-ester (PCBM) because of packing disorder and the polar side chains. In PCBM, polarons localize on single molecules only when energetic disorder is included or when the fullerene is dispersed in a blend. The method helps to establish the conditions under which a hopping transport model is justified.
Wadsworth A, Hamid Z, Bidwell M, et al., 2018, Progress in Poly (3-Hexylthiophene) Organic Solar Cells and the Influence of Its Molecular Weight on Device Performance, ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS, Vol: 8, ISSN: 1614-6832
Guilbert AAY, Zbiri M, Dunbar ADF, et al., 2017, Quantitative Analysis of the Molecular Dynamics of P3HT:PCBM Bulk Heterojunction, Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol: 121, Pages: 9073-9080, ISSN: 1520-5207
The optoelectronic properties of blends of conjugated polymers and small molecules are likely to be affected by the molecular dynamics of the active layer components. We study the dynamics of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blends using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation on time scales up to 50 ns and in a temperature range of 250–360 K. First, we compare the MD results with quasi-elastic neutron-scattering (QENS) measurements. Experiment and simulation give evidence of the vitrification of P3HT upon blending and the plasticization of PCBM by P3HT. Second, we reconstruct the QENS signal based on the independent simulations of the three phases constituting the complex microstructure of such blends. Finally, we found that P3HT chains tend to wrap around PCBM molecules in the amorphous mixture of P3HT and PCBM; this molecular interaction between P3HT and PCBM is likely to be responsible for the observed frustration of P3HT, the plasticization of PCBM, and the partial miscibility of P3HT and PCBM.
Kumar N, Zoladek-Lemanczyk A, Guilbert AAY, et al., 2017, Simultaneous topographical, electrical and optical microscopy of optoelectronic devices at the nanoscale, Nanoscale, Vol: 9, Pages: 2723-2731, ISSN: 2040-3364
Novel optoelectronic devices rely on complex nanomaterial systems where the nanoscale morphology and local chemical composition are critical to performance. However, the lack of analytical techniques that can directly probe these structure–property relationships at the nanoscale presents a major obstacle to device development. In this work, we present a novel method for non-destructive, simultaneous mapping of the morphology, chemical composition and photoelectrical properties with <20 nm spatial resolution by combining plasmonic optical signal enhancement with electrical-mode scanning probe microscopy. We demonstrate that this combined approach offers subsurface sensitivity that can be exploited to provide molecular information with a nanoscale resolution in all three spatial dimensions. By applying the technique to an organic solar cell device, we show that the inferred surface and subsurface composition distribution correlates strongly with the local photocurrent generation and explains macroscopic device performance. For instance, the direct measurement of fullerene phase purity can distinguish between high purity aggregates that lead to poor performance and lower purity aggregates (fullerene intercalated with polymer) that result in strong photocurrent generation and collection. We show that the reliable determination of the structure–property relationship at the nanoscale can remove ambiguity from macroscopic device data and support the identification of the best routes for device optimisation. The multi-parameter measurement approach demonstrated herein is expected to play a significant role in guiding the rational design of nanomaterial-based optoelectronic devices, by opening a new realm of possibilities for advanced investigation via the combination of nanoscale optical spectroscopy with a whole range of scanning probe microscopy modes.
Guilbert AAY, Cabral JT, 2016, Impact of solution phase behaviour and external fields on thin film morphology: PCBM and RRa-P3HT model system, Soft Matter, Vol: 13, Pages: 827-835, ISSN: 1744-683X
We report the impact of the ternary solution phase behaviour on the film morphology and crystallization of a model polymer:fullerene system. We employ UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, combined with sequential filtration and dilution, to establish the phase diagram for regio-random poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) in chlorobenzene. Films are systematically cast from one- and two-phase regions decoupling homogeneous and heterogenous nucleation, and the role of pre-formed aggregates from solutions. Increasing annealing temperature from 120 to 200 °C reveals a highly non-monotonic nucleation profile with a maximum at 170 °C, while the crystal growth rate increases monotonically. UV ozonolysis is employed to vary substrate energy, and found to increase nucleation rate and to promote a binary crystallization process. As previously found, exposure to light, under an inert atmosphere, effectively suppresses homogeneous nucleation; however, it has a considerably smaller effect on heterogeneous nucleation, either from solution aggregates or substrate-driven. Our results establish a quantitative link between solution thermodynamics, crystallization and provide insight into morphological design based on processing parameters in a proxy organic photovoltaic system.
Fallon KJ, Wijeyasinghe N, Manley EF, et al., 2016, Indolo-naphthyridine-6,13-dione Thiophene Building Block for Conjugated Polymer Electronics: Molecular Origin of Ultrahigh n-Type Mobility, CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, Vol: 28, Pages: 8366-8378, ISSN: 0897-4756
Boleininger M, Guilbert A, Horsfield AP, 2016, Gaussian polarizable-ion tight binding, Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol: 145, ISSN: 1089-7690
To interpret ultrafast dynamics experiments on large molecules, computer simulation is required due to the complex response to the laser field. We present a method capable of efficiently computing the static electronic response of large systems to external electric fields. This is achieved by extending the density-functional tight binding method to include larger basis sets and by multipole expansion of the charge density into electrostatically interacting Gaussian distributions. Polarizabilities for a range of hydrocarbon molecules are computed for a multipole expansion up to quadrupole order, giving excellent agreement with experimental values, with average errors similar to those from density functional theory, but at a small fraction of the cost. We apply the model in conjunction with the polarizable-point-dipoles model to estimate the internal fields in amorphous poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl).
Tuladhar SM, Azzouzi M, Delval F, et al., 2016, Low Open-Circuit Voltage Loss in Solution Processed Small Molecule Organic Solar Cells, ACS Energy Letters, Vol: 1, Pages: 302-308, ISSN: 2380-8195
Guilbert AA, Zbiri M, Jenart MV, et al., 2016, New insights into the molecular dynamics of P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction: a time-of-flight quasi-elastic neutron scattering study, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Vol: 7, Pages: 2252-2257, ISSN: 1948-7185
The molecular dynamics of organic semiconductor blend layers are likely to affect the optoelectronic properties and the performance of devices such as solar cells. We study the dynamics (5-50 ps) of the poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT): phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend by time-of-flight quasi-elastic neutron scattering, at temperatures in the range 250-360 K, thus spanning the glass transition temperature region of the polymer and the operation temperature of an OPV device. The behavior of the QENS signal provides evidence for the vitrification of P3HT upon blending, especially above the glass transition temperature, and the plasticization of PCBM by P3HT, both dynamics occurring on the picosecond time scale.
Guilbert AAY, Urbina A, Abad J, et al., 2015, Temperature-dependent dynamics of polyalkylthiophene conjugated polymers: a combined neutron scattering and simulation study, Chemistry of Materials, Vol: 27, Pages: 7652-7661, ISSN: 1520-5002
The dynamics of conjugated polymers are known to influence the performance of optoelectronic devices. Polyalkylthiophenes are a widely studied class of conjugated polymers, which exhibit a glass transition around room temperature and consequently are sensitive to temperature variations. We studied the dynamics of two polyalkylthiophenes of different side chain lengths (hexyl and octyl) as a function of temperature, by comparing their quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) with molecular dynamics simulations (MD). We found a good agreement between the simulated and experimental data within the explored time window (of ∼4 ns), demonstrating that the force fields used in MD simulations are appropriate and that the QENS technique can be used as a validation of such force fields. Using MD allows us to identify and to assign contributions to the QENS signal from different parts of the polymers and to determine the activation energies of the different motions.
Guilbert AAY, Schmidt M, Bruno A, et al., 2014, Spectroscopic Evaluation of Mixing and Crystallinity of Fullerenes in Bulk Heterojunctions, ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Vol: 24, Pages: 6972-6980, ISSN: 1616-301X
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- Citations: 26
Dattani R, Bannock JH, Fei Z, et al., 2014, A general mechanism for controlling thin film structures in all-conjugated block copolymer: fullerene blends, JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A, Vol: 2, Pages: 14711-14719, ISSN: 2050-7488
Guilbert AAY, Frost JM, Agostinelli T, et al., 2014, Influence of Bridging Atom and Side Chains on the Structure and Crystallinity of Cyclopentadithiophene-Benzothiadiazole Polymers, CHEMISTRY OF MATERIALS, Vol: 26, Pages: 1226-1233, ISSN: 0897-4756
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- Citations: 45
Guilbert AAY, Reynolds LX, Bruno A, et al., 2012, Effect of Multiple Adduct Fullerenes on Microstructure and Phase Behaviour of P3HT:Fullerene Blend Films for Organic Solar Cells, ACS Nano, ISSN: 1936-0851
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