Imperial College London

Professor Jenny Nelson

Faculty of Natural SciencesDepartment of Physics

Professor of Physics
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7581jenny.nelson

 
 
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Location

 

1007Huxley BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Publication Type
Year
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419 results found

Tam B, Babacan O, Kafizas A, Nelson Jet al., 2024, Comparing the net-energy balance of standalone photovoltaic-coupled electrolysis and photoelectrochemical hydrogen production., Energy Environ Sci, Vol: 17, Pages: 1677-1694, ISSN: 1754-5692

Photovoltaic-coupled electrolysis (PV-E) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting are two options for storing solar energy as hydrogen. Understanding the requirements for achieving a positive energy balance over the lifetime of facilities using these technologies is important for ensuring sustainability. While neither technology has yet reached full commercialisation, they are also at very different technology readiness levels and scales of development. Here, we model the energy balance of standalone large-scale facilities to evaluate their energy return on energy invested (ERoEI) over time and energy payback time (EPBT). We find that for average input parameters based on present commercialised modules, a PV-E facility shows an EPBT of 6.2 years and ERoEI after 20 years of 2.1, which rises to approximately 3.7 with an EPBT of 2.7 years for favourable parameters using the best metrics amongst large-scale modules. The energy balance of PV-E facilities is influenced most strongly by the upfront embodied energy costs of the photovoltaic component. In contrast, the simulated ERoEI for a PEC facility made with earth abundant materials only peaks at 0.42 after 11 years and about 0.71 after 20 years for facilities with higher-performance active materials. Doubling the conversion efficiency to 10% and halving the degradation rate to 2% for a 10-year device lifetime can allow PEC facilities to achieve an ERoEI after 20 years of 2.1 for optimistic future parameters. We also estimate that recycling the materials used in hydrogen production technologies improves the energy balance by 28% and 14% for favourable-case PV-E and PEC water splitting facilities, respectively.

Journal article

Siemons N, Siemons N, 2023, Controlling swelling in mixed transport polymers through alkyl side-chain physical cross-linking, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA, Vol: 120, ISSN: 0027-8424

Semiconducting conjugated polymers bearing glycol side chains can simultaneously transport both electronic and ionic charges with high charge mobilities, making them ideal electrode materials for a range of bioelectronic devices. However, heavily glycolated conjugated polymer films have been observed to swell irreversibly when subjected to an electrochemical bias in an aqueous electrolyte. The excessive swelling can lead to the degradation of their microstructure, and subsequently reduced device performance. An effective strategy to control polymer film swelling is to copolymerize glycolated repeat units with a fraction of monomers bearing alkyl side chains, although the microscopic mechanism that constrains swelling is unknown. Here we investigate, experimentally and computationally, a series of archetypal mixed transporting copolymers with varying ratios of glycolated and alkylated repeat units. Experimentally we observe that exchanging 10% of the glycol side chains for alkyl leads to significantly reduced film swelling and an increase in electrochemical stability. Through molecular dynamics simulation of the amorphous phase of the materials, we observe the formation of polymer networks mediated by alkyl side-chain interactions. When in the presence of water, the network becomes increasingly connected, counteracting the volumetric expansion of the polymer film.

Journal article

Siemons N, Pearce D, Cendra C, Yu H, Tuladhar SM, Hallani RK, Sheelamanthula R, LeCroy GS, Siemons L, White AJP, Mcculloch I, Salleo A, Frost JM, Giovannitti A, Nelson Jet al., 2022, Impact of side chain hydrophilicity on packing, swelling and ion interactions in oxy-bithiophene semiconductors., Advanced Materials, Vol: 34, ISSN: 0935-9648

Exchanging hydrophobic alkyl-based side chains to hydrophilic glycol-based side chains is a widely adopted method for improving mixed-transport device performance, despite the impact on solid state packing and polymer-electrolyte interactions being poorly understood. Presented here is a Molecular Dynamics (MD) force field for modelling alkoxylated and glycolated polythiophenes. The force field is validated against known packing motifs for their monomer crystals. MD simulations, coupled with X-ray Diffraction (XRD), show that alkoxylated polythiophenes will pack with a 'tilted stack' and straight interdigitating side chains, whilst their glycolated counterpart will pack with a 'deflected stack' and an s-bend side chain configuration. MD simulations reveal water penetration pathways into the alkoxylated and glycolated crystals - through the π-stack and through the lamellar stack respectively. Finally, the two distinct ways tri-ethylene glycol polymers can bind to cations are revealed, showing the formation of a meta-stable single bound state, or an energetically deep double bound state, both with a strong side chain length dependance. The minimum energy pathways for the formation of the chelates are identified, showing the physical process through which cations can bind to one or two side chains of a glycolated polythiophene, with consequences for ion transport in bithiophene semiconductors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Journal article

Calado P, Gelmetti I, Hilton B, Azzouzi M, Nelson J, Barnes PRFet al., 2022, Driftfusion: an open source code for simulating ordered semiconductor devices with mixed ionic-electronic conducting materials in one dimension, JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL ELECTRONICS, Vol: 21, Pages: 960-991, ISSN: 1569-8025

Journal article

Ward MD, Shi W, Gasparini N, Nelson J, Wade J, Fuchter MJet al., 2022, Best practices in the measurement of circularly polarised photodetectors, JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C, Vol: 10, Pages: 10452-10463, ISSN: 2050-7526

Journal article

Tan E, Kim J, Stewart K, Pitsalidis C, Kwon S, Siemons N, Kim J, Jiang Y, Frost JM, Pearce D, Tyrrell JE, Nelson J, Owens RM, Kim Y-H, Kim J-Set al., 2022, The role of long-alkyl-group spacers in glycolated copolymers for high performance organic electrochemical transistors, Advanced Materials, Vol: 34, ISSN: 0935-9648

Semiconducting polymers with oligoethylene glycol sidechains have attracted strong research interest for organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) applications. However, key molecular design rules for high-performance OECTs via efficient mixed electronic/ionic charge transport are still unclear. Herein, we synthesize and characterize new glycolated copolymers (gDPP-TTT and gDPP-TTVTT) with diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) acceptor and thiophene-based (TTT or TTVTT) donor units for accumulation mode OECTs, where a long-alkyl-group (C12 ) attached to DPP unit acts as a spacer distancing the oligoethylene glycol from the polymer backbone. gDPP-TTVTT shows the highest OECT transconductance (61.9 S cm-1 ) and high operational stability, compared to gDPP-TTT and their alkylated counterparts. Surprisingly, gDPP-TTVTT also shows high electronic charge mobility in field-effect transistor, suggesting efficient ion injection/diffusion without hindering its efficient electronic charge transport. The elongated donor unit (TTVTT) facilitates the hole polaron formation more localized to the donor unit, leading to faster and easier polaron formation with less impact on polymer structure during OECT operation, as opposed to the TTT unit. This is supported by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. We conclude that these simultaneously high electronic and ionic charge transport properties are achieved due to the long-alkyl-group spacer in amphipathic sidechains, providing an important molecular design rule for glycolated copolymers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Journal article

Sowe J, Varela Barreras J, Schimpe M, Wu B, Candelise C, Nelson J, Few Set al., 2022, Model-informed battery current derating strategies: Simple methods to extend battery lifetime in islanded mini-grids, Journal of Energy Storage, Vol: 51, Pages: 1-9, ISSN: 2352-152X

Islanded mini-grids with batteries are crucial to enable universal access to energy. However, batteries are still costly, and how to select and operate them in an optimal manner is often unclear. The combination of variable climates with simple and low-cost passive thermal management also poses a challenge. Many techno-economic sizing tools usually consider simple battery degradation models, which disregard the impact of climatic conditions and operating strategy on battery performance. This study uses a semi-empirical Li-ion battery degradation model alongside an open-source techno-economic model to capture key insights. These are used to inform simple state of charge and temperature-based current derating strategies to increase lifetime. We demonstrate that such strategies can increase battery lifetime by 45% or 5–7 years in commercial systems already operational. It was found that, irrespective of climatic conditions, 80–90% of capacity fade can be attributed to calendar aging, due to low C-rates. SOC-based derating was found to be the most effective strategy, with temperature-based derating being less effective at extending lifetime and also leading to increased blackout periods. These results highlight the importance of accurate degradation modelling to achieve lifetime extension through improved operational strategies.

Journal article

Eisner F, Foot G, Yan J, Azzouzi M, Georgiadou DG, Sit WY, Firdaus Y, Zhang G, Lin Y-H, Yip H-L, Anthopoulos TD, Nelson Jet al., 2022, Emissive charge-transfer states at hybrid inorganic/organic heterojunctions enable low non-radiative recombination and high-performance photodetectors, Advanced Materials, Vol: 34, ISSN: 0935-9648

Hybrid devices based on a heterojunction between inorganic and organic semiconductors have offered a means to combine the advantages of both classes of materials in optoelectronic devices, but, in practice, the performance of such devices has often been disappointing. Here, it is demonstrated that charge generation in hybrid inorganic–organic heterojunctions consisting of copper thiocyanate (CuSCN) and a variety of molecular acceptors (ITIC, IT-4F, Y6, PC70BM, C70, C60) proceeds via emissive charge-transfer (CT) states analogous to those found at all-organic heterojunctions. Importantly, contrary to what has been observed at previous organic–inorganic heterojunctions, the dissociation of the CT-exciton and subsequent charge separation is efficient, allowing the fabrication of planar photovoltaic devices with very low non-radiative voltage losses (0.21 ±  0.02 V). It is shown that such low non-radiative recombination enables the fabrication of simple and cost-effective near-IR (NIR) detectors with extremely low dark current (4 pA cm−2) and noise spectral density (3 fA Hz−1/2) at no external bias, leading to specific detectivities at NIR wavelengths of just under 1013 Jones, close to the performance of commercial silicon photodetectors. It is believed that this work demonstrates the possibility for hybrid heterojunctions to exploit the unique properties of both inorganic and organic semiconductors for high-performance opto-electronic devices.

Journal article

Yan J, Rodríguez-Martínez X, Pearce D, Douglas H, Bili D, Azzouzi M, Eisner F, Virbule A, Rezasoltani E, Belova V, Dörling B, Few S, Szumska AA, Hou X, Zhang G, Yip H-L, Campoy-Quiles M, Nelson Jet al., 2022, Identifying structure-absorption relationships and predicting absorption strength of non-fullerene acceptors for organic photovoltaics, Energy & Environmental Science, Vol: 15, Pages: 2958-2973, ISSN: 1754-5692

Non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) are excellent light harvesters, yet the origin of their high optical extinction is not well understood. In this work, we investigate the absorption strength of NFAs by building a database of time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations of ∼500 π-conjugated molecules. The calculations are first validated by comparison with experimental measurements in solution and solid state using common fullerene and non-fullerene acceptors. We find that the molar extinction coefficient (εd,max) shows reasonable agreement between calculation in vacuum and experiment for molecules in solution, highlighting the effectiveness of TDDFT for predicting optical properties of organic π-conjugated molecules. We then perform a statistical analysis based on molecular descriptors to identify which features are important in defining the absorption strength. This allows us to identify structural features that are correlated with high absorption strength in NFAs and could be used to guide molecular design: highly absorbing NFAs should possess a planar, linear, and fully conjugated molecular backbone with highly polarisable heteroatoms. We then exploit a random decision forest algorithm to draw predictions for εd,max using a computational framework based on extended tight-binding Hamiltonians, which shows reasonable predicting accuracy with lower computational cost than TDDFT. This work provides a general understanding of the relationship between molecular structure and absorption strength in π-conjugated organic molecules, including NFAs, while introducing predictive machine-learning models of low computational cost.

Journal article

Zhu L, Zhang M, Xu J, Li C, Yan J, Zhou G, Zhong W, Hao T, Song J, Xue X, Zhou Z, Zeng R, Zhu H, Chen C-C, MacKenzie RC, Zou Y, Nelson J, Zhang Y, Sun Y, Liu Fet al., 2022, Single-junction organic solar cells with over 19% efficiency enabled by a refined double-fibril network morphology, Nature Materials, Vol: 21, ISSN: 1476-1122

In organic photovoltaics, morphological control of donor and acceptor domains on the nanoscale is the key for enabling efficient exciton diffusion and dissociation, carrier transport and suppression of recombination losses. To realize this, here, we demonstrated a double-fibril network based on a ternary donor–acceptor morphology with multi-length scales constructed by combining ancillary conjugated polymer crystallizers and a non-fullerene acceptor filament assembly. Using this approach, we achieved an average power conversion efficiency of 19.3% (certified 19.2%). The success lies in the good match between the photoelectric parameters and the morphological characteristic lengths, which utilizes the excitons and free charges efficiently. This strategy leads to an enhanced exciton diffusion length and a reduced recombination rate, hence minimizing photon-to-electron losses in the ternary devices as compared to their binary counterparts. The double-fibril network morphology strategy minimizes losses and maximizes the power output, offering the possibility of 20% power conversion efficiencies in single-junction organic photovoltaics.

Journal article

Hou X, Clarke AJ, Azzouzi M, Yan J, Eisner F, Shi X, Wyatt MF, Dennis TJS, Li Z, Nelson Jet al., 2022, Relationship between molecular properties and degradation mechanisms of organic solar cells based on bis-adducts of phenyl-C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester, Journal of Materials Chemistry C, Vol: 10, Pages: 7875-7885, ISSN: 2050-7526

Environmental stability remains a major challenge for the commercialisation of organic solar cells and degradation pathways remain poorly understood. Designing materials for improved device stability requires an understanding of the relationship between the properties of the donor or acceptor molecule and different degradation mechanisms. Here we study the correlations between various molecular parameters of the fullerene derivative bis-PCBM and the degradation rate of polymer:bis-PCBM organic solar cells, based on the same carbazole-alt-benzothiadiazole polymer, in aerobic and anaerobic conditions. We compare eight high purity bis-PCBM isomers with different electronic, chemical and packing properties along with PCBM and the mixture of bis isomers. In the case of aerobic photodegradation, we find that device degradation rate is positively correlated to the LUMO energy of the bis-PCBM isomer and to the degree of crystallinity of the isomer, while the correlation of degradation with driving force for epoxide formation is unclear. These results support the idea that in these samples, aerobic photodegradation proceeds via superoxide formation by the photogenerated polaron on the fullerene, followed by further chemical reaction. In the absence of air, photodegradation rate is correlated with molecular structure, supporting the mechanism of microstructural degradation via fullerene dimerization. The approach and findings presented here show how control of specific molecular parameters through chemical design can serve as a strategy to enhance stability of organic solar cells.

Journal article

Azzouzi M, Nelson J, Eisner F, Gallop N, Yan J, Zheng X, Cha H, He Q, Fei Z, Heeney M, Bakulin Aet al., 2022, Reconciling models of interfacial state kinetics and device performance in organic solar cells: Impact of the energy offsets on the power conversion efficiency, Energy and Environmental Science, Vol: 15, Pages: 156-1270, ISSN: 1754-5692

Achieving the simultaneous increases in the open circuit voltage (Voc), short circuit current (Jsc) and fill factor (FF) necessary to further increase the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic photovoltaics (OPV) requires a unified understanding of how molecular and device parameters affect all three characteristics. In this contribution, we introduce a framework that for the first time combines different models that have been used separately to describe the different steps of the charge generation and collection processes in OPV devices: a semi-classical rate model for charge recombination processes in OPV devices, zero-dimensional kinetic models for the photogeneration process and exciton dissociation and one-dimensional semiconductor device models. Using this unified multi-scale model in conjunction with experimental techniques (time-resolved absorption spectroscopy, steady-state and transient optoelectronic measurements) that probe the various steps involved in charge generation we can shed light on how the energy offsets in a series of polymer: non-fullerene devices affect the charge carrier generation, collection, and recombination properties of the devices. We find that changing the energy levels of the donor significantly affects not only the transition rates between local-exciton (LE) and charge-transfer (CT) states, but also significantly changes the transition rates between CT and charge-separated (CS) states, challenging the commonly accepted picture of charge generation and recombination. These results show that in order to obtain an accurate picture of charge generation in OPV devices, a variety of different experimental techniques under different conditions in conjunction with a comprehensive model of processes occurring at different time-scales are required.

Journal article

Few S, Barton J, Sandwell P, Mori R, Kulkarni P, Thomson M, Nelson J, Candelise Cet al., 2022, Electricity demand in populations gaining access: Impact of rurality and climatic conditions, and implications for microgrid design, Energy for Sustainable Development, Vol: 66, Pages: 151-164, ISSN: 0973-0826

Almost 800 million people currently lack access to reliable electricity, for many of whom solar microgrid systems are expected to be the most cost-effective solution. Quantifying current and future electricity demand is crucial for cost-effective design of reliable microgrids. However, electricity usage is connected to a wide range of social and economic factors alongside climatic conditions, making estimation of demand challenging. This paper presents a framework facilitating each stage of solar microgrid design from demand estimation through to cost-optimal sizing of the microgrid and its economic and environmental characterisation. Household demand is simulated based upon (1) climatic conditions, (2) appliance ratings and usage patterns, and (3) rates of growth in appliance ownership based upon the Multi-Tier Framework for measuring household electricity access. Microgrid demands are simulated based on the combination of these with (4) nondomestic demand based upon locally available data. The framework is demonstrated across four rates of domestic demand growth and two climatic conditions (‘tropical savanna’ and ‘humid subtropical’), alongside nondomestic demand based upon two operational microgrids (one rural and one peri-urban). When growth rates are high, newly introduced appliances tend to dominate, with differing impacts on the demand profile depending on power and usage times. Cooling represents a modest contribution to demand in the tropical savanna climate. However, in the hotter and more seasonally varying humid subtropical climate, cooling becomes the dominant driver of demand, increasing seasonality and proportion of demand at night. Nondomestic demand in the rural microgrid is primarily agricultural, and exhibits more seasonality and better alignment with daylight hours than demand in the peri-urban setting, which is more service-based. Across cases, increased seasonality and proportion of demand at night lead to poorer alignme

Journal article

Ward MD, Wade J, Shi X, Nelson J, Campbell AJ, Fuchter MJet al., 2022, Highly selective high-speed circularly polarized photodiodes based on π-conjugated polymers, Advanced Optical Materials, Vol: 10, ISSN: 2195-1071

Chiral π-conjugated molecular systems that are intrinsically sensitive to the handedness of circularly polarized (CP) light potentially allow for miniaturized, low-cost CP detection devices. Such devices promise to transform several technologies, including biosensing, quantum optics, and communication of data encrypted by exploiting the spin angular momentum of light. Here a simple, bilayer organic photodiode (CP OPD) comprising an achiral π-conjugated polymer–chiral additive blend as the electron donor layer and an achiral C60 electron acceptor layer is realized. These devices exhibit considerable photocurrent dissymmetry gph, with absolute values as high as 0.85 and dark currents as low as 10 pA. Impressively, they showcase a linear dynamic range of 80 dB, and rise and fall times of ≈7 µs, which significantly outperforms all previously reported CP selective photodetectors. Mechanistically, it is shown that the gph is sensitive to the thickness of both the chiral donor and achiral acceptor layers and that a trade-off exists between the external quantum efficiency and gph. The fast-switching speeds of these devices, coupled with their large dynamic range and highly selective response to CP light, opens up the possibility of their direct application in CP sensing and optical communications.

Journal article

Almora O, Baran D, Bazan GC, Berger C, Cabrera C, Catchpole KR, Erten-Ela S, Guo F, Hauch J, Ho-Baillie AWY, Jacobsson TJ, Janssen RAJ, Kirchartz T, Kopidakis N, Li Y, Loi MA, Lunt RR, Mathew X, McGehee MD, Min J, Mitzi DB, Nazeeruddin MK, Nelson J, Nogueira AF, Paetzold UW, Park N-G, Rand BP, Rau U, Snaith HJ, Unger E, Vaillant-Roca L, Yip H-L, Brabec CJet al., 2021, Device performance of emerging photovoltaic materials (version 2), Advanced Energy Materials, Vol: 11, Pages: 1-41, ISSN: 1614-6832

Following the 1st release of the “Emerging photovoltaic (PV) reports”, the best achievements in the performance of emerging photovoltaic devices in diverse emerging photovoltaic research subjects are summarized, as reported in peer-reviewed articles in academic journals since August 2020. Updated graphs, tables, and analyses are provided with several performance parameters, e.g., power conversion efficiency, open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, fill factor, light utilization efficiency, and stability test energy yield. These parameters are presented as a function of the photovoltaic bandgap energy and the average visible transmittance for each technology and application and are put into perspective using, e.g., the detailed balance efficiency limit. The 2nd instalment of the “Emerging PV reports” extends the scope toward tandem solar cells and presents the current state-of-the-art in tandem solar cell performance for various material combinations.

Journal article

Eisner F, Tam B, Belova V, Ow W, Yan J, Azzouzi M, Kafizas A, Campoy-Quiles M, Hankin A, Nelson Jet al., 2021, Color-tunable hybrid heterojunctions as semi-transparent photovoltaic windows for photoelectrochemical water splitting, Cell Reports Physical Science, Vol: 2, Pages: 1-16, ISSN: 2666-3864

The strong but narrow-bandwidth absorption spectra of organic semiconductors make them excellent candidates for semi-transparent solar cell applications in which color specificity is important. In this study, using a hybrid heterojunction combining the transparent inorganic semiconductor copper thiocyanate (CuSCN) with organic semiconductors (C70, PC70BM, C60, ITIC, IT-4F, or Y6), we show that simple color-tunable solar cells can be fabricated in which the transmission spectrum is determined solely by choice of the organic semiconductor. Using a joint electrical-optical model, we show that it is possible to combine the unique attributes of high photovoltage and color tunability to use these heterojunctions as photovoltaic windows in tandem photoelectrochemical (PEC)-photovoltaic (PV) cells. We demonstrate that this configuration can lead to a reduction in the parasitic absorption losses in the PEC-PV cells and, thus, to solar-to-hydrogen efficiencies (>3%) that are higher than that predicted using the traditionally used architecture in which the PV is placed behind the PEC.

Journal article

Pearce D, Pearce A, Gambhir A, Nelson J, Gilbert A, Rhodes A, Bhugobaun Ret al., 2021, Research pathways for net-zero transport

The future is uncertain and there are many different pathways ahead for technology and society. Some, but not all, ofthese pathways will deliver the required amount of decarbonisation to comply with the Paris Agreement. Whilst wecannot know for certain which of these pathways will be chosen, research allows us both to identify the patterns andtrends that can help shape the pathways, and ultimately our future, and to develop the technologies and approachesthat can assist decarbonisation

Report

Szumska AA, Maria IP, Flagg LQ, Savva A, Surgailis J, Paulsen BD, Moia D, Chen X, Griggs S, Mefford JT, Rashid RB, Marks A, Inal S, Ginger DS, Giovannitti A, Nelson Jet al., 2021, Reversible Electrochemical Charging of n-Type Conjugated Polymer Electrodes in Aqueous Electrolytes, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Vol: 143, Pages: 14795-14805, ISSN: 0002-7863

Journal article

Schmidt J, Weatherby J, Sugden I, Santana-Bonilla A, Salerno F, Fuchter M, Johnson E, Nelson J, Jelfs Ket al., 2021, Computational screening of organic semiconductors: exploring side-group functionalisation and assembly to optimise charge transport in chiral molecules, Crystal Growth and Design, Vol: 21, Pages: 5036-5049, ISSN: 1528-7483

Molecular materials are challenging to design as their packing arrangement and hence properties are subject to subtle variations in the interplay of soft intermolecular interactions that are difficult to predict. The rational design of new molecular materials with tailored properties is currently hampered by the lack of knowledge of how a candidate molecule will pack in space and how we can control the polymorphs we can experimentally obtain. Here, we develop a simplified approach to aid the material design process, by the development of a screening process that is used to test 1344 helicene molecules that have potential as organic electronic materials. Our approach bridges the gap between single molecule design, molecular assembly, and the resulting charge-carrier mobilities. We find that fluorination significantly improves electron transport in the molecular material by up to 200%; the reference [6]helicene packing showed a mobility of 0.30 cm2 V-1 s-1, fluorination increased the mobility to up to 0.96 and 0.97 (13-fluoro[6]H and 4,13-difluoro[6]H), assuming an outer reorganisation energy of 0.30 eV. Side groups containing triple bonds largely lead to improved transfer integrals. We validate our screening approach through the use of crystal structure prediction to confirm the presence of favourable packing motifs to maximize charge mobility.

Journal article

Reger D, Haines P, Amsharov KY, Schmidt JA, Ullrich T, Bönisch S, Hampel F, Görling A, Nelson J, Jelfs KE, Guldi DM, Jux Net al., 2021, A Family of Superhelicenes: Easily Tunable, Chiral Nanographenes by Merging Helicity with Planar π Systems, Angewandte Chemie, Vol: 133, Pages: 18221-18229, ISSN: 0044-8249

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>We designed a straightforward synthetic route towards a full‐fledged family of π‐extended helicenes: superhelicenes. They have two hexa‐peri‐hexabenzocoronenes (HBCs) in common that are connected via a central five‐membered ring. By means of structurally altering this 5‐membered ring, we realized a versatile library of molecular building blocks. Not only the superhelicene structure, but also their features are tuned with ease. In‐depth physico‐chemical characterizations served as a proof of concept thereof. The superhelicene enantiomers were separated, their circular dichroism was measured in preliminary studies and concluded with an enantiomeric assignment. Our work was rounded‐off by crystal structure analyses. Mixed stacks of M‐ and P‐isomers led to twisted molecular wires. Using such stacks, charge‐carrier mobilities were calculated, giving reason to expect outstanding hole transporting properties.</jats:p>

Journal article

Jux N, Reger D, Haines P, Amsharov KY, Schmidt JA, Ullrich T, Bönisch S, Hampel F, Görling A, Nelson J, Jelfs KE, Guldi DMet al., 2021, A family of superhelicenes - easily tunable, chiral nanographenes by merging helicity with planar π-systems, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol: 60, Pages: 18073-18081, ISSN: 1433-7851

Incorporating helicity into large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) constitutes a new field of research at the interface between chemistry and material sciences. Lately, interest in the design of π-extended helicenes has surged. This new class of twisted, chiral nanographenes not only reveals unique characteristics but also finds its way into emerging applications such as spintronics. Insights into their structure-property relationships and on-demand tuning are scarce. To close these knowledge gaps, we designed a straightforward synthetic route towards a full-fledged family of π-extended helicenes: superhelicenes. Common are two hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronenes (HBCs) connected via a central 5-membered ring. By means of structurally altering this 5-membered ring, we realized a versatile library of molecular building blocks. Not only the superhelicene structure, but also their features are tuned with ease. In-depth physico-chemical characterizations served as a proof of concept thereof. The superhelicene enantiomers were separated, their circular dichroism was measured in preliminary studies and concluded with an enantiomeric assignment. Our work was rounded-off by crystal structure analyses. Mixed stacks of M- and P-isomers led to twisted molecular wires. Using such stacks, charge-carrier mobilities were calculated, giving reason to expect outstanding hole transporting properties.

Journal article

Eisner F, Nelson J, 2021, Barrierless charge generation at non-fullerene organic heterojunctions comes at a cost, Joule, Vol: 5, Pages: 1319-1322, ISSN: 2542-4351

The advent of non-fullerene acceptors has enabled organic solar cells to reach power conversion efficiencies that were previously thought unreachable. However, in a recent Nature Materials article, Karuthedath and colleagues show that the electrostatic environment at the interface might put a limit to how much further they can be improved.

Journal article

Yan J, Rezasoltani E, Azzouzi M, Eisner F, Nelson Jet al., 2021, Influence of static disorder of charge transfer state on voltage loss in organic photovoltaics, Nature Communications, Vol: 12, ISSN: 2041-1723

Spectroscopic measurements of charge transfer (CT) states provide valuable insight into the voltage losses in organic photovoltaics (OPVs). Correct interpretation of CT-state spectra depends on knowledge of the underlying broadening mechanisms, and the relative importance of molecular vibrational broadening and variations in the CT-state energy (static disorder). Here, we present a physical model, that obeys the principle of detailed balance between photon absorption and emission, of the impact of CT-state static disorder on voltage losses in OPVs. We demonstrate that neglect of CT-state disorder in the analysis of spectra may lead to incorrect estimation of voltage losses in OPV devices. We show, using measurements of polymer:non-fullerene blends of different composition, how our model can be used to infer variations in CT-state energy distribution that result from variations in film microstructure. This work highlights the potential impact of static disorder on the characteristics of disordered organic blend devices.

Journal article

Ortega-Arriaga P, Babacan O, Nelson J, Gambhir Aet al., 2021, Grid versus off-grid electricity access options: A review on the economic and environmental impacts, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol: 143, Pages: 1-17, ISSN: 1364-0321

This research reviews the economic and environmental impacts of grid-extension and off-grid systems, to inform the appropriate electrification strategy for the current population without electricity access. The principal technologies reviewed are centralised conventional fossil-fuel grid-extension and off-grid systems mainly based on solar PV and batteries. It finds that relatively few studies explicitly compare grid-extension electricity costs against off-grid systems costs and that there is a lack of consistency in the methodologies used to determine the least-cost solution. Nevertheless, the studies reviewed show a range of around $0.2–1.4/kWh for off-grid electricity access, compared to a range of below $0.1/kWh to more than $8/kWh for grid access, pointing to a number of cases in which off-grid access may already be the more cost-effective option. Existing literature on the environmental impacts primarily focuses on greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation, with off-grid (solar PV and storage) systems’ emissions in the range of 50–130 gCO2-eq/kWh and grid generation from close to 0 gCO2-eq/kWh (for renewables and nuclear sources) to over 1,000 gCO2-eq/kWh (for coal). Emissions impacts stemming from transmission and distribution grids suggest a range of 0–30 gCO2-eq/kWh. Assessments of other environmental impacts such as water use, land use, biodiversity and e-waste are often absent in studies, whilst few studies explicitly compare the environmental impacts of grid versus off-grid systems. Further research should focus on comparing the costs of electricity access options using consistent metrics, expanding the scope of environmental impacts analysis, and integrating environmental and economic impacts into a comprehensive sustainability assessment of different options.

Journal article

Armin A, Li W, Sandberg OJ, Xiao Z, Ding L, Nelson J, Neher D, Vandewal K, Shoaee S, Wang T, Ade H, Heumueller T, Brabec C, Meredith Pet al., 2021, A history and perspective of non-fullerene electron acceptors for organic solar cells, Advanced Energy Materials, Vol: 11, ISSN: 1614-6832

Organic solar cells are composed of electron donating and accepting organic semiconductors. Whilst a significant palette of donors has been developed over three decades, until recently only a small number of acceptors have proven capable of delivering high power conversion efficiencies. In particular the fullerenes have dominated the landscape. In this perspective, the emergence of a family of materials–the non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) is described. These have delivered a discontinuous advance in cell efficiencies, with the significant milestone of 20% now in sight. Intensive international efforts in synthetic chemistry have established clear design rules for molecular engineering enabling an ever-expanding number of high efficiency candidates. However, these materials challenge the accepted wisdom of how organic solar cells work and force new thinking in areas such as morphology, charge generation and recombination. This perspective provides a historical context for the development of NFAs, and also addresses current thinking in these areas plus considers important manufacturability criteria. There is no doubt that the NFAs have propelled organic solar cell technology to the efficiencies necessary for a viable commercial technology–but how far can they be pushed, and will they also deliver on equally important metrics such as stability?

Journal article

Baranda Alonso J, Sandwell P, Nelson J, 2021, The potential for solar-diesel hybrid mini-grids in refugee camps: A case study of Nyabiheke camp, Rwanda, Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, Vol: 44, Pages: 1-18, ISSN: 2213-1388

Electricity access in refugee camps is often limited to critical operations for humanitarian agencies and typically powered by diesel generators. We study the economic and environmental benefits that optimised fully renewable and diesel-hybrid mini-grid designs can provide in humanitarian settings by displacing diesel use. Considering the case study of Nyabiheke camp in Rwanda we found that these benefits are substantial, with total cost and emissions reductions of up to 32% and 83% respectively, and cost payback times ranging from 0.9 to 6.2 years. Despite their different cost structures, we find that all levels of hybridisation provide cost and emission savings compared to the incumbent diesel system, with hybrid systems being able to offset emissions more cost-effectively than fully renewable systems. We highlight how modelling tools can facilitate the introduction and progressive expansion of systems, improving asset utilisation and reducing lifetime costs compared to one-off installations, and can inform operational considerations on the ground. These benefits are enhanced when connecting productive users for whom demand matches the solar generation profile. Multiple energy needs and objectives can be met simultaneously but financial resources, environmental considerations and operational timeframes will influence the most appropriate system design for humanitarian actors on a case-by-case basis.

Journal article

Almora O, Baran D, Bazan GC, Berger C, Cabrera CI, Catchpole KR, Erten-Ela S, Guo F, Hauch J, Ho-Baillie AWY, Jacobsson TJ, Janssen RAJ, Kirchartz T, Kopidakis N, Li Y, Loi MA, Lunt RR, Mathew X, McGehee MD, Min J, Mitzi DB, Nazeeruddin MK, Nelson J, Nogueira AF, Paetzold UW, Park N-G, Rand BP, Rau U, Snaith HJ, Unger E, Vaillant-Roca L, Yip H-L, Brabec CJet al., 2021, Device Performance of Emerging Photovoltaic Materials (Version 1), ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS, Vol: 11, ISSN: 1614-6832

Journal article

Yiwen W, Jinho L, Xueyan H, Labanti C, Jun Y, Amber P, Eva M, Jenny N, Ji-Seon K, Zhe L, Yiwen W, Jinho L, Xueyan H, Chiara L, Yan J, Eva M, Amber P, Jenny N, Ji-Seon K, Zhe Let al., 2021, Recent progress and Challenges toward highly stable nonfullerene acceptor‐based organic solar cells, Advanced Energy Materials, Vol: 11, ISSN: 1614-6832

Organic solar cells (OSCs) based on nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) have made significant breakthrough in their device performance, now achieving a power conversion efficiency of ≈18% for single junction devices, driven by the rapid development in their molecular design and device engineering in recent years. However, achieving long‐term stability remains a major challenge to overcome for their commercialization, due in large part to the current lack of understanding of their degradation mechanisms as well as the design rules for enhancing their stability. In this review, the recent progress in understanding the degradation mechanisms and enhancing the stability of high performance NFA‐based OSCs is a specific focus. First, an overview of the recent advances in the molecular design and device engineering of several classes of high performance NFA‐based OSCs for various targeted applications is provided, before presenting a critical review of the different degradation mechanisms identified through photochemical‐, photo‐, and morphological degradation pathways. Potential strategies to address these degradation mechanisms for further stability enhancement, from molecular design, interfacial engineering, and morphology control perspectives, are also discussed. Finally, an outlook is given highlighting the remaining key challenges toward achieving the long‐term stability of NFA‐OSCs.

Journal article

Few S, Djapic P, Strbac G, Nelson J, Candelise Cet al., 2020, Assessing local costs and impacts of distributed solar PV using high resolution data from across Great Britain, Renewable Energy, Vol: 162, Pages: 1140-1150, ISSN: 0960-1481

Highly spatially resolved data from across Great Britain (GB) are combined with a distribution network modelling tool to assess impacts of distributed photovoltaic (PV) deployment up to 2050 on local networks, the costs of avoiding these impacts, and how these depend upon context. Present-day deployment of distributed PV, meter density, and network infrastructure across GB are found to be highly dependent on rurality, and data on these are used to build up three representative contexts: cities, towns, and villages. For each context, distribution networks are simulated, and impacts on these networks associated with PV deployment and growth in peak load up to 2050 calculated. Present-day higher levels of PV deployment in rural areas are maintained in future scenarios, necessitating upgrades in ambitious PV scenarios in towns and villages from around 2040, but not before 2050 in cities. Impacts of load growth are more severe than those of PV deployment, potentially necessitating upgrades in cities, towns, and villages from 2030. These are most extensive in cities and towns, where long feeders connect more customers, making networks particularly susceptible to impacts. Storage and demand side response are effective in reducing upgrade costs, particularly in cities and towns.

Journal article

Lubert-Perquel D, Szumska AA, Azzouzi M, Salvadori E, Ruloff S, Kay CMW, Nelson J, Heutz Set al., 2020, Structure dependence of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters in singlet fission processes., Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Vol: 11, Pages: 9557-9565, ISSN: 1948-7185

Singlet fission-whereby one absorbed photon generates two coupled triplet excitons-is a key process for increasing the efficiency of optoelectronic devices by overcoming the Shockley-Queisser limit. A crucial parameter is the rate of dissociation of the coupled triplets, as this limits the number of free triplets subsequently available for harvesting and ultimately the overall efficiency of the device. Here we present an analysis of the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters for this process in parallel and herringbone dimers measured by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy in coevaporated films of pentacene in p-terphenyl. The rate of dissociation is higher for parallel dimers than for their herringbone counterparts, as is the rate of recombination to the ground state. DFT calculations, which provide the magnitude of the electronic coupling as well as the distribution of molecular orbitals for each geometry, suggest that weaker triplet coupling in the parallel dimer is the driving force for faster dissociation. Conversely, localization of the molecular orbitals and a stronger triplet-triplet interaction result in slower dissociation and recombination. The identification and understanding of how the intermolecular geometry promotes efficient triplet dissociation provide the basis for control of triplet coupling and thereby the optimization of one important parameter of device performance.

Journal article

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