The Effect of Cesium Carbonate on PCBM Aggregation in Films

TL;DR

This study investigates how cesium carbonate influences the organization and aggregation of PCBM films at the air-water interface, revealing that cesium carbonate reduces aggregation and smoothens the film, potentially improving organic photovoltaic device efficiency.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how cesium carbonate modulates PCBM film morphology, which was not previously well understood.

Findings

Cesium carbonate reduces PCBM aggregation in films.

Films with cesium carbonate are smoother than pure PCBM films.

Cesium carbonate potentially enhances organic photovoltaic device performance.

Abstract

Surface-pressure isotherms, X-ray reflectivity and X-ray near-total reflection fluorescence were used to study the properties of 1-(3-methoxycarbonyl)propyl-1-phenyl[6,6]C$_{61}$ (PCBM) that was pre-mixed with cesium carbonate and spread as a film at the air-water interface. The pre-mixed PCBM with cesium carbonate demonstrated a strikingly strong effect on the organization of the film. Whereas films formed from pure PCBM solution were rough due to strong inter-molecular interactions, the films formed from the mixture were much smoother. This indicates that the cesium carbonate moderates the inter-molecular interactions among PCBM molecules, hinting that the cesium diffusion observed in inverted organic photovoltaics and the likely ensuing ionic Cs-PCBM interaction decreases aggregation tendency of PCBM. This implies that the use of cesium salts affects the morphology of the organic layer and consequently improves the efficiency of these devices.