Characterization of local electrochemical doping of high performance conjugated polymer for photovoltaics using scanning droplet cell microscopy

Abstract

The electrochemical oxidation of a next generation low bandgap high performance photovoltaic material namely poly[4,8-bis-substituted-benzo[1,2-b:4, 5-b0]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-4-substituted-thieno[3,4-b] thiophene-2,6-diyl] (PBDTTT-c) thin film was investigated using a scanning droplet cell microscope. Cyclic voltammetry was used for the basic characterization of the oxidation/doping of PBDTTT-c. Application of the different final potentials during the electrochemical study provides a close look to the oxidation kinetics. The electrical properties of both doped and undoped PBDTTT-c were analyzed in situ by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy giving the possibility to correlate the changes in the doping level with the subsequent changes in the resistance and capacitance. As a result one oxidation peak was found during the cyclic voltammetry and in potentiostatic measurements. From Mott-Schottky analysis a donor concentration of 2.3 × 1020 cm-3 and a flat band potential of 1.00 V vs. SHE were found. The oxidation process resulted in an increase of the conductivity by two orders of magnitude reaching a maximum for the oxidized form of 1.4 S cm-1. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved..