Controlling morphology and molecular packing of alkane substituted phthalocyanine blend bulk heterojunction solar cells

Systematic changes in the exocyclic substitution of a core phthalocyanine platform tune the absorption properties to yield commercially viable dyes that function as the primary light absorbers in organic bulk heterojunction solar cells. Blends of these complementary phthalocyanines absorb a broader portion of the solar spectrum compared to a single dye, thereby improving solar cell performance. We correlate grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering data with solar cell performance to elucidate the role of the nanomorphology of active layers composed of blends of phthalocyanines and a fullerene derivative. A highly reproducible device architecture is used to ensure accuracy and is relevant to films for solar windows in urban settings. We demonstrate that the number and structure of the exocyclic motifs dictate phase formation, hierarchical organization, and nanostructure, thus can be employed to tailor active layer morphology to enhance exciton dissociation and charge collection efficiencies in the photovoltaic devices. These studies reveal that disordered films make better solar cells, short alkanes increase the optical density of the active layer, and branched alkanes inhibit unproductive homogeneous molecular alignment.