Tailoring the interface using thiophene small molecules in TiO2/P3HT hybrid solar cells

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2012 Sep 14;14(34):11990-3. doi: 10.1039/c2cp41706e. Epub 2012 Jul 30.

Abstract

In this paper we focus on the effect of carboxylated thiophene small molecules as interface modifiers in TiO(2)/P3HT hybrid solar cells. Our results show that small differences in the chemical structure of these molecules, for example, the presence of the -CH(2)- group in the 2-thiopheneacetic acid (TAA), can greatly increase the TiO(2) surface wettability, improving the TiO(2)/polymer contact. This effect is important to enhance exciton splitting and charge separation.