An intriguing morphological transition from poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) 1D nanofibers to 2D nanoribbons enabled by the addition of a series of alkylthiols is reported. First, P3HT 1D nanofibers are formed due to strong anisotropic π–π stacking between planar rigid backbones. Upon the addition of alkylthiols, P3HT nanofibers are transformed into nanoribbons associated with the crystallographic transition from edge-on orientation to flat-on orientation. The content of alkylthiols has a great influence on the P3HT morphology in the solution. The mechanism of such a morphological transformation is discussed based on the interaction between alkylthiols and P3HT chains. This work offers an effective strategy to tailor the crystal morphology and dimension of P3HT, which not only improves the understanding of P3HT crystallization but also may enable such discovery into conjugated polymer-based optoelectronic devices.
Interface engineering has been proved to be a practical strategy to enhance power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of perovskite solar cells. Recently approaches involving ultra-thin layer deposition and vacuum-processing, while improving PCE, increase the processing complexity, and thus the overall cost. In this paper, we demonstrate a high-efficiency inverted planar perovskite solar cell, obtained with a simple wet-chemistry based, room-temperature, and cost-effective process, which synthesizes two interfacial layers: solution processed molybdenum oxide (named s-MoOx) for anode and titanium(IV) oxide bis(2,4-pentanedionate) (TOPD) for cathode buffer layers. Steady-state photoluminescence (PL), time resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) are conducted to characterize the charge transport properties, confirming an enhanced charge extraction efficiency and a suppressed charge recombination. In addition, the introduction of the interfacial layers facilities formation of an ohmic contact with the metal electrode, reducing the charge transfer resistance and increasing the FF to as high as 80.7%. The optimized solar cells achieve the best PCE of 16.04% which far exceeds the PCE of devices without these interfacial layers (PCE = 11.2%).