Improvement of morphology and performance of P3HT/ZnO hybrid solar cells induced by liquid crystal molecules

Herein, the liquid crystal molecule, 3,6-bis(5-(4-hexyl-phenyl)-2-thienyl)-2,5-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-2,5-dihydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4-dione (DPP-TP6), is introduced into P3HT/ZnO to control the morphology of the hybrid system. Induced by the self-assembly behavior of DPP-TP6 upon thermal treatment at the mesomorphase temperature, the dispersion of ZnO nanocrystals is effectively improved and the crystallinity and ordering of the P3HT is also enhanced, which provides more interfacial area for exciton dissociation and efficient path for carrier transport. On such basis, the power conversion efficiency of P3HT/ZnO hybrid solar cells is improved mainly due to the increase of J sc .