The carrier collection efficiency (ηc) and energy conversion efficiency (ηe) of polymer photovoltaic cells were improved by blending of the semiconducting polymer with C60 or its functionalized derivatives. Composite films of poly(2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (MEH-PPV) and fullerenes exhibit ηc of about 29 percent of electrons per photon and ηe of about 2.9 percent, efficiencies that are better by more than two orders of magnitude than those that have been achieved with devices made with pure MEH-PPV. The efficient charge separation results from photoinduced electron transfer from the MEH-PPV (as donor) to C60 (as acceptor); the high collection efficiency results from a bicontinuous network of internal donor-acceptor heterojunctions.

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Polymer photovoltaic cells : enhanced efficiencies via a network of internal donor-acceptor heterojunctions

Evidence for photoinduced electron transfer from the excited state of a conducting polymer onto buckminsterfullerene, C(60), is reported. After photo-excitation of the conjugated polymer with light of energy greater than the pi-pi* gap, an electron transfer to the C(60) molecule is initiated. Photoinduced optical absorption studies demonstrate a different excitation spectrum for the composite as compared to the separate components, consistent with photo-excited charge transfer. A photoinduced electron spin resonance signal exhibits signatures of both the conducting polymer cation and the C(60) anion. Because the photoluminescence in the conducting polymer is quenched by interaction with C(60), the data imply that charge transfer from the excited state occurs on a picosecond time scale. The charge-separated state in composite films is metastable at low temperatures.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/258/5087/1474.full.pdf

Photoinduced electron transfer from a conducting polymer to buckminsterfullerene.

This article reviews the physics of high-temperature superconductors from the point of view of the doping of a Mott insulator. The basic electronic structure of cuprates is reviewed, emphasizing the physics of strong correlation and establishing the model of a doped Mott insulator as a starting point. A variety of experiments are discussed, focusing on the region of the phase diagram close to the Mott insulator (the underdoped region) where the behavior is most anomalous. The normal state in this region exhibits pseudogap phenomenon. In contrast, the quasiparticles in the superconducting state are well defined and behave according to theory. This review introduces Anderson's idea of the resonating valence bond and argues that it gives a qualitative account of the data. The importance of phase fluctuations is discussed, leading to a theory of the transition temperature, which is driven by phase fluctuations and the thermal excitation of quasiparticles. However, an argument is made that phase fluctuations can only explain pseudogap phenomenology over a limited temperature range, and some additional physics is needed to explain the onset of singlet formation at very high temperatures. A description of the numerical method of the projected wave function is presented, which turns out to be a very useful technique for implementing the strong correlation constraint and leads to a number of predictions which are in agreement with experiments. The remainder of the paper deals with an analytic treatment of the $t\text{\ensuremath{-}}J$ model, with the goal of putting the resonating valence bond idea on a more formal footing. The slave boson is introduced to enforce the constraint againt double occupation and it is shown that the implementation of this local constraint leads naturally to gauge theories. This review follows the historical order by first examining the U(1) formulation of the gauge theory. Some inadequacies of this formulation for underdoping are discussed, leading to the SU(2) formulation. Here follows a rather thorough discussion of the role of gauge theory in describing the spin-liquid phase of the undoped Mott insulator. The difference between the high-energy gauge group in the formulation of the problem versus the low-energy gauge group, which is an emergent phenomenon, is emphasized. Several possible routes to deconfinement based on different emergent gauge groups are discussed, which leads to the physics of fractionalization and spin-charge separation. Next the extension of the SU(2) formulation to nonzero doping is described with a focus on a part of the mean-field phase diagram called the staggered flux liquid phase. It will be shown that inclusion of the gauge fluctuation provides a reasonable description of the pseudogap phase. It is emphasized that $d$-wave superconductivity can be considered as evolving from a stable U(1) spin liquid. These ideas are applied to the high-${T}_{c}$ cuprates, and their implications for the vortex structure and the phase diagram are discussed. A possible test of the topological structure of the pseudogap phase is described.

/pdf/doping-a-mott-insulator-physics-of-high-temperature-55r49vtp31.pdf

Doping a Mott insulator: Physics of high-temperature superconductivity

Preface Acknowledgements Notation Part I. Overview and Background Topics: 1. Introduction 2. Overview 3. Theoretical background 4. Periodic solids and electron bands 5. Uniform electron gas and simple metals Part II. Density Functional Theory: 6. Density functional theory: foundations 7. The Kohn-Sham ansatz 8. Functionals for exchange and correlation 9. Solving the Kohn-Sham equations Part III. Important Preliminaries on Atoms: 10. Electronic structure of atoms 11. Pseudopotentials Part IV. Determination of Electronic Structure, The Three Basic Methods: 12. Plane waves and grids: basics 13. Plane waves and grids: full calculations 14. Localized orbitals: tight binding 15. Localized orbitals: full calculations 16. Augmented functions: APW, KKR, MTO 17. Augmented functions: linear methods Part V. Predicting Properties of Matter from Electronic Structure - Recent Developments: 18. Quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) 19. Response functions: photons, magnons ... 20. Excitation spectra and optical properties 21. Wannier functions 22. Polarization, localization and Berry's phases 23. Locality and linear scaling O (N) methods 24. Where to find more Appendixes References Index.

Electronic Structure: Basic Theory and Practical Methods

THE synthesis of macroscopic amounts of C60 and C70 (fullerenes)1 has stimulated a variety of studies on their chemical and physical properties2,3. We recently demonstrated that C60 and C70 become conductive when doped with alkali metals4. Here we describe low-temperature studies of potassium-doped C60 both as films and bulk samples, and demonstrate that this material becomes superconducting. Superconductivity is demonstrated by microwave, resistivity and Meissner-effect measurements. Both polycrystalline powders and thin-film samples were studied. A thin film showed a resistance transition with an onset temperature of 16 K and essentially zero resistance near 5 K. Bulk samples showed a well-defined Meissner effect and magnetic-field-dependent microwave absorption beginning at 18 K. The onset of superconductivity at 18 K is the highest yet observed for a molecular superconductor.

/pdf/superconductivity-at-18-k-in-potassium-doped-c60-30fq0lzflp.pdf

Superconductivity at 18 K in potassium-doped C60

THE recent syntheses1,2 of macroscopic quantities of C60 have suggested possible applications in host–guest and organic chemistry, tribology, electrochemistry and semiconductor tech-nology. Here we report the preparation of alkali-metal-doped films of C60 and C70 which have electrical conductivities at room temperature that are comparable to those attained by n-type doped polyacetylene. The highest conductivities observed in the doped films are: 4Scm−1 (Cs/C60), 100 (Rb/C60), 500 (K/C60), 20 (Na/C60), 10 (Li/C60), 2 (K/C70). The doping process is reversed on exposure of the films to the atmosphere. At high doping levels, the films become more resistive. We attribute the conductivity induced in these films to the formation of energy bands from the π orbitals of C60 or C70, which become partially filled with carriers on doping. The smaller alkali metal ions should be able to fit into the interstices in the lattice without disrupting the network of contacts between the carbon spheroids. In the case of C60, this would allow the development of an isotropic band structure, and we therefore propose that these materials may constitute the first three-dimensional 'organic' conductors.

Conducting films of C60 and C70 by alkali-metal doping

The fullerene C60 can be converted into two different structures by high pressure and temperature. They are metastable and revert to pristine C60 on reheating to 300°C at ambient pressure. For synthesis temperatures between 300° and 400°C and pressures of 5 gigapascals, a nominal face-centered-cubic structure is produced with a lattice parameter ao = 13.6 angstroms. When treated at 500° to 800°C at the same pressure, C60 transforms into a rhombohedral structure with hexagonal lattice parameters of ao = 9.22 angstroms and co = 24.6 angstroms. The intermolecular distance is small enough that a chemical bond can form, in accord with the reduced solubility of the pressure-induced phases. Infrared, Raman, and nuclear magnetic resonance studies show a drastic reduction of icosahedral symmetry, as might occur if the C60 molecules are linked.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/264/5165/1570.full.pdf

New Phases of C60 Synthesized at High Pressure

We characterize the molecular reorientational dynamics in two phases of solid ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ with $^{13}\mathrm{C}$ NMR measurements. A change in the nature of the dynamics, indicated by a change in kinetic parameters extracted from spin-lattice relaxation data, occurs at the phase transition at 260 K. Above the transition, the molecules appear to execute continuous rotational diffusion; below the transition, they appear to jump between symmetry-equivalent orientations. This interpretation is consistent with the x-ray-diffraction results of Heiney et al. as well as our NMR relaxation and spectral data.

Molecular dynamics and the phase transition in solid C 60

The Knight shift [K,(v, T)] and spin-lattice relaxation time [T&(v, T)] of the "Ga nuclei located in n-doped GaAs quantum wells are measured using optically pumped NMR, for Landau level filling 0.66 ( v ( 1.76 and temperature 1.55 ( T ( 20 K. K, (v) [proportional to the electron spin polarization (S,(v))] drops precipitously on either side of v = 1, which is evidence that the charged excitations of the v = 1 ground state are finite-size Skyrmions. For v ( 1, the data are consistent with a many-body ground state which is not fully spin polarized, with a very small spin excitation gap that 2 increases as v 3'

Optically pumped NMR evidence for finite-size skyrmions in GaAs quantum wells near Landau level filling nu =1.

Spin dynamics at planar sites in oxygen-deficient ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{6+\mathrm{x}}$ have been investigated by nuclear spin-lattice relaxation measurements using $^{63}$,65Cu nuclear quadrupole resonance and $^{89}\mathrm{Y}$ NMR. A sharp decrease of $^{63}\mathrm{Cu}$ nuclear relaxation below 100 K in ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{6.7}$ suggests the possible onset of spin pairing in individual planes well above the transition to three-dimensional bulk superconductivity. Comparison of the relaxation rates for the 60-K superconductor ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{6.7}$ with those of ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{7.0}$ in the range 100--300 K shows that the planar Cu(2) spin dynamics are strongly affected by changes in carrier concentration.

Gary Dabbagh

Papers

Conducting films of C60 and C70 by alkali-metal doping

New Phases of C60 Synthesized at High Pressure

Molecular dynamics and the phase transition in solid C 60

Optically pumped NMR evidence for finite-size skyrmions in GaAs quantum wells near Landau level filling nu =1.

Cu spin dynamics and superconducting precursor effects in planes above Tc in YBa2Cu3O6.7.