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Yijian Shi

Bio: Yijian Shi is an academic researcher from University of California, Los Angeles. The author has contributed to research in topics: Polymer & Thin film. The author has an hindex of 7, co-authored 8 publications receiving 937 citations.

Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the results of a systematic study on how the processing conditions of spin casting affect the morphology of polymer thin films, and how the morphology affects polymer light-emitting diode (LED) performance.
Abstract: We present the results of a systematic study on how the processing conditions of spin casting affect the morphology of polymer thin films, and how the morphology affects polymer light-emitting diode (LED) performance. The absorption peaks of poly(2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1, 4-phenylene vinylene) (MEH-PPV) thin films, which reflects the conjugation of π electrons, are strongly correlated to the spin-casting conditions. At high spin speed, better conjugation is observed. In addition, the photoluminescence emission peak of MEH-PPV films at ∼630 nm has a strong correlation to polymer aggregation. By proper selection of organic solvents, polymer solution concentrations, and spin speeds, we are able to control the aggregation of the polymer chains. Subsequently, we are able to control the emission color and the quantum efficiency of the MEH-PPV LEDs by simply adjusting the spin-casting conditions. Although spin casting is the most commonly used technique for the preparation of polymer thin films, our fin...

357 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the photo-induced current and the open-circuit voltage show a strong dependence on the polymer processing conditions, which is attributed to the different solvation-induced polymer morphology.
Abstract: Polymer-based photovoltaic devices have been fabricated by blending the conjugated polymer, poly(2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV) with the buckminsterfullerene, C60. The photo-induced current and the open-circuit voltage show a strong dependence on the polymer processing conditions. It was found that the photovoltaic devices fabricated with tetrahydrofuran or chloroform (non-aromatic solvents) have smaller photocurrents under same reverse bias as well as higher open circuit voltages than the devices fabricated with xylene, dichlorobenzene, or chlorobenzene (aromatic solvents). The device performance dependence on the processing solvent is attributed to the different solvation-induced polymer morphology.

296 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the correlation between the morphology and electrical properties of poly(2methoxy-5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene based light emitting diodes was reported.
Abstract: We recently demonstrated that the morphology of a spin-cast polymer film can be controlled by the proper choice of solvent, polymer solution concentration, and spin speed [Y. Shi, J. Liu, and Y. Yang, J. Appl. Phys. 87, 4254 (2000)]. In this article, we report the correlation between the morphology and the electrical properties of poly(2-methoxy-5-(2’-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene based light emitting diodes. The performance of these devices, such as device turn-on voltage, current injection efficiency, and quantum efficiency, shows a strong dependence on thin film processing conditions. It is found that aromatic solvents and nonaromatic solvents have very different effects on device performance, which suggests that the solvation induced morphology effect is one of the controlling factors for polymer-based optoelectronic devices.

137 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the photoluminescence spectrum of conjugated polymers with a wider band-gap poly(2-methoxy-5(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) was shown to be similar to the spectrum of a diluted MEH-PPV solution.
Abstract: Optical and electronic properties of conjugated polymers can be modified significantly by arranging the polymer chains differently. For example, it is well known that polymer solutions of lower concentrations have different photoluminescence spectra from solutions of higher concentrations. In this manuscript, we demonstrated that such effects can also be achieved in solid states, i.e., in polymer solid solutions consisting of a narrower band-gap material—poly(2-methoxy-5(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene (MEH-PPV) with a wider band-gap polymer–poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene). At very low MEH-PPV concentrations, emission spectra of these solid solutions are similar to the photoluminescence spectrum of a diluted MEH-PPV solution in an ordinary organic solvent, suggesting the absence of a significant amount of interchain species. In addition, the electroluminescence efficiency is significant enhanced. Furthermore, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) is dramatically reduced at lower MEH-PPV concentrations...

86 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the formation of the POM contact is strongly influenced by the processing of polymer thin films, i.e., the relative arrangements of the side groups and conjugated backbone, significantly affects the interfacial characteristics.
Abstract: Polymer/metal interfaces play an important role in determining the performance of polymer based electronic devices. For most polymer diodes, one of the polymer/metal contacts is usually formed by spin casting a polymer solution onto a metal electrode; we call it polymer-on-metal (POM) contact. The other polymer/metal contact is usually formed by vacuum deposition of metal vapor onto the polymer surface; we call it metal-on-polymer (MOP) contact. In this article, we present evidence that the formation of the POM contact is strongly influenced by the processing of polymer thin films. The POM contact has a greater energy barrier for carrier injection than the MOP contact. The morphology of the polymer thin films, i.e., the relative arrangements of the side groups and conjugated backbone, significantly affects the interfacial characteristics. We also present a simple method of evaluating the morphological effects at the contact.

43 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review gives a general introduction to the materials, production techniques, working principles, critical parameters, and stability of the organic solar cells, and discusses the alternative approaches such as polymer/polymer solar cells and organic/inorganic hybrid solar cells.
Abstract: The need to develop inexpensive renewable energy sources stimulates scientific research for efficient, low-cost photovoltaic devices.1 The organic, polymer-based photovoltaic elements have introduced at least the potential of obtaining cheap and easy methods to produce energy from light.2 The possibility of chemically manipulating the material properties of polymers (plastics) combined with a variety of easy and cheap processing techniques has made polymer-based materials present in almost every aspect of modern society.3 Organic semiconductors have several advantages: (a) lowcost synthesis, and (b) easy manufacture of thin film devices by vacuum evaporation/sublimation or solution cast or printing technologies. Furthermore, organic semiconductor thin films may show high absorption coefficients4 exceeding 105 cm-1, which makes them good chromophores for optoelectronic applications. The electronic band gap of organic semiconductors can be engineered by chemical synthesis for simple color changing of light emitting diodes (LEDs).5 Charge carrier mobilities as high as 10 cm2/V‚s6 made them competitive with amorphous silicon.7 This review is organized as follows. In the first part, we will give a general introduction to the materials, production techniques, working principles, critical parameters, and stability of the organic solar cells. In the second part, we will focus on conjugated polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells, mainly on polyphenylenevinylene (PPV) derivatives/(1-(3-methoxycarbonyl) propyl-1-phenyl[6,6]C61) (PCBM) fullerene derivatives and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/PCBM systems. In the third part, we will discuss the alternative approaches such as polymer/polymer solar cells and organic/inorganic hybrid solar cells. In the fourth part, we will suggest possible routes for further improvements and finish with some conclusions. The different papers mentioned in the text have been chosen for didactical purposes and cannot reflect the chronology of the research field nor have a claim of completeness. The further interested reader is referred to the vast amount of quality papers published in this field during the past decade.

6,059 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented a review of several organic photovoltaics (OPV) technologies, including conjugated polymers with high-electron-affinity molecules like C60 (as in the bulk-heterojunction solar cell).
Abstract: There has been an intensive search for cost-effective photovoltaics since the development of the first solar cells in the 1950s. [1–3] Among all alternative technologies to silicon-based pn-junction solar cells, organic solar cells could lead the most significant cost reduction. [4] The field of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) comprises organic/inorganic nanostructures like dyesensitized solar cells, multilayers of small organic molecules, and phase-separated mixtures of organic materials (the bulkheterojunction solar cell). A review of several OPV technologies has been presented recently. [5] Light absorption in organic solar cells leads to the generation of excited, bound electron– hole pairs (often called excitons). To achieve substantial energy-conversion efficiencies, these excited electron–hole pairs need to be dissociated into free charge carriers with a high yield. Excitons can be dissociated at interfaces of materials with different electron affinities or by electric fields, or the dissociation can be trap or impurity assisted. Blending conjugated polymers with high-electron-affinity molecules like C60 (as in the bulk-heterojunction solar cell) has proven to be an efficient way for rapid exciton dissociation. Conjugated polymer–C60 interpenetrating networks exhibit ultrafast charge transfer (∼40 fs). [6,7] As there is no competing decay process of the optically excited electron–hole pair located on the polymer in this time regime, an optimized mixture with C60 converts absorbed photons to electrons with an efficiency close to 100%. [8] The associated bicontinuous interpenetrating network enables efficient collection of the separated charges at the electrodes. The bulk-heterojunction solar cell has attracted a lot of attention because of its potential to be a true low-cost photovoltaic technology. A simple coating or printing process would enable roll-to-roll manufacturing of flexible, low-weight PV modules, which should permit cost-efficient production and the development of products for new markets, e.g., in the field of portable electronics. One major obstacle for the commercialization of bulk-heterojunction solar cells is the relatively small device efficiencies that have been demonstrated up to now. [5] The best energy-conversion efficiencies published for small-area devices approach 5%. [9–11] A detailed analysis of state-of-the-art bulk-heterojunction solar cells [8] reveals that the efficiency is limited by the low opencircuit voltage (Voc) delivered by these devices under illumination. Typically, organic semiconductors with a bandgap of about 2 eV are applied as photoactive materials, but the observed open-circuit voltages are only in the range of 0.5–1 V. There has long been a controversy about the origin of the Voc in conjugated polymer–fullerene solar cells. Following the classical thin-film solar-cell concept, the metal–insulator–metal (MIM) model was applied to bulk-heterojunction devices. In the MIM picture, Voc is simply equal to the work-function difference of the two metal electrodes. The model had to be modified after the observation of the strong influence of the reduction potential of the fullerene on the open-circuit volt

4,816 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The current status of the field of organic solar cells and the important parameters to improve their performance are discussed in this paper. But, the two competitive production techniques used today are either wet solution processing or dry thermal evaporation of the organic constituents.
Abstract: Organic solar cell research has developed during the past 30 years, but especially in the last decade it has attracted scientific and economic interest triggered by a rapid increase in power conversion efficiencies. This was achieved by the introduction of new materials, improved materials engineering, and more sophisticated device structures. Today, solar power conversion efficiencies in excess of 3% have been accomplished with several device concepts. Though efficiencies of these thin-film organicdevices have not yet reached those of their inorganic counterparts (η ≈ 10–20%); the perspective of cheap production (employing, e.g., roll-to-roll processes) drives the development of organic photovoltaic devices further in a dynamic way. The two competitive production techniques used today are either wet solution processing or dry thermal evaporation of the organic constituents. The field of organic solar cells profited well from the development of light-emitting diodes based on similar technologies, which have entered the market recently. We review here the current status of the field of organic solar cells and discuss different production technologies as well as study the important parameters to improve their performance.

2,492 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
19 Dec 2002-Nature
TL;DR: A hybrid light-emitting diode (LED) that combines the ease of processability of organic materials with the narrow-band, efficient luminescence of colloidal quantum dots (QDs) is demonstrated and a 25-fold improvement in luminescent efficiency is observed.
Abstract: The integration of organic and inorganic materials at the nanometre scale into hybrid optoelectronic structures enables active devices that combine the diversity of organic materials with the high-performance electronic and optical properties of inorganic nanocrystals. The optimization of such hybrid devices ultimately depends upon the precise positioning of the functionally distinct materials. Previous studies have already emphasized that this is a challenge, owing to the lack of well-developed nanometre-scale fabrication techniques. Here we demonstrate a hybrid light-emitting diode (LED) that combines the ease of processability of organic materials with the narrow-band, efficient luminescence of colloidal quantum dots (QDs). To isolate the luminescence processes from charge conduction, we fabricate a quantum-dot LED (QD-LED) that contains only a single monolayer of QDs, sandwiched between two organic thin films. This is achieved by a method that uses material phase segregation between the QD aliphatic capping groups and the aromatic organic materials. In our devices, where QDs function exclusively as lumophores, we observe a 25-fold improvement in luminescence efficiency (1.6 cd A(-1) at 2,000 cd m(-2)) over the best previous QD-LED results. The reproducibility and precision of our phase-segregation approach suggests that this technique could be widely applicable to the fabrication of other hybrid organic/inorganic devices.

2,438 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: School of Chemistry, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, 30 Flemington Road, Victoria 3010, Australia; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nastyang Avenue, Republic of Singapore 639798; Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602.
Abstract: A review was presented to demonstrate a historical description of the synthesis of light-emitting conjugated polymers for applications in electroluminescent devices. Electroluminescence (EL) was first reported in poly(para-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) in 1990 and researchers continued to make significant efforts to develop conjugated materials as the active units in light-emitting devices (LED) to be used in display applications. Conjugated oligomers were used as luminescent materials and as models for conjugated polymers in the review. Oligomers were used to demonstrate a structure and property relationship to determine a key polymer property or to demonstrate a technique that was to be applied to polymers. The review focused on demonstrating the way polymer structures were made and the way their properties were controlled by intelligent and rational and synthetic design.

2,378 citations