Exploring photocurrent output from donor/acceptor bulk-heterojunctions by monitoring exciton quenching

In this work, a series of polymer bulk-heterojunctions is fabricated based on the combinations of different donors (Ds) (P3HT and PCPDTBT) and acceptors (As) (PCBM, ICBA, and F8BT). Exciton quenching efficiencies of the D–A pairs are obtained in order to quantify charge-transfer between the donor and the acceptor via a modified approach developed in conjunction with experimental results of optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra. It is discovered that the exciton quenching efficiency in the combination of PCPDTBT:PCBM and P3HT:PCBM reaches 70% and over, but in PCPDTBT:ICBA it is about 12%. A relatively high ΔLUMO_{donor-acceptor} results in a relatively high exciton quenching efficiency, which is responsible for better charge separation. The results agreed well with the photocurrent effect of the heterojunction layers. The work offers a convenient way to predict a potentially promising photovoltaic material with a selected D–A pair.