State-of-the-art quantum well based devices such as photovoltaics, photodetectors and light emission devices were enabled by understanding the nature and the exact mechanism of electronic charge transport. Ruddlesden-Popper halide perovskites are two-dimensional solution-processed quantum wells and have recently emerged as highly efficient semiconductor for solar cell approaching 13% in power conversion efficiency. However, further improvements will require an understanding of charge transport mechanisms, which are currently unknown and further complicated by the presence of strongly bound excitons. In our study, we discovered that the carrier transport is closely related to the structure and stacking of those quantum wells. Combining systematic device characterization and simulation, we conclude that the photo generated electron-hole pairs need to overcome the multiple internal potential barriers for collection to occur. The potential barriers that block the efficient separation of electron-hole pairs are attributed to the miss-alignment between crystalline slabs. Both of those properties are unfavorable for photovoltaic cell operation. Here we elucidate the critical role of field-assisted charge carrier separation that overcomes these bottlenecks leading to the efficient photocurrent collection. On the other hand, the structure of the 2D perovskites could promote the radiative recombination by spatially localizing the electrical injected carriers, which makes them an excellent material for light emitting diodes.

Organic n-type doping with donor dopants has not been established well because of air instability of conventional donor dopants. With this background, we have focused on imidazole-based compounds as solution-processable and pure organic n-type dopants. These compounds are known as strong single-electron reductants. However, these dopants are quickly oxidized in solution phase in ambient condition. In this work, we report an approach for increasing the stability of benzimidazole dopant molecule in solution phase by attachment dendritic oligoarylamine (N,N-bis[4-(di-4-anisyl-amino) phenyl]amine) at the 2-position of the imidazole ring (N3-DMBI-H shown in Fig. 1)[1].

N3-DMBI-H was newly synthesized by ourselves. N3-DMBI-H solution in chlorobenzene (CB) revealed much better stability in ambient air than solutions of other benzimidazole dopants. [6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) solution (in CB) was dropcast onto Si substrates covered with 200 nm-thick SiO₂ layer. Doping concentrations of N3-DMBI-H were 0, 0.5, 2 and 5 wt%. After that, the dropcast films were dried and heated at 100°C overnight to activate the dopants. The above processes were performed in a N₂-filled glovebox. After Au electrodes (thickness: 25 nm) were deposited onto the PCBM film surfaces by vacuum evaporation, we measured two-terminal current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of PCBM films under a vacuum condition (10^-2 Pa).

Figure 2 shows two-terminal I-V characteristics of undoped and N3-DMBI-H doped PCBM films. The gap distance between the two contact electrodes was 50 μm. As shown in Fig. 2, doping N3-DMBI-H into PCBM increased the current value by more than five orders of magnitude. The electrical conductivity of the N3-DMBI-H-doped PCBM thin film was reported to be 6.39 × 10^-4 cm^-1(undoped PCBM: 6.62 × 10^-9 S cm^-1). This result suggests that the electric resistance of PCBM thin films considerably decreased by N3-DMBI-H doping, due to carrier (electron) doping effects.

[1] M. Uebe, Y. Yoshihashi, K. Noda, M. Matsubara, A. Ito, J. Mater. Chem. C 2018, 6, 6429-6439

The design of efficient, stable photoelectrochemical devices requires the use of complex heterojunctions composed of semiconducting, protective, and catalytic layers. Understanding the nature of charge transport across these interfaces is challenging, due to the complexity of the interfaces and possibility of competing charge transfer mechanisms. W e present our recently developed multiscale approach that combines first-principles density functional theory (DFT) and solid-state drift/diffusion device scale modeling to give insights into the nature of charge transport across photoelectrode interfaces [1-3], Fig. 1. DFT is used to estimate the surface dipole induced by the functionalization, and the device software wxAMPS is used to predict experimentally measurable features such as the JV curve and the open-circuit voltage. Using this approach, we are able to identify the mechanism of hole transfer across n-Si(111)–R|TiO₂ photoanodes where −R is a series of mixed aryl/methyl monolayers containing an increasing number of methoxy units (mono, di, and tri). In collaboration with experiment, we find that hole transport is limited at the n-Si(111)–R|TiO₂ interface and occurs by two processes—thermionic emission and/or intraband tunneling—where the interplay between them is regulated by the interfacial molecular dipole. Finally we will highlight how molecule/surface interactions can be used to model doped silicon slabs at experimental doping densities in a computationally tractable manner.

Surface (and interfacial) science is found in various environments of scientific significance including biomembranes, ocean and atmospheric chemistry, applied electrochemistry and at the grand challenges of energy-waternexus [1]. Molecular redox behavior on the surface and at the interface is drastically different than bulk counterparts.

In this talk, we demonstrate scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is a powerful tool to investigate dynamic physical-chemical processes at surfaces and buried interfaces. This technique helps to determine ion (or electron) transfer kinetic rate, diffusion coefficient, imaging electrochemical redox reactions and activity. The significant advantage offered by SECM is its capability of probing chemical information at the solid/liquid interfaces. A constant potential is applied to the tip and electrochemical working electrode (i.e. the substrate in electrolyte) to drive reaction of redox species (or mediator) in bulk electrolyte solution to probe the surfaces of graphene-based hybrids, relevant for electrochemical energy systems. The micro-configured cyclic voltammograms, probe approach (current versus tip–substrate distance) curves in feedback and imaging modes, for graphene/CNT, graphene/transition metal oxide and aerogels are chosen as case examples to probe ion adsorption, charge transfer dynamics and to map highly electroactive (‘hot spots’) edge sites. The SECM setup has a resolution of ~40 nm and can locate and relocate areas of interest precisely after a coarse image. The heterogeneous electrode surfaces comprised of graphene nanosheets (conducting)/other nanomaterials (semiconducting) exhibit peak and valley tip current behavior and site distribution and the data is analyzed in terms of reactive basal plane and edge plane sites distribution, and help to determine heterogeneous rate constant using modeling and fitting experimental data. The findings reinforce the available electron density of states in the vicinity of the Fermi level contributing to higher electroactivity, faster interfacial diffusion, and shorter distances for electron transfer, facilitated through molecular and chemical bridges [1].

[1] S. Gupta and S. B. Carrizosa, Appl. Phys. Lett. 109, 243903 (2016).