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Polymer photovoltaic devices commonly suffer from low power conversion efficiencies despite the potential for much higher performance. Here we apply a recently reported system for creating a chemically fixed polymer p-i-n junction to polymer photovoltaic devices. Both single-component and blended donor/acceptor devices are fabricated and tested. We study the devices during charging and find that the changes in light and dark current characteristics are consistent with the formation of a p-i-n junction in the active material. While the overall performance of these systems need improvement, the devices show promising open circuit voltages, suggesting the possibility for improving the state-of-the-art in polymer photovoltaic techno logies with continued materials development.

Organic electronics research has focused primarily on flexible, inexpensive versions of traditional semiconductor technologies. Although mixed ionic/electronic conduction in conjugated organic materials introduces exciting functionality, the understanding of the fundamental processes that take place is still in its infancy. In this Research News article, the advantages, applications, and basic research needs that relate to the incorporation of ionic carriers in organic electronic materials and devices are discussed and placed in the broader context of the field.