3D electron diffraction—the missing slice completing nanoscale analysis of organic solar cells in TEM

Nature Communications, vol. 17

Abstract

Abstract Optimizing the performance of organic solar cells hinges on a comprehensive understanding of their nanostructures, yet traditional characterization methods often fall short, delivering incomplete structural snapshots. We introduce elastically filtered 3D electron diffraction as technique to bridge full reciprocal- and real-space structural analysis within a single transmission electron microscope. Using model bulk heterojunction DRCN5T:PC 71 BM, 3D electron diffraction reproduces key structural parameters obtained from grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering, including lattice spacings, coherence lengths, and mosaicity, while also providing true in-plane access and direct registration with high-resolution imaging, diffraction imaging and nano-spectroscopy on the same sample. Application to another archetypal blend, P3HT:PC 71 BM, demonstrates the generality of the method. Our findings underscore the transformative potential of 3D electron diffraction, particularly in analyzing beam-sensitive organic thin films. The method enables correlative structural characterization of organic solar cells and opens pathways for application to a wide range of other nanostructured materials.

Authors 14

1. Irene Kraus

   Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Micro- and Nanostructure Research & Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Erlangen, Germany

2. Mingjian Wu corresponding

   Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Micro- and Nanostructure Research & Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Erlangen, Germany. mingjian.wu@fau.de

3. Stefanie Rechberger

   Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Micro- and Nanostructure Research & Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Erlangen, Germany

4. Johannes Will

   Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Micro- and Nanostructure Research & Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Erlangen, Germany

5. Santanu Maiti

   Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Crystallography and Structural Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

6. Konstantin Dengel

   Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Micro- and Nanostructure Research & Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Erlangen, Germany

7. Andreas Kuhlmann Aachen Institute of Physical Chemistry

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Paderborn University · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Chemistry, Paderborn University, Paderborn, Germany

   Institute for a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy (IHE-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany

   Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

8. Marten Huck Aachen Institute of Physical Chemistry

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Paderborn University · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Chemistry, Paderborn University, Paderborn, Germany

   Institute for a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy (IHE-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany

   Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

9. Larry Lüer

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg · Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HIERN), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Erlangen, Germany

   Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (iMEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

10. Florian Bertram

    Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY

    Affiliation as printed

    Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany

11. Hans‐Georg Steinrück Aachen Institute of Physical Chemistry

    Forschungszentrum Jülich · Paderborn University · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Chemistry, Paderborn University, Paderborn, Germany

    Institute for a Sustainable Hydrogen Economy (IHE-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany

    Institute of Physical Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

12. Tobias Unruh

    Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Crystallography and Structural Physics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

13. Christoph Josef Brabec

    Forschungszentrum Jülich · Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg · Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg

    Affiliation as printed

    Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (HIERN), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Erlangen, Germany

    Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (iMEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

14. Erdmann Spiecker corresponding

    Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Micro- and Nanostructure Research & Center for Nanoanalysis and Electron Microscopy (CENEM), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, IZNF, Erlangen, Germany. erdmann.spiecker@fau.de