High-performing organic electronics using terpene green solvents from renewable feedstocks

by Daniel Corzo, Diego Rosas Villalva, Amruth C, Guillermo Tostado-Blázquez, Emily Bezerra Alexandre, Luis Huerta Hernandez, Jianhua Han, Han Xu, Maxime Babics, Stefaan De Wolf, Derya Baran
Article Year: 2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-022-01167-7

Bibliography

Corzo, D., Rosas-Villalva, D., C, A., Tostado-Blázquez, G., Bezerra Alexandre, E., Huerta Hernandez, L., Han, J., Xu, H., Babics, M., De Wolf, S., Baran, D.

Abstract

Accelerating the shift towards renewable materials and sustainable processes for printed organic electronic devices is crucial for a green circular economy. Currently, the fabrication of organic devices with competitive performances is linked to toxic petrochemical-based solvents with considerable carbon emissions. Here we show that terpene solvents obtained from renewable feedstocks can replace non-renewable environmentally hazardous solvent counterparts in the production of highly efficient organic photovoltaics (OPVs) light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and field-effect transistors (OFETs) with on-par performances. Using a Hansen solubility ink formulation framework, we identify various terpene solvent systems and investigate effective film formation and drying mechanisms required for optimal charge transport. This approach is universal for state-of-the-art materials in OPVs, OLEDs and OFETs. We created an interactive library for green solvent selections and made it publicly available through the OMEGALab website. As potential carbon-negative solvents, terpenes open a unique and universal approach towards efficient, large-area and stable organic electronic devices.

Keywords

Electronic devices Solar cells