Direct characterization of the energy level alignments and molecular components in an organic hetero-junction by integrated photoemission spectroscopy and reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy analysis

A novel, direct method for the characterization of the energy level alignments at bulk-heterojunction (BHJ)/electrode interfaces on the basis of electronic spectroscopy measurements is proposed. The home-made in situ photoemission system is used to perform x-ray/ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (XPS/UPS), reflection electron energy loss spectroscopy (REELS) and inverse photoemission spectroscopy of organic-semiconductors (OSCs) deposited onto a Au substrate. Through this analysis system, we are able to obtain the electronic structures of a boron subphthalocyanine chloride:fullerene (SubPC:C₆₀) BHJ and those of the separate OSC/electrode structures (SubPC/Au and C₆₀/Au). Morphology and chemical composition analyses confirm that the original SubPC and C₆₀ electronic structures remain unchanged in the electrodes prepared. Using this technique, we ascertain that the position and area of the nearest peak to the Fermi energy (E_F = 0 eV) in the UPS (REELS) spectra of SubPC:C₆₀ BHJ provide information on the highest occupied molecular orbital level (optical band gap) and combination ratio of the materials, respectively. Thus, extracting the adjusted spectrum from the corresponding SubPC:C60 BHJ UPS (REELS) spectrum reveals its electronic structure, equivalent to that of the C₆₀ materials. This novel analytical approach allows complete energy-level determination for each combination ratio by separating its electronic structure information from the BHJ spectrum.