Light-Induced EPR Study of the Effect of Coumarin Trace Additives on Spin Dynamics in the P3DDT/PC61BM Polymer Composite

Abstract

The paper presents the results of an EPR study of the magnetic, relaxation, and dynamic parameters of spin charge carriers photogenerated by light in photovoltaic polymer composites, based on poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (P3DDT) and 6,6-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), in the presence of coumarin admixed to the system. It has been shown that the concentration of polarons and fullerene radical anions is characterized by a nonmonotonic dependence on the energy of incident photons with extrema at 1.9 and 2.7 eV. The largest increase in the concentration of mobile charge carriers was observed in composites with a coumarin content of 3 or 6 wt %. A significant slowdown of the carrier recombination process in the composites containing 3–6 wt % coumarin was observed after switching off the light. The temperature dependences of the concentrations of mobile and localized charge carriers for P3DDT/PCBM samples with a coumarin content of 3 wt % showed enhancement of the exchange interaction between charge carriers. The data obtained lead to the conclusion that coumarin affects spin interactions in the polymer composite.