Compatible Solution-Processed Interface Materials for Improved Efficiency of Polymer Solar Cells

Zhuo Xu, Jose Prince Madalaimuthu, Josef Bernd Slowik, Rico Meitzner, Aman Anand, Shahidul Alam, Héctor Corte, Steffi Stumpf, Ulrich S. Schubert, Harald Hoppe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The electron transport layer (ETL) in an organic solar cell is one of the main components that play a crucial role in the extraction of charges, improving efficiency, and increasing the lifetime of the solar cells. Herein, solution-processed PBDTTT-C-T:PC71BM-based organic solar cells are fabricated using conjugated PDINO molecules, sol-gel derived under stoichiometric titanium oxide (TiOx), and a mixture of the same as an ETL. For PBDTTT-C-T:PC71BM-based organic solar cells, a blend of organic-inorganic ETLs demonstrates reduced bimolecular recombination and trap-assisted recombination than a single ETL of either two materials. Furthermore, in both, fullerene and nonfullerene systems, the efficiency of the devices employing the blend ETL as compared to the single ETLs show some performance improvement. The strategy of integrating compatible organic and inorganic interface materials to improve device efficiency and lifetime simultaneously, and demonstrate the universality of different systems, has potential significance for the commercial development of organic solar cells.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2201740
JournalAdvanced Materials Interfaces
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2023

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2023-01-04
Acknowledgements: The authors gratefully acknowledge Aurelien Sokeng Djoumessi and Md Moidul Islam for their helping hands and fruitful discussion. The authors thankful Dr. Stephanie Höppener (Friedrich Schiller University Jena) for her contribution to the scientific discussion. The authors thank Marcus Weth and Patrick Frederix (Nanosurf, Germany and Switzerland) for the discussion of AFM results. Z.X. was financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). H.H. is grateful for financial support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) via the DFG Project No. 431903417. U.S.S. is grateful to the Thüringer Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Digitale Gesellschaft (TMWWDG) for funding the CEEC Jena. The SEM facilities of the Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM) were established with a grant from the DFG. A part of the equipment used in this study was obtained within the “Innovation Center CEEC Jena” project funded by the Free State of Thuringia under No. 2016 IZN 0009 and cofinanced by funds from the European Union within the framework of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Compatible Solution-Processed Interface Materials for Improved Efficiency of Polymer Solar Cells'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this