Flexible Polymer–Organic Solar Cells Based on P3HT:PCBM Bulk Heterojunction Active Layer Constructed underEnvironmental Conditions

In this study, some crucial parameters were determined of flexible polymer–organic solar cells prepared from an active layer blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and the fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) mixed in 1:1 mass ratio and deposited from chlorobenzene solution by spin-coating on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/ITO substrates. Additionally, the positive effect of an electron transport layer (ETL) prepared from zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO np) on flexible photovoltaic elements’ performance and stability was investigated. Test devices with above normal architecture and silver back electrodes deposed by magnetron sputtering were constructed under environmental conditions. They were characterized by current-voltage (I–V) measurements, quantum efficiency, impedance spectroscopy, surface morphology, and time–degradation experiments. The control over morphology of active layer thin film was achieved by post-deposition thermal treatment at temperatures of 110–120 °C, which led to optimization of device morphology and electrical parameters. The impedance spectroscopy results of flexible photovoltaic elements were fitted using two R||CPE circuits in series. Polymer–organic solar cells prepared on plastic substrates showed comparable current–voltage characteristics and structural properties but need further device stability improvement according to traditionally constructed cells on glass substrates.

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Hydrophilic Fullerene Derivative Doping in Active Layer and Electron Transport Layer for Enhancing Oxygen Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Solar RRL ◽

10.1002/solr.201900249 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 1900249 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Guiying Xu ◽

Shuhui Wang ◽

Pengqing Bi ◽

Haiyang Chen ◽

Moyao Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Electron Transport ◽

Active Layer ◽

Perovskite Solar Cells ◽

Transport Layer ◽

Fullerene Derivative ◽

Electron Transport Layer

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Study of Electrical Transport Properties of Thin Films Used as HTL and as Active Layer in Organic Solar Cells, through Impedance Spectroscopy Measurements

Advances in Materials Science and Engineering ◽

10.1155/2016/7267634 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Camilo A. Otalora ◽

Andres F. Loaiza ◽

Gerardo Gordillo

Keyword(s):

Thin Films ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Impedance Spectroscopy ◽

Transport Properties ◽

Active Layer ◽

Organic Solar Cells ◽

Electrical Transport ◽

Hole Transport ◽

Transport Layer ◽

Electrical Transport Properties

Impedance spectroscopy (IS) is used for studying the electrical transport properties of thin films used in organic solar cells with structure ITO/HTL/active layer/cathode, where PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonic acid) and CuPC (tetrasulfonated copper-phthalocyanine) were investigated as HTL (hole transport layer) and P3HT:PCBM (poly-3-hexylthiophene:phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) blends prepared from mesitylene and chlorobenzene based solutions were studied as active layer and Ag and Al were used as cathode. The study allowed determining the influence of the type of solvent used for the preparation of the active layer as well as the speed at which the solvents are removed on the carriers mobility. The effect of exposing the layer of P3HT to the air on its mobility was also studied. It was established that samples of P3HT and P3HT:PCBM prepared using mesitylene as a solvent have mobility values significantly higher than those prepared from chlorobenzene which is the solvent most frequently used. It was also determined that the mobility of carriers in P3HT films strongly decreases when this sample is exposed to air. In addition, it was found that the electrical properties of P3HT:PCBM thin films can be improved by removing the solvent slowly which is achieved by increasing the pressure inside the system of spin-coating during the film growth.

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Effective Double Electron Transport Layer Inducing Crystallization of Active Layer for Improving the Performance of Organic Solar Cells

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano12010015 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 15

Author(s):

Ping Li ◽

Lijia Chen ◽

Xiaoyan Hu ◽

Lirong He ◽

Zezhuan Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Electron Transport ◽

Double Layer ◽

Active Layer ◽

Conversion Efficiency ◽

Organic Solar Cells ◽

Indium Tin Oxide ◽

Transport Layer ◽

Electron Transport Layer ◽

Photoelectric Conversion

Interface modification plays an important role in enhancing the photoelectric conversion efficiency and stability of organic solar cells. In this work, alkali metal lithium chloride (LiCl) was introduced between indium tin oxide and polyethyleneimine ethoxylate (PEIE) to prepare a double-layer electron transport layer. Results show that the introduction of LiCl has dual functions. The first function is that LiCl can enhance conductivity, thereby facilitating charge collection. The second function is that the double-layer electron transport layer based on LiCl can induce the crystallization of active layer, thereby enhancing charge transport. Devices with LiCl/PEIE double layer achieve a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.84%, which is 21.5% higher than that of pristine devices (the PCE of pristine devices with pure PEIE interface layer is 3.16%).

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Diblock conjugated polyelectrolyte electron transport layer modulating the morphology of the active layer for efficient nonfullerene organic solar cells

Journal of Materials Science Materials in Electronics ◽

10.1007/s10854-018-9961-8 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (21) ◽

pp. 18458-18464 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dan Zhou ◽

Yuancheng Qin ◽

Rong Zhong ◽

Haitao Xu ◽

Yongfen Tong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Electron Transport ◽

Active Layer ◽

Organic Solar Cells ◽

Transport Layer ◽

Electron Transport Layer ◽

Conjugated Polyelectrolyte

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Highly stable and efficient inverted organic solar cells based on low-temperature solution-processed PEIE and ZnO bilayers

Journal of Materials Chemistry A ◽

10.1039/c6ta00957c ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (10) ◽

pp. 3784-3791 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Won-Yong Jin ◽

Riski Titian Ginting ◽

Sung-Ho Jin ◽

Jae-Wook Kang

Keyword(s):

Zinc Oxide ◽

Solar Cells ◽

Electron Transport ◽

Low Temperature ◽

Active Layer ◽

Organic Solar Cells ◽

Transport Layer ◽

Electron Transport Layer ◽

Solution Processed ◽

Temperature Solution

Highly efficient and air-stable inverted organic solar cells were fabricated from solution-processed non-conjugated polyethylenimine ethoxylated as the polyelectrolyte, a zinc oxide bilayer as the electron transport layer, and an active layer of PTB7 and PC71BM.

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Simultaneous enhancement of light absorption and improved charge collection in PTB7-Th: PC70BM organic solar cells

MRS Advances ◽

10.1557/adv.2017.248 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2 (15) ◽

pp. 835-840 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kunal Borse ◽

Ramakant Sharma ◽

Dipti Gupta ◽

Aswani Yella

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Organic Solar Cells ◽

Light Absorption ◽

Performance Enhancement ◽

Incident Light ◽

Acid Methyl Ester ◽

Optical Path Length ◽

Transport Layer ◽

Electron Transport Layer ◽

Charge Collection

ABSTRACTEnhancing the light absorption and improving the charge collection are considered as two major prerequisite for achieving highly efficient bulk heterojunction organic solar cells (BHJ OSCs). In the present study, we have explored Ga doped ZnO as an electron transport layer for improving the charge collection in one of the promising donor: acceptor system comprised of Poly[4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b;4,5-b’]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-(4-(2-ethylhexyl)-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-)-2-carboxylate-2-6-diyl)] (PTB7-Th):phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC70BM). With the inverted geometry having a configuration of ITO/GZO (40nm)/PTB7-Th: PC70BM (100nm)/MoO3 (10nm)/Ag (100nm), maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.24% has been achieved, while it is limited at 6.89% for devices with undoped ZnO.It was found that PCE can be further improved to 8.35 % after V-grooved textured PDMS films were attached to the backside of OSC substrates. We attribute this performance enhancement in OSCs is due to increased total optical path length of the incident light within the device.

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Investigation of PCBM Concentration on the Performance of Small Organic Solar Cell

ISRN Renewable Energy ◽

10.5402/2012/385415 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yasser A. M. Ismail ◽

T. Soga ◽

T. Jimbo

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Solar Cell ◽

Charge Carrier ◽

Active Layer ◽

Organic Solar Cells ◽

Bulk Heterojunction ◽

Acid Methyl Ester ◽

Fullerene Derivative ◽

Performance Parameters ◽

Carrier Separation

We have fabricated bulk heterojunction organic solar cells using coumarin 6 (C6) as a small organic dye, for light harvesting and electron donating, with fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), acting as an electron acceptor, by spin-coating technique of the blend solutions. We have studied effect of PCBM concentration on photocurrent and performance parameters of the solar cells. We found that the optical absorption of the dye increased with increasing its concentration in the active layer blends. The higher concentrations of PCBM in active layer enhanced the photocurrent of the solar cells, as a result of improving charge carrier separation and electron transport in solar cell active layer. The improved charge carrier separation between C6, as a donor, and PCBM, as an acceptor, was indicated through the formation of bulk heterojunction by blending C6 with PCBM. The formation of C6:PCBM bulk heterojunction blend was confirmed through the symbatic behavior of the corresponding solar cell and, also, through the homogeneity and smoothing in the atomic force microscopy images of the C6:PCBM blend films. For the same reasons, the performance parameters of the C6:PCBM solar cell improved by modification of the PCBM concentration in the solar cell active layer.

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Digital printing of a novel electrode for stable flexible organic solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of 8.5%

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93365-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

S. Wageh ◽

Mahfoudh Raïssi ◽

Thomas Berthelot ◽

Matthieu Laurent ◽

Didier Rousseau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Solar Cells ◽

Solar Cell ◽

Power Conversion Efficiency ◽

Conversion Efficiency ◽

Organic Solar Cells ◽

Power Conversion ◽

Transport Layer ◽

Electron Transport Layer ◽

Solution Processed ◽

Transparent Conducting

AbstractPoly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) mixed with single-wall nanotubes (SWNTs) (10:1) and doped with (0.1 M) perchloric acid (HClO4) in a solution-processed film, working as an excellent thin transparent conducting film (TCF) in organic solar cells, was investigated. This new electrode structure can be an outstanding substitute for conventional indium tin oxide (ITO) for applications in flexible solar cells due to the potential of attaining high transparency with enhanced conductivity, good flexibility, and good durability via a low-cost process over a large area. In addition, solution-processed vanadium oxide (VOx) doped with a small amount of PEDOT-PSS(PH1000) can be applied as a hole transport layer (HTL) for achieving high efficiency and stability. From these viewpoints, we investigate the benefit of using printed SWNTs-PEDOT-PSS doped with HClO4 as a transparent conducting electrode in a flexible organic solar cell. Additionally, we applied a VOx-PEDOT-PSS thin film as a hole transporting layer and a blend of PTB7 (polythieno[3,4-b] thiophene/benzodithiophene): PC71BM (phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester) as an active layer in devices. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were applied as an electron transport layer and Ag was used as the top electrode. The proposed solar cell structure showed an enhancement in short-circuit current, power conversion efficiency, and stability relative to a conventional cell based on ITO. This result suggests a great carrier injection throughout the interfacial layer, high conductivity and transparency, as well as firm adherence for the new electrode.

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