Post-fabrication annealing effects on the performance of P3HT:PCBM solar cells with/without ZnO nanoparticles

In this study, P3HT:PCBM organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, with or without ZnO nanoparticles buffer layer between the photoactive layer (P3HT:PCBM) and the cathode (Al top electrode), were fabricated. The devices were annealed at 145 °C either before or after depositing the top electrode. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the ZnO buffer layer and pre-/post-fabrication annealing on the general performance of these devices. The short-circuit current density (J_SC), open-circuit voltage (V_OC) and the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the OPV devices were improved by the insertion of the ZnO layer and post-fabrication annealing. The post-fabrication annealed devices, with or without the ZnO layer, exhibited higher values of J_SC, V_OC and EQE than those of similar devices annealed before depositing the Al metal. This can be attributed to, among other things, improved charge transport across the interface between the photoactive layer and the Al top electrode as a result of post-annealing induced modification of the interface morphology.     

二甲基亚砜添加剂对聚合物太阳能电池性能的影响

研究了二甲基亚砜(DMSO)掺杂浓度对基于聚(3-己基噻吩)(P3HT)和(6,6)-苯基碳60丁酸甲酯(PCBM)为有源层的聚合物太阳能电池性能影响。结果表明,掺杂DMSO可以提高聚合物太阳能电池短路电流密度和填充因子。DMSO掺杂质量比为3%时,电池短路电流密度提高到7.88 mA·cm-2,填充因子为55.5%。能量转换效率达到2.54％,相比没有掺杂DMSO的电池,能量转换效率提高了17%。傅里叶变换红外光谱被用于鉴定和分析掺杂DMSO对材料P3HT∶PCBM化学性质的影响。傅里叶变换红外光谱表明,掺杂后P3HT和PCBM的化学性质都没有改变。为分析掺杂DMSO改善器件能量转换效率的原因,通过紫外-可见光谱和电流密度-电压特性曲线分别表征器件的光吸收能力以及电致发光器件的载流子迁移率。与P3HT∶PCBM薄膜相比,P3HT∶PCBM∶DMSO薄膜在可见光范围内的吸收峰有明显红移且吸收强度增强。可见光吸收的改善是实现短路电流密度提高的有力保障。太阳能电池性能的增强是因为DMSO的掺杂提高了P3HT∶PCBM的载流子迁移率和吸收光谱宽度。     

高效钙钛矿-有机本体异质结杂化串联太阳能电池

制备了一种有机铅卤钙钛矿-有机本体异质结杂化串联太阳能电池。采用紫外可见吸收光谱、原子力显微镜对薄膜形貌进行了表征。结果表明:有机本体异质结层可以有效改善钙钛矿的表面形貌, 增强了可见光的吸收。优化后的串联结构电池的短路电流可达19.14mA/cm², 开路电压为0.76V, 光电转换效率达到了6.54%。钙钛矿电池和有机本体异质结电池串联结构可以同时提高短路电流及填充因子, 二者具有较好的相容性和协同作用。     

Hybrid polymer/inorganic nanoparticle blended ternary solar cells

Hybrid polymer/inorganic nanoparticle blended ternary solar cells are reported. These solar cells have an active layer consisting of PbS colloidal quantum dots (CQDs), poly (3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT), and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Power conversion efficiency (PCE) was improved by incorporating PbS CQDs in the active layer of P3HT:PCBM‐based organic solar cells. As the concentration of PbS CQDs in the hybrid solar cells was increased, PCE was also increased. This improvement resulted from improved charge transfer and also extended light absorption into the near‐infrared. The PCE of the hybrid solar cells was 47% higher than that for reference organic solar cells on average under air mass 1.5 global illumination. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Metal-electrode-free inverted organic photovoltaics using electrospray-deposited PEDOT:PSS and spin-coated HAT-CN exciton blocking layer

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films were fabricated using an electrospray deposition (ESD) method. The ESD PEDOT:PSS films exhibited higher PSS content on the surface than spin-coated PEDOT:PSS films, which results in a higher work function. Based on this result, metal-electrode-free inverted organic photovoltaics (OPVs) were fabricated. The ESD PEDOT:PSS was used as the top electrode on the poly(3-hexythiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) light-absorbing layer. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of OPVs was significantly increased with the 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatriphenylene hexacarbonitrile layer. The improved PCE would be attributed to the suppression of exciton quenching at the P3HT:PCBM and PEDOT:PSS interface.     

Influence of fullerene derivative replacement with TiO2 nanoparticles in organic bulk heterojunction solar cells

In an effort to develop hybrid organic solar cells with improved power conversion efficiency (PCE), devices based on poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT):phenyl C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) active layer and poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT):poly (styrenesulfonate) (PSS) buffer layers were prepared. A systematic replacement of PCBM was achieved by introducing nanostructured TiO₂ (∼15 nm particle size), dissolved separately in chlorobenzene (CB) and 1,2 –dichlorobenzene (DCB), to the (P3HT:PCBM) active layer while keeping a fixed amount for P3HT. To understand the effect of fullerene replacement with the inorganic metal oxide nanoparticles on different properties of resulting devices, a variety of techniques such as Current–Voltage (J–V) characteristics, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Ultravoilet-Visible (UV–Vis) Spectrophotometry and External Quantum Efficiency (EQE) were employed. The addition of TiO₂ nanoparticles in the active layer improved the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of P3HT:PCBM devices. The addition of TiO₂ nanoparticles using CB as solvent enhanced the absorption in visible region and also introduced a red shift in the absorption spectra. A significant increase in EQE was observed for devices with TiO₂ nanoparticles in the active layer. Mixing TiO₂ also increased the surface roughness of the active layer where TiO₂ nanoparticles were found to agglomerate as their concentration increased relative to fullerene derivative. A complete agglomeration of TiO₂ was observed in the absence of PCBM.     

Effect of solvents on the performance and morphology of polymer photovoltaic devices

In the polymer photovoltaic devices (PVDs), the performance of devices was strongly influenced by region-regularity, number average molecular weight and casting solvents of polymers. In this work, we fabricated p–n bulk-hetero-junction PVDs based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C₆₀-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) using various solvents such as chloroform (CF), chlorobenzene (CB), dichlorobenzene (DCB), and mixed solvent (CF/CB, CF/DCB). Thin film of active layer with P3HT/PCBM was prepared by spin coating and thermal annealing at 150 °C with fixed thickness about 110 nm by adjusting solution concentration. The crystalline morphology and layered phase for the active layer were studied by atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. We investigated the performance of solar cells according to different morphology and crystallinity of active layer by various solvent and mixed solvent.     

Overcoming the thickness paradox: Systematical optimization of inverted polymer solar cells

Inverted structure comes out to be a promising alternative for making polymer solar cells (PSC) with high efficiency and long-term stability. Vertically stacked functional layers with planar shapes often suffer contradictions in holding high optical absorption and excellent charge transfer/hindrance capability to construct well performed inverted PSC devices. Here, we give an example of rational control of the thickness of electron transport layer (ETL), hole transport layer (HTL) and organic active layer (OAL) to achieve a synergistic effect on promoting the overall photovoltaic behaviors. With in-depth exploration of the interaction between device performance and layer thickness, we obtain the optimized device ITO/ZnO Ncs (45 nm)/P3HT:PCBM (70 nm)/MoO₃ (1 nm)/Ag (70 nm) exhibiting an V_oc of 0.63 V, J_sc of 12.52 mA/cm², FF of 54% and PCE of 4.26%.     

空间电荷限制电流法测量共混体系中空穴的迁移率

载流子迁移率测量是有机半导体材料与器件研究中的重要内容之一.以聚噻吩为电子给体材料, C₆₀的衍生物为电子受体材料,制备了一种单电荷传输器件.用空间电荷限制电流法测出了不同溶剂形成的 活性层及不同温度热处理后器件中空穴的迁移率.结果表明:器件中电荷的传输J-V曲线符合Mott-Gurney方程, 不同溶剂形成活性层中空穴具有不同的迁移率,高沸点的溶剂1, 2-二氯苯形成的活性层具有较高的空穴迁移率, 热处理有利于器件中空穴迁移率的提高.同时还进一步分析了空穴迁移率变化的原因.     

Improved performance of polymer solar cells by using inorganic,organic, and doped cathode buffer layers

The interface between the active layer and the electrode is one of the most critical factors that could affect the device performance of polymer solar cells. In this work, based on the typical poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester(P3HT:PCBM) polymer solar cell, we studied the effect of the cathode buffer layer(CBL) between the top metal electrode and the active layer on the device performance. Several inorganic and organic materials commonly used as the electron injection layer in an organic light-emitting diode(OLED) were employed as the CBL in the P3HT:PCBM polymer solar cells. Our results demonstrate that the inorganic and organic materials like Cs_2CO_3, bathophenanthroline(Bphen), and 8-hydroxyquinolatolithium(Liq) can be used as CBL to efficiently improve the device performance of the P3HT:PCBM polymer solar cells. The P3HT:PCBM devices employed various CBLs possess power conversion efficiencies(PCEs) of 3.0%–3.3%, which are ca. 50% improved compared to that of the device without CBL. Furthermore, by using the doped organic materials Bphen:Cs_2CO_3 and Bphen:Liq as the CBL, the PCE of the P3HT:PCBM device will be further improved to 3.5%, which is ca. 70% higher than that of the device without a CBL and ca. 10% increased compared with that of the devices with a neat inorganic or organic CBL.     

Bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cell fabricated by the electrospray deposition method using mixed organic solvent

A high‐efficiency bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cell (OPV) was achieved by the electrospray deposition method. The surface roughness of the P3HT:PCBM thin film can be reduced using the mixed solvent consisting of o‐dichlorobenzene (o‐DCB) and acetone. The effect of acetone concentration is related to its dielectric constant. Under an optimized concentration of acetone in o‐DCB (20 vol%), the P3HT/PCBM active layer with a smooth surface can be formed, and the power conversion efficiency of the OPV was 1.9%.

     

Inverted organic solar cells comprising low-temperature-processed ZnO films

Inverted organic solar cells are fabricated using low-temperature-annealed ZnO film as an electron transport layer. Uniform ZnO films were prepared by spin coating a diethylzinc (DEZ) precursor solution in air, followed by annealing at 100 °C. Organic solar cells prepared on these ZnO films with a 1:1 P3HT:PCBM blend as the active layer show a high power conversion efficiency of 4.03 %, which is more than 10 % higher than the PCE of solar cells comprising ZnO prepared via a high-temperature sol–gel route.     

缓冲层提高有机聚合物光伏电池性能研究

在分析有机聚合物复合体光伏电池机理及等效电路模型基础上,研究了界面旋涂缓冲层对聚合物给体/受体复合体结构光伏器件性能的影响.制备了基于P3HT/PCBM的给体 受体复合体薄膜有机光伏电池,并分别在有机活性层和ITO基底之间以及有机活性层和电极之间插入TFB和F8BT缓冲层.实验证明：在ITO和活性层之间旋涂TFB作为阳极缓冲层,可增加有机聚合物光伏器件的短路电流,在活性层和电极之间插入F8BT作为阴极缓冲层,可增大光伏器件的开路电压,提高器件的转换效率.     

Enhanced power efficiency of ZnO based organic/inorganic solar cells by surface modification

We present series of strategies to enhance efficiency of ZnO nanorods based organic/inorganic solar cells with spin-coated P3HT:PCBM blend as active layer. The performance of the as-fabricated devices is improved by controlling the size of ZnO nanorods, annealing temperature and time of active layer, surface modification of ZnO with PSBTBT. Optimized device of ITO/ZnO nanorod/P3HT:PCBM/Ag device with PSBTBT surface modification and air exposure reaches an efficiency of 2.02% with a short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage and fill factor of 13.23 mA cm⁻², 0.547 V and 28%, respectively, under AM 1.5 irradiation of 100 mW m⁻², the increase in efficiency is 7-fold of the PSBTBT surface modified ITO/ZnO nanorods/P3HT:PCBM/Ag device compared with the unmodified one, which is own to the increased interface contact, expanded light absorption, tailored band alignment attributed to PSBTBT. We found exposure to air and surface modification is crucial to improve the device performance, and we discussed the mechanisms that affect the performance of the devices in detail.     

刮涂法制备聚合物薄膜太阳能电池

系统地研究了采用刮涂法制备聚合物薄膜太阳能电池时刮涂速度和基底温度对活性层厚度以及形貌的影响。当刮涂速度增加或者基底温度降低时,由于溶液粘度和表面张力的变化导致活性层厚度增加。与旋涂方法相比,刮涂方法制备的活性层薄膜具有更小的粗糙度和精细的相分离结构,从而减少了光伏电池的漏电流并提高了填充因子。利用刮涂方法制备的聚合物太阳能电池能量转换效率达到了4.2%。     

Insertion of fullerene layer for bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cell fabricated by electrospray deposition method

An improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cell (OPV) was achieved by inserting an n‐type [6,6]‐phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) layer between the active layer and a metal electrode. The controlled substrate temperature was found to be a useful parameter for the multilayer structure (active layer/ PCBM) by the electrospray deposition method. Under optimized substrate temperature during the PCBM deposition, a multilayer structure could be formed, and the PCE was improved up to 1.94%.

     

Highly conductive and transparent carbon nanotube-based electrodes for ultrathin and stretchable organic solar cells

In this work, we have presented a freestanding and flexible CNT-based film with sheet resistance of 60 ?/ and transmittance of 82% treated by nitric acid and chloroauric acid in sequence. Based on modified CNT film as a transparent electrode, we have demonstrated an ultrathin, flexible organic solar cell(OSC) fabricated on 2.5-μm PET substrate. The efficiency of OSC, combined with a composite film of poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT) and phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester(PCBM) as an active layer and with a thin layer of methanol soluble biuret inserted between the photoactive layer and the cathode, can be up to 2.74% which is approximate to that of the reference solar cell fabricated with ITO-coated glass(2.93%). Incorporating the as-fabricated ITO-free OSC with pre-stretched elastomer, 50% compressive deformation can apply to the solar cells. The results show that the as-prepared CNT-based hybrid film with outstanding electrical and optical properties could serve as a promising transparent electrode for low cost, flexible and stretchable OSCs, which will broaden the applications of OSC and generate more solar power than it now does.     

Laser printing and characterization of semiconducting polymers for organic electronics

Hybrid organic/inorganic thin-film transistors (TFTs) with bottom-contact configuration were fabricated using the Laser Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) process. The semiconducting polymer P3HT was laser printed from a donor to a receiver substrate in order to form the active layer of the TFTs. With a single laser pulse, P3HT pixels were successfully printed. The printed material was analyzed morphologically by means of Optical Microscopy and its thickness was measured by profilometry. In addition, structural characterization of P3HT thin films before and after laser printing took place by using UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction. It was found that the crystallinity of the investigated films is improved upon annealing. An organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) with laser printed P3HT pixel as a channel layer was then fabricated. The OTFTs indicated a field-effect mobility up to 2.23?10^?4 cm²/Vs and an on/off ratio on the order of 10–100.     

P3HT:PCBM薄膜成膜过程对聚合物太阳能电池性能的影响

P3HT:PCBM薄膜的快速和缓慢成膜过程能显著的改变异质结聚合物太阳能电池性能.通过调节旋转时间以及薄膜退火前的间隔时间,研究了P3HT:PCBM混合薄膜缓慢生长所需最佳时间.结果表明,在转速800 r·min-1下旋涂薄膜,经过50～80 s的旋涂,接着放置样品薄膜30 min以上,然后再对薄膜进行退火处理,电池效...     

Hall mobility and characteristics of gas-phase polymerized poly(3-iodothiophene) thin films

The semi-conductive poly(3-iodothiophene)(P3IT) films were fabricated by gas-phase polymerization through a chemical vapor deposition process. The P3IT nanoscale films have a high crystalline morphologies, and possessed a high Hall mobility up to 10 cm²/Vs. The degree of crystalline and the mobility values measured through Scanning Electron Microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with structural analysis. These conductive thin films, possessing polycrystalline structures, have a very high mobility and are capable of being applied to organic electronic layers for electrical devices such as the thin film transistors and organic photovoltaic cells.