Improving efficiency of inverted perovskite solar cells via ethanolamine-doped PEDOT:PSS as hole transport layer

In order to fabricate high-performance inverted perovskite solar cells (PeSCs), an appropriate hole transport layer (HTL) is essential since it will affect the hole extraction at perovskite/HTL interface and determine the crystallization quality of the subsequent perovskite films. Herein, a facile and simple method is developed by adding ethanolamine (ETA) into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as HTL. The doping of a low-concentration ETA can efficiently modify the electrical properties of the PEDOT:PSS film and lower the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level, which is more suitable for the hole extraction from the perovskite to HTL. Besides, ETA-doped PEDOT:PSS will create a perovskite film with larger grain size and higher crystallinity. Hence, the results show that the open-circuit voltage of the device increases from 0.99 V to 1.06 V, and the corresponding power conversion efficiency (PCE) increases from 14.68% to 19.16%. The alkaline nature of ethanolamine greatly neutralizes the acidity of PEDOT:PSS, and plays a role in protecting the anode, leading the stability of the devices to be improved significantly. After being stored for 2000 h, the PCE of ETA-doped PEDOT:PSS devices can maintain 84.2% of the initial value, which is much higher than 67.1% of undoped devices.     

Effect of sorbitol doping in PEDOT:PSS on the electrical performance of organic photovoltaic devices

Organic photovoltaic cells have important advantages, such as low cost and mechanical flexibility. The conducting polymer poly(3,4 ethylenedioxy-thiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) has been widely used as an interfacial layer or a polymer electrode in polymer electronic devices, such as photovoltaic devices and light-emitting diodes. In this report, we discuss the direct current (DC) conductivity of PEDOT:PSS films containing various weight ratios of sorbitol dopant. The work function is shown to steadily decrease with increasing dopant content. With different dopant contents, illuminated current–voltage photovoltaic characteristics were observed. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) analysis revealed that the work function of the PEDOT:PSS was affected by its sorbitol content. The morphologies of the doped PEDOT:PSS films were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). For the device fabrication, we made organic photovoltaic cells by a spin-coating process and Al deposition by thermal evaporation. The sorbitol dopant is able to improve the efficiency of the device.     

Improving the performance of perovskite solar cells with glycerol-doped PEDOT:PSS buffer layer

In this paper, we investigate the effects of glycerol doping on transmittance, conductivity and surface morphology of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate))(PEDOT:PSS) and its influence on the performance of perovskite solar cells.. The conductivity of PEDOT:PSS is improved obviously by doping glycerol. The maximum of the conductivity is 0.89 S/cm when the doping concentration reaches 6 wt%, which increases about 127 times compared with undoped. The perovskite solar cells are fabricated with a configuration of indium tin oxide(ITO)/PEDOT:PSS/CH_3NH_3PbI_3/PC_(61)BM/Al, where PEDOT:PSS and PC_(61)BM are used as hole and electron transport layers, respectively. The results show an improvement of hole charge transport as well as an increase of short-circuit current density and a reduction of series resistance, owing to the higher conductivity of the doped PEDOT:PSS. Consequently, it improves the whole performance of perovskite solar cell. The power conversion efficiency(PCE) of the device is improved from 8.57% to 11.03% under AM 1.5 G(100 mW/cm~2 illumination) after the buffer layer has been modified.     

PEDOT:PSS薄膜的山梨醇掺杂对光电池性能的影响

采用共混-旋涂技术在ITO导电玻璃上制备出经山梨醇掺杂的PEDOT:PSS导电膜,将所制得的薄膜作为空穴传输层用于有机太阳能电池研究.通过对比分析掺杂前后光电池暗电流曲线与光电流曲线的变化,考察了山梨醇掺杂对器件光伏性能的影响,并就其中的影响机理进行了讨论分析.结果表明,山梨醇的加入,可以明显提高光电池的短路电流,填充因子以及能量转换效率.较未掺杂器件,8wt %山梨醇掺杂条件下,器件短路电流由8.82 mA/cm²增加至11.27 mA/cm²,FF由0.43 关键词： PEDOT:PSS薄膜 山梨醇 有机太阳能电池 性能     

Investigating the performance of P3HT:PCBM organic solar cells involving gamma-irradiated PEDOT:PSS layer

In this work, we investigated for the first time the characteristics of (poly (3-hexylthiopene) and [6, 6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester) (P3HT:PCBM) blends-based organic solar cell with 1.25?mg/mL boric-acid (H₃BO₃)-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) layer which is irradiated under the 40 Gray (Gy) dose of gamma (γ) ray. Experimental results showed that the parameters of solar cell improved with exposure to low-dose gamma radiation. In particular, it has provided a significant improvement in short-circuit current density (J_sc) and power conversion efficiency (PCE). About 49% increase in PCE to 1.22% and 40% increase in J_sc to 6.28?mA/cm² was obtained between the bare device and the device containing irradiated PEDOT:PSS:H₃BO₃. Also, it was determined that the H₃BO₃-doped PEDOT:PSS is more stable to temperature. More importantly, solar cell containing gamma-irradiated PEDOT:PSS:H₃BO₃ showed best performance comparing to conventional PEDOT:PSS-based cell.     

Enhanced thermoelectric performance of PEDOT: PSS films via ionic liquid post-treatment

Thermoelectric(TE)energy harvesting can effectively convert waste heat into electricity,which is a crucial technology to solve energy concerns.As a promising candidate for energy conversion,poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS)has gained significant attention owing to its easy doping,high transparency,and solution processability.However,the TE performance of PEDOT:PSS still needs to be further enhanced.Herein,different approaches have been applied for tuning the TE properties:(i)direct dipping PEDOT:PSS thin films in ionic liquid;(ii)post-treatment of the films with concentrated sulfuric acid(H₂SO₄),and then dipping in ionic liquid.Besides,the same bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide(TFSI)anion and different cation salts,including 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium(EMIM+)and lithium(Li+),are selected to study the influence of varying cation types on the TE properties of PEDOT:PSS.The Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS film treated with H2SO4EMIM:TFSI increase simultaneously,and the resulting maximum power factor is 46.7μW·m^-1·K^-2,which may be attributed to the ionic liquid facilitating the rearrangement of the molecular chain of PEDOT.The work provides a reference for the development of organic films with high TE properties.     

Roughness influence on the sheet resistance of the PEDOT:PSS printed on paper

The use of paper as a platform to manufacture organic electronic devices, electronic paper, has expanding potential for many applications because of several properties offered. In this work, we show a study of PEDOT:PSS printed by inkjet on bond paper, vegetal paper and sheets of PET. The relation between the surface density of the deposited material, morphology and resistivity was investigated for samples printed with a commercial Hewlett-Packard(HP)^® printer and Microsoft Word^® software. The amount of material deposited, i.e. surface density, was controlled using the print number in the same position and changing the gray scale used in the image formation. Changing the surface density of printed PEDOT:PSS, it is possible to produce a continuous film permeating the papers fibers. Sheet resistances obtained, when 7.0 mg cm⁻² of PEDOT:PSS were deposited on the surfaces, were: (a) 413.2 kΩ/Sq for bond paper, (b) 5.6 kΩ/Sq for vegetable paper and (c) 2.3 kΩ/Sq for PET. The exponential dependence of sheet resistance with the surface density of printed material allows us to evaluate the strong influence of substrate roughness on PEDOT:PSS conductivity and to predict, for each one, conditions to minimize it.     

In-situ characterization of electrochromism based on ITO/PEDOT:PSS towards preparation of high performance device

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS) is usually sandwiched between indium tin oxide(ITO) and a functional polymer in order to improve the performance of the device. However, because of the strong acidic nature of PEDOT:PSS, the instability of the ITO/PEDOT:PSS interface is also observed. The mechanism of degradation of the device remains is unclear and needs to be further studied. In this article, we investigate the in-situ electrochromism of PEDOT:PSS to disclose the cause of the degradation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) was used to characterize the PEDOT:PSS films, as well as the PEDOT:PSS plus polyethylene glycol(PEG) films with and without indium ions. The electrochromic devices(ECD) based on PEDOT:PSS and PEG with and without indium ions are carried out by in-situ micro-Raman and laser reflective measurement(LRM). For comparison, ECD based on PEDOT:PSS and PEG films with LiCl, KCl, NaCl or InCl_3 are also investigated by LRM. The results show that PEDOT:PSS is further reduced when negatively biased, and oxidized when positively biased. This could identify that PEDOT:PSS with indium ions from PEDOT:PSS etching ITO will lose dopants when negatively biased. The LRM shows that the device with indium ions has a stronger effect on the reduction property of PEDOT:PSS-PEG film than the device without indium ions. The contrast of the former device is 44%, that of the latter device is about 3%. The LRM also shows that the contrasts of the device based on PEDOT:PSS+PEG with LiCl, KCl, NaCl, InCl_3 are 30%, 27%, 15%, and 18%, respectively.     

Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on the electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS/n-Si heterojunction diodes

Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on the electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS/n-Si heterojunction diodes has been studied. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was deposited on n-type Si wafer using facile process of spin coating. The DMSO content was varied from 0 to 8 vol%. Electrical characterization of these heterojunction diodes as performed using both current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements. All diodes showed rectifying behavior. AFM measurement revealed that the surface became more rough after the DMSO treatment of PEDOT:PSS films. The RMS values were found in the range of 4–6 nm. The resistivity of the PEDOT:PSS films decreased with increase in temperature. The addition of DMSO into PEDOT:PSS solution results in a decrease in resistivity of films by approximately two orders of magnitude. PEDOT:PSS films showed high transmission more than 85% in the entire visible region. Raman spectroscopy indicated effect of the DMSO treatment on the chemical structure of PEDOT chains, suggesting a conformational change of PEDOT chain in the film. An optimal value of DMSO was obtained with 5 vol% content, and it showed the best PEDOT:PSS films properties and good quality heterojunction diodes characteristics with ideality factor of 2.4 and barrier height 0.80 eV.     

旋涂法酸处理PEDOT∶PSS薄膜对OLED性能的影响

采用旋涂法对PEDOT∶PSS薄膜进行了酸处理,研究了不同方法处理PEDOT∶PSS薄膜对器件ITO/酸处理PEDOT∶PSS/NPB/Alq3/Li F/Al性能的影响。实验结果表明:用盐酸(草酸)处理PEDOT∶PSS薄膜时,以0.75 mol/L的盐酸(草酸)在120℃下退火15 min时性能更好,最大电流效率达到4.28 cd/A。并且盐酸、草酸处理PEDOT∶PSS薄膜制备器件比未处理PEDOT∶PSS薄膜制备器件的电流效率明显提高了34%。     

Effect of annealing on performance of PEDOT:PSS/n-GaN Schottky solar cells

We develop a heterojunction-based Schottky solar cell consisting of n-type GaN and PEDOT：PSS and also investigate the effect of annealing on the performance of the solar cell. The results show that the open circuit voltage （Voc） increases from 0.54 V to 0.56 V, 0.71 V and 0.82 eV while decreases to 0.69 eV after annealing at 100 ℃, 130 ℃, 160 ℃, and 200 ℃, respectively, which can be ascribed to the change of barrier height of PEDOT：PSS/GaN Schottky contact induced by variation of the work function of the PEDOT：PSS. Furthermore, the conductivity and surface roughness measurements of the PEDOT：PSS indicate that annealing can increase the grain size and improve the connectivity between PEDOT and PSS particles, and cause thermal degradation at the same time, which leads to the rise in short-circuit current density （ISC） up to 160 ℃ and the dropoff in ISC after annealing at 200 ℃.     

PEDOT as an alignment layer and electrode in AFLC devices

PEDOT [Poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly (styrenesulfonate)] is a material typically used organic light emission displays (OLEDs) manufactured as a conductor, or rather, as a hole injector. In this paper, three different issues have been studied: the use of rubbed PEDOT as alignment layer, the resistivity of the applied PEDOT layers, i.e., its potential as a replacement of ITO electrodes, and the induction of asymmetry in the electro-optical response of liquid crystal cells by assembling the display with dissimilar coated aligning surfaces — PEDOT on one side and buffed nylon on the counter electrode     

Characterization of the PEDOT:PSS/KDP mixture on a flexible substrates and the use in pressure sensing devices

In this work, the mixture poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) with monobasic potassium phosphate (KDP), a piezoelectric salt, was studied as a novel material in the fabrication of a low cost, easy-to-make, flexible pressure sensing device. Firstly a theoretical study was carried out, followed by an experimental study where the mixture PEDOT:PSS and KDP was deposited in a flexible polyester substrate and dried. Afterwards, XRD analysis and impulse voltage measures were performed. The results showed that the KDP does not react chemically with PEDOT:PSS and this mixture acts directly responding to the pressure applied on the sample.     

Increased work function in PEDOT:PSS film under ultraviolet irradiation

An increase of work function （0.3 eV） is achieved by irradiating poly（3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene）：poly（styrene sul- fonate） （PEDOT：PSS） film in vacuum with 254-nm ultraviolet （UV） light. The mechanism for such an improvement is investigated by photoelectron yield spectroscopy, X-ray photo electron energy spectrum, and field emission technique. Sur- face oxidation and composition change are found as the reasons for work function increase. The UV-treated PEDOT：PSS film is used as the hole injection layer in a hole-only device. Hole injection is improved by UV-treated PEDOT：PSS film without baring the enlargement of film resistance. Our result demonstrates that UV treatment is more suitable for modifying the injection barrier than UV ozone exposure.     

Polymer solar cells based on a PEDOT:PSS layer spin-coated under the action of an electric field

In the process of fabrication of polymer photovoltaic(PV) devices,poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate)(PEDOT:PSS) thin film,acting as an anode buffer layer,is spin-coated under the action of an electric field.The PV devices with a PEDOT:PSS layer spin-coated under the action of a static electric field exhibit improved short-circuit current density(J sc) and power conversion efficiency(PCE).The investigation of morphology shows that the appropriate intensity of the electric field can increase the roughness of the surface of the PEDOT:PSS layer,which results in improved contact between the anode and hole transport layer and thus enhances the J sc of the devices.Chemical analysis is also provided by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) spectra.     

氧化锌掺铝绒面薄膜在有机光伏电池中的应用

目前有机光伏电池的吸光活性层电学传输特性和光学吸收特性的不匹配是制约其能量转换效率提升的主要原因之一. 通过陷光结构对入射光进行调控, 提高电池对光的约束和俘获能力从而达到“电学薄”和“光学厚”的等效作用, 是解 决有机光伏电池电学和光学不匹配的有效手段. 本文采用湿法刻蚀技术获得了系列时间梯度的绒面氧化锌掺铝薄膜, 并将其作为有机光伏电池的入射陷光电极, 显著增强了电池的光学吸收. 研究发现, 当使用浓度0.5%的稀HCL腐蚀30 s后的氧化锌掺铝薄膜作为入射电极后, 电池的光电性能和效率显著增强. 基于此绒面电极电池的电流密度比平面结构的电池提高了8.17%, 效率改善了11.29%. 通过对绒面电极表面的修饰处理, 实现了电极与光活性层之间良好的界面接触, 从而减小了对电池的开路电压和填充因子的影响.     

Efficiency improvement of red organic light-emitting diodes using a blue phosphorescent exciton blocking layer

Quantum efficiency of red organic light-emitting diodes was improved using a blue phosphorescent emitting layer as an exciton blocking layer. Compared with 8.1% quantum efficiency of standard devices without an exciton blocking layer, high quantum efficiency of 14.1% was obtained using a blue phosphorescent emitting layer between the hole transport layer and the red emitting layer.     

A comparative study of electrode effects on the electrical and luminescent characteristics of Alq3/TPD OLED: Improvements due to conductive polymer (PEDOT) anode

The performance of organic light emitting device (OLED) structures, based on identically fabricated Alq₃/TPD active regions, with various anode and cathode electrode structures are compared, and performance differences related to the different anode structure. The best performance was achieved with a conductive polymer, 3,4-polyethylenedioxythiopene-polystyrenesultonate (PEDOT), used as an anode layer, yielding a brightness of 1720 cd/m² at 25 V, a turn-on voltage of 3 V, and electroluminescence (EL) efficiency and external quantum efficiency of 8.2 cd/A and 2%, respectively, at a brightness of 100 cd/m² and 5 V. Compared to a baseline device (TPD/Alq₃/Al), PEDOT anodes substantially reduce the turn-on voltage and made current injection almost linear after turn-on, whiles devices incorporating a LiF and CuPc layers significantly improved device efficiency while slightly improving turn-on voltage and maintaining superlinear I-V injection. This is attributed to the reduced barrier at the organic-organic interface in PEDOT, the ‘ladder’ effect of stepping the band offset over several interfaces, and the favorable PEDOT film morphology. The benefit of the PEDOT anode is clearly seen in the improvement in device brightness and the high external quantum efficiency obtained.     

Efficient and color-saturated inverted bottom-emitting organic light-emitting devices with a semi-transparent metal-assisted electron injection layer

We report the development of highly efficient and color-saturated green fluorescent 10-(2-benzothiazolyl)-1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H,11H-benzo[l]pyrano-[6,7,8-ij]quinolizin-11-one dye-doped inverted bottom-emitting organic light-emitting diode (IBOLED). This was enabled by the insertion of a silver (Ag) based semi-transparent metal-assisted electron injection layer between the ITO cathode and n-doped electron transporting layer. This IBOLED with ITO/Ag bilayer cathode with its synergistic microcavity effect achieved luminous efficiencies of 20.7 cd/A and 12.4 lm/W and a saturated CIE_x,y of (0.22, 0.72) at 20 mA/cm², which are twice better than those of the conventional OLED and have over 60% improvement on IBOLED without ITO/Ag bilayer cathode.     

Electrical and electroluminescence properties of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/TPD:Alq3:C60/Al organic light emitting diodes

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/TPD:Alq₃:C₆₀/Al with different C₆₀ concentrations (0-6.0 wt.%) have been fabricated. The physical parameters including electrical and optical properties of the samples have been measured by Luminance-current-voltage (L-I-V) characteristics and optical absorbance. The current-voltage characteristics indicate that field-emission tunneling injection dominates in the diodes at high applied voltages. It is found that with increasing the concentration of C₆₀, the injection barrier for holes slightly reduces and the hole’s mobility increases over two orders of magnitude. Also, electroluminescence enhances with the presence of C₆₀ in the blend; optimum current efficiency occurs at 3 wt% C₆₀. The method provides a simple way of increasing the efficiency of OLEDs.