Improved Reliability of Small Molecule Organic Solar Cells by Double Anode Buffer Layers

An optimized hybrid planar heterojunction (PHJ) of small molecule organic solar cells (SM-OSCs) based on copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) as donor and fullerene (C60) as acceptor was fabricated, which obviously enhanced the performance of device by sequentially using both MoO3 and pentacene as double anode buffer layers (ABL), also known as hole extraction layer (HEL). A series of the vacuum-deposited ABL, acting as an electron and exciton blocking layer, were examined for their characteristics in SM-OSCs. The performance and reliability were compared between conventional ITO/ABL/CuPc/C60/BCP/Ag cells and the new ITO/double ABL/CuPc/C60/BCP/Ag cells. The effect on the electrical properties of these materials was also investigated to obtain the optimal thickness of ABL. The comparison shows that the modified cell has an enhanced reliability compared to traditional cells. The improvement of lifetime was attributed to the idea of double layers to prevent humidity and oxygen from diffusing into the active layer. We demonstrated that the interfacial extraction layers are necessary to avoid degradation of device. That is to say, in normal temperature and pressure, a new avenue for the device within double buffer layers has exhibited the highest values of open circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF), and lifetime in this work compared to monolayer of ABL

Investigation of Various Active Layers for Their Performance on Organic Solar Cells

The theoretical mechanism of open-circuit voltages (VOC) in OSCs based on various small molecule organic materials is studied. The structure under investigation is simple planar heterojunction (PHJ) by thermal vacuum evaporation deposition. The various wide band gaps of small molecule organic materials are used to enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE). The donor materials used in the device include: Alpha-sexithiophene (α-6T), Copper(II) phthalocyanine (CuPc), boron subnaphthalocyanine chloride (SubNc) and boron Subphthalocyanine chloride (SubPc). It is combined with fullerene or SubPc acceptor material to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the charge transport behavior. It is found that the VOC of the device is largely limited by charge transport. This was associated with the space charge effects and hole accumulation. These results are attributed to the improvement of surface roughness and work function after molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) is inserted as an anode buffer layer

The Effect of Solvents on the Performance of CH3NH3PbI3 Perovskite Solar Cells

The properties of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) fabricated using various solvents was studied. The devices had an indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS)/CH3NH3PbI3 (fabricated by using various solvents)/fullerene (C60)/bathocuproine (BCP)/silver (Ag) structure. The solvents used were dimethylformamide (DMF), γ-butyrolactone (GBL), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), a mixture of DMSO and DMF (1:1 v/v), and a mixture of DMSO and GBL (DMSO: GBL, 1:1 v/v), respectively. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the device fabricated using DMF is zero, which is attributed to the poor coverage of CH3NH3PbI3 film on the substrate. In addition, the PCE of the device made using GBL is only 1.74% due to the low solubility of PbI2 and CH3NH3I. In contrast, the PCE of the device fabricated using the solvents containing DMSO showed better performance. This is ascribed to the high solubilization properties and strong coordination of DMSO. As a result, a PCE of 9.77% was obtained using a mixed DMSO:GBL solvent due to the smooth surface, uniform film coverage on the substrate and the high crystallization of the perovskite structure. Finally, a mixed DMSO: DMF:GBL (5:2:3 v/v/v) solvent that combined the advantages of each solvent was used to fabricate a device, leading to a further improvement of the PCE of the resulting PSC to 10.84%

Study of Small Molecule Organic Solar Cells Performance Based on Boron Subphthalocyanine Chloride and C60

The small molecule organic solar cells based on boron subphthalocyanine chloride (SubPc) and C60 by varying the SubPc layer thickness from 3 nm to 21 nm were fabricated. The maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.47% was obtained at the 9 nm SubPc layer under 100 mW/cm2 AM1.5G illumination, which is attributed to reach the optimal balance between the light absorption efficiency and the carrier collection efficiency in the device. To increase the open-circuit voltage (Voc) of device, the molybdenum oxide (MoO3) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) were inserted between the indium tin oxide and the SubPc layer, respectively. Finally, the Voc of device increased from 0.46 V to 1 V by using MoO3 buffer layer, resulting in the fact that the PCE of device increased from 1.47% to 2.52%

Improved Reliability of Small Molecule Organic Solar Cells by Double Anode Buffer Layers

An optimized hybrid planar heterojunction (PHJ) of small molecule organic solar cells (SM-OSCs) based on copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) as donor and fullerene (C 60 ) as acceptor was fabricated, which obviously enhanced the performance of device by sequentially using both MoO 3 and pentacene as double anode buffer layers (ABL), also known as hole extraction layer (HEL). A series of the vacuum-deposited ABL, acting as an electron and exciton blocking layer, were examined for their characteristics in SM-OSCs. The performance and reliability were compared between conventional ITO/ABL/CuPc/C 60 /BCP/Ag cells and the new ITO/double ABL/CuPc/C 60 /BCP/Ag cells. The effect on the electrical properties of these materials was also investigated to obtain the optimal thickness of ABL. The comparison shows that the modified cell has an enhanced reliability compared to traditional cells. The improvement of lifetime was attributed to the idea of double layers to prevent humidity and oxygen from diffusing into the active layer. We demonstrated that the interfacial extraction layers are necessary to avoid degradation of device. That is to say, in normal temperature and pressure, a new avenue for the device within double buffer layers has exhibited the highest values of open circuit voltage (V oc ), fill factor (FF), and lifetime in this work compared to monolayer of ABL