Self-Assembled Monolayer Enables Hole Transport Layer-Free Organic Solar Cells with 18% Efficiency and Improved Operational Stability

Yuanbao Lin(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Yuliar Firdaus(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Furkan H. Isikgor(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Mohamad Insan Nugraha(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Emre Yengel(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), George T. Harrison(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Rawad K. Hallani(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Abdulrahman El Labban(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Hendrik Faber(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Chun Ma(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Xiaopeng Zheng(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Anand S. Subbiah(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Calvyn T. Howells(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Osman M. Bakr(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Iain McCulloch(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Stefaan De Wolf(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology), Leonidas Tsetseris(National Technical University of Athens), Thomas D. Anthopoulos(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)
ACS Energy Letters
August 18, 2020
10.1021/acsenergylett.0c01421
Cited by 669

Abstract

We report on bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) organic photovoltaics (OPVs) based on the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) 2PACz as a hole-selective interlayer functionalized directly onto the indium tin oxide (ITO) anode. The 2PACz is found to change the work function of ITO while simultaneously affecting the morphology of the BHJ deposited atop. Cells with PM6:N3 BHJ and ITO-2PACz anode exhibit a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.6%, which is greater than that measured for bare ITO (6.45%) and ITO/PEDOT:PSS (15.94%) based devices. The enhanced performance is attributed to lower contact-resistance, reduced bimolecular recombination losses, and improved charge transport within the BHJ. Importantly, the ITO-2PACz-based OPVs show dramatically improved operational stability when compared with PEDOT:PSS-based cells. When the ITO-2PACz anode is combined with the ternary PM6:BTP-eC9:PC71BM BHJ, the resulting cells exhibit a maximum PCE of 18.03%, highlighting the potential of engineered SAMs for use in hole-selective contacts in high-performance OPVs.

Related Papers

No related papers found

Powered by citation graph analysis