Traps and transport resistance are the next frontiers for stable non-fullerene acceptor solar cells

Christopher Wöpke, Clemens Göhler, Maria Saladina, Xiaoyan Du, Li Nian, Christopher Greve, Chenhui Zhu, Kaila M. Yallum, Yvonne J. Hofstetter, David Becker-Koch, Ning Li, Thomas Heumüller, Ilya Milekhin, Dietrich R. T. Zahn, Christoph J. Brabec, Natalie Banerji, Yana Vaynzof, Eva M. Herzig, Roderick C. I. MacKenzie and Carsten Deibel ()
Additional contact information
Christopher Wöpke: Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz
Clemens Göhler: Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz
Maria Saladina: Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz
Xiaoyan Du: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Li Nian: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Christopher Greve: Physikalisches Institut, Dynamik und Strukturbildung - Herzig Group, Universität Bayreuth
Chenhui Zhu: Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Kaila M. Yallum: University of Bern
Yvonne J. Hofstetter: Technische Universität Dresden
David Becker-Koch: Technische Universität Dresden
Ning Li: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Thomas Heumüller: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Ilya Milekhin: Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz
Dietrich R. T. Zahn: Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz
Christoph J. Brabec: Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Natalie Banerji: University of Bern
Yana Vaynzof: Technische Universität Dresden
Eva M. Herzig: Physikalisches Institut, Dynamik und Strukturbildung - Herzig Group, Universität Bayreuth
Roderick C. I. MacKenzie: Durham University, Lower Mount Joy
Carsten Deibel: Institut für Physik, Technische Universität Chemnitz

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Stability is one of the most important challenges facing material research for organic solar cells (OSC) on their path to further commercialization. In the high-performance material system PM6:Y6 studied here, we investigate degradation mechanisms of inverted photovoltaic devices. We have identified two distinct degradation pathways: one requires the presence of both illumination and oxygen and features a short-circuit current reduction, the other one is induced thermally and marked by severe losses of open-circuit voltage and fill factor. We focus our investigation on the thermally accelerated degradation. Our findings show that bulk material properties and interfaces remain remarkably stable, however, aging-induced defect state formation in the active layer remains the primary cause of thermal degradation. The increased trap density leads to higher non-radiative recombination, which limits the open-circuit voltage and lowers the charge carrier mobility in the photoactive layer. Furthermore, we find the trap-induced transport resistance to be the major reason for the drop in fill factor. Our results suggest that device lifetimes could be significantly increased by marginally suppressing trap formation, leading to a bright future for OSC.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31326-z

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