Low Temperature Aqueous Solution-Processed ZnO and Polyethylenimine Ethoxylated Cathode Buffer Bilayer for High Performance Flexible Inverted Organic Solar Cells

Hailong You, Junchi Zhang, Zeyulin Zhang, Chunfu Zhang, Zhenhua Lin, Jingjing Chang, Genquan Han, Jincheng Zhang, Gang Lu and Yue Hao
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Hailong You: Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology Disciplines State Key Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Junchi Zhang: Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology Disciplines State Key Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Zeyulin Zhang: School of Textiles and Materials, Xi’an Polytechnic University, Xi’an 710048, China
Chunfu Zhang: Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology Disciplines State Key Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Zhenhua Lin: Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology Disciplines State Key Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Jingjing Chang: Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology Disciplines State Key Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Genquan Han: Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology Disciplines State Key Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Jincheng Zhang: Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology Disciplines State Key Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China
Gang Lu: Huanghe Hydropower Solar Industry Technology Co. Ltd., 369 South Yanta Road, Xi’an 710061, China
Yue Hao: Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology Disciplines State Key Laboratory, School of Microelectronics, Xidian University, Xi’an 710071, China

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: High performance flexible inverted organic solar cells (OSCs) employing the low temperature cathode buffer bilayer combining the aqueous solution-processed ZnO and polyethylenimine ethoxylated (PEIE) are investigated based on Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl):[6,6]-phenyl-C 61 -butryric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PC 61 BM) and Poly({4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b?]dithiophene-2,6-diyl}{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexy)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl}):[6,6]-phenyl-C 71 -butyric acid methyl ester (PTB-7:PC 71 BM) material systems. It is found that, compared with pure ZnO or PEIE cathode buffer layer (CBL), the proper combination of low-temperature processed ZnO and PEIE as the CBL enhanced the short circuit current density ( J SC ), resulting in better device performance. The increased J SC results from the enhanced electron collection ability from the active layer to the cathode. By using the ZnO/PEIE CBL, a power conversion efficiency ( PCE ) as high as 4.04% for the P3HT:PC 61 BM flexible device and a PCE as high as 8.12% for the PTB-7:PC 71 BM flexible device are achieved, which are higher than the control devices with the pure ZnO CBL or pure PEIE CBL. The flexible inverted OSC also shows a superior mechanical property and it can keep 92.9% of its initial performance after 1000 bending cycles with a radius of 0.8 cm. These results suggest that the combination of the low temperature aqueous solution processed ZnO and PEIE can be a promising cathode buffer bilayer for flexible inverted OSCs.

Keywords: organic solar cells (OSCs); cathode buffer layer (CBL); ZnO; polyethylenimine ethoxylated (PEIE) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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