Study on the Enhanced Shelf Lifetime of CYTOP-Encapsulated Organic Solar Cells

Jaehoon Kim, Hyung-Jun Song and Changhee Lee
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Jaehoon Kim: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Hyung-Jun Song: Department of Safety Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul 01811, Korea
Changhee Lee: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-11

Abstract: Organic solar cells (OSCs) are an attractive technique for next-generation renewable energy. However, the intrinsically unstable nature of the organic compounds involved is delaying their commercialization. Therefore, it is essential to improve the lifetime of OSCs significantly. Here, we investigated the effect of the hydrophobic cyclized transparent optical polymer (CYTOP) as a solution-processable encapsulation layer based on shelf lifetime measurement, current–voltage characteristics, and impedance spectroscopy. We found that CYTOP utilization greatly enhanced OSCs’ shelf lifetime, maintaining 96% of initial performance when unencapsulated devices decreased to 82%. Furthermore, based on the dark current characteristics, ideality factor (n), and Cole–Cole plots, the CYTOP encapsulation is revealed to effectively inhibit unfavorable changes of parasitic resistive components and trap-assisted recombination. These findings provide an inclusive perspective on the shelf lifetime issue and commercialization of the OSCs.

Keywords: organic solar cells; encapsulation; shelf lifetime; CYTOP (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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