ZnO as an effective hole transport layer for water resistant organic solar cells
Organic solar cells (OSCs) are a major contender for third generation photovoltaic systems. However, the scalability and potential commercial viability of OSCs are still limited due to their instability under hostile ambient conditions such as a humid atmosphere. One of the major limiting factors in...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
10 Mar 2018
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| In: |
Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability
Year: 2018, Volume: 6, Issue: 15, Pages: 6542-6550 |
| ISSN: | 2050-7496 |
| DOI: | 10.1039/C7TA10722F |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1039/C7TA10722F Verlag, Volltext: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/ta/c7ta10722f 
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| Author Notes: | Cheng-Yu Chi, Chun-Han Shih, Eric Sauter, Sandeep K. Das, Ya-Hsiang Liang, Hsiang-Ting Lien, Sun-Tang Chang, Michael Zharnikov and Yian Tai |
| Summary: | Organic solar cells (OSCs) are a major contender for third generation photovoltaic systems. However, the scalability and potential commercial viability of OSCs are still limited due to their instability under hostile ambient conditions such as a humid atmosphere. One of the major limiting factors in this context is the water-solubility of the hole transport layer (HTL). As a solution to this problem, in the given work, we report the design of an ultrathin, water-resistant and p-type-like conducting ZnO film serving as a HTL for inverted OSCs. This film is fabricated using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis under ambient conditions and subsequently transferred onto the active layer of the OSC using a sacrificial poly(styrenesulfonate) (PPS) film. The resulting ZnO film has oxygen-rich and zinc-deficient characteristics which stem presumably from a gradient-like doping of PSS chelating with zinc species. These characteristics result in a suitable energy level realignment and facilitate p-type-like charge transport to the anode. The fabricated device has excellent stability and only minor loss in performance upon a prolonged immersion in water without encapsulation, in striking contrast to the commonly used MoOx HTL OSC which was completely deteriorated. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 25.04.2019 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 2050-7496 |
| DOI: | 10.1039/C7TA10722F |