Abstract
Abstract We report a simple processing method to simultaneously improve the efficiency and stability of organic solar cells (OSCs). Poly(4-styrene sulfonate)-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxy-thiophene (PEDOT:PSS), widely used as hole transport layer (HTL) in OSCs, tends to accelerate the degradation of devices because of its hygroscopic and acidic properties. In this regard, we have modified PEDOT:PSS to reduce its hygroscopic and acidic properties through a condensation reaction between PEDOT:PSS and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (PEGME) in order to improve the efficiency and stability of OSCs. As a result, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) increased by 21%, from 2.57% up to 3.11%. A better energy level alignment by the reduced work function of the modified PEDOT:PSS with a highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) is considered the origin of the improved the efficiency. The half-life of OSCs with PEDOT:PSS modified with PEGME buffer layer also increased up to 3.5 times compared to that of devices with pristine PEDOT:PSS buffer layer.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 3184 |
Pages (from-to) | 191-199 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Organic Electronics |
Volume | 26 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2015 Jul 25 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the Nano Material Technology Development Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (MSIP, Korea) (NRF-2014M3A7B4050960, 2014M3A7B4051745 and 2014M3A7B4051749), the Pioneer Research Center Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (2010-0019550), the Priority Research Center Program through the NRF funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (No. 2009-0093823) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the government of Republic of Korea ( MSIP ) (No. 2007-0056091 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier B.V.
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Biomaterials
- Chemistry(all)
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Materials Chemistry
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering