Efficient inverted polymer solar cells

2006780 citationsJournal Article

Authors

Gang Li · University of California, Los Angeles

Chih‐Wei Chu · University of California, Los Angeles

Vishal Shrotriya · University of California, Los Angeles

Jinsong Huang · University of California, Los Angeles

Yo-Lun Yang · University of California, Los Angeles

Abstract

We investigate the effect of interfacial buffer layers—vanadium oxide (V2O5) and cesium carbonate (Cs2CO3)—on the performance of polymer solar cells based on regioregular poly-(3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl C60 butyric acid methyl ester blend. The polarity of solar cells can be controlled by the relative positions of these two interfacial layers. Efficient inverted polymer solar cells were fabricated with the structure of indium tin oxide (ITO)/Cs2CO3/polymer blend/vanadium oxide (V2O5)/aluminum (Al). Short-circuit current of 8.42mA∕cm2, open-circuit voltage of 0.56V, and power conversion efficiency of 2.25% under a AM1.5G 130mW∕cm2 condition were achieved. The interfacial layers were also used to fabricate polymer solar cells using ITO and a thin gold (Au) layer as the transparent electrodes. The thickness of V2O5 layer (10nm) makes it an effective protective layer for the active layer so that ITO can be used for both the electrodes, enabling highly efficient transparent polymer solar cells (i.e., polymer solar cells with transparent electrodes). Application of this structure for multiple-stacking polymer solar cells is also discussed.

Topics & Keywords

Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics Conducting polymers and applications Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Research

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and clean energy

Publication Details

Published in: Applied Physics Letters

Volume 88, Issue 25

DOI: 10.1063/1.2212270

Field-Weighted Citation Impact: 18.72