Issue 43, 2012

Enhancing efficiency with fluorinated interlayers in small molecule organic solar cells

Abstract

This study presents a simple approach to improve the performance of small molecule based organic solar cells (OSCs) by inserting a fluorinated buffer layer (e.g., PFAS) at the hetero-interface of bilayer devices. As demonstrated in this work, the PFAS modification reduces the surface energy of the conventional PEDOT : PSS photoanode and results in a significant improvement in the pentacene based OSC. The passivated PEDOT : PSS surface after PFAS modification has a lower interface energy with pentacene and facilitates 3D single crystalline (dendritic-like) phase pentacene growth. Concurrently, the accumulated negative charges of the fluorinated PFAS layer result in the development of interfacial dipole moments that in turn lead to an enhanced built-in potential across the devices, and consequently enhanced hole transport efficiency. Improved performance of the modified OSCs is evident from the ∼97% enhancement in efficiency from 0.88% to 1.73%, along with the open-circuit voltage improvement from 0.29 to 0.42 V. As well as improving the photovoltaic performance, the PFAS treatment also enhances the stability of the device under high temperature annealing, which is essential in the fabrication process.

Graphical abstract: Enhancing efficiency with fluorinated interlayers in small molecule organic solar cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Jun 2012
Accepted
11 Sep 2012
First published
12 Sep 2012

J. Mater. Chem., 2012,22, 22899-22905

Enhancing efficiency with fluorinated interlayers in small molecule organic solar cells

H. Han, C. Tseng, C. Du, A. Ganguly, C. Chong, S. Wang, C. Lin, S. Chang, C. Su, J. Lee, K. Chen and L. Chen, J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 22899 DOI: 10.1039/C2JM34091G

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