Efficiency Enhancement Of Solution-Processed Flexible Organic Solar Cells

In this study, flexible organic solar cells (OSCs) employing a solution-processed hole-transporting layer (HTL) and low temperature annealing active layer have been fabricated. Vanadium oxide (V2O5), poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonate) (PE-DOT: PSS), V2O5/PEDOT:PSS or PEDOT:PSS/V2O5 is used as the HTL. Poly(3-hexythiophene) (P3HT):[6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) is used as the active layer. HTL and active layer are all formed by a spin coating method on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The OSC configuration has been optimized in the study to be PET/ITO/V2O5/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/LiF/Al. Based on a low annealing temperature of 90 degrees C for P3HT: PCBM and parameters optimization of solution-processed V2O5/PEDOT:PSS, the OSC demonstrates a current density (JSC) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 6.08 mA/cm(2) and 1.57%, while an OSC without the HTL has PCE around 0.06%. The V2O5/PEDOT:PSS stacked HTL provides not only a stepwise hole-transporting energy diagram configuration but a smooth film surface for coating P3HT: PCBM active layer, which subsequently increases charge carrier transporting capability and extracts holes from the active layer to the anode.