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Published on: January 10, 2017
Solution-processed vanadium oxide as a hole collection layer on an ITO electrode for high-performance polymer solar
Zhan'ao Tan1, Wenqing Zhang, Chaohua Cui
1State Key Laboratory of Alternate Electrical Power System with Renewable Energy Sources, The New and Renewable Energy of Beijing Key Laboratory, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China. tanzhanao@ncepu.edu.cn
Solution-processed vanadium oxide (s-VO(x)) offers improved stability and performance for polymer solar cells (PSCs). This anode buffer layer enhances hole collection, surpassing traditional PEDOT:PSS in efficiency for various fullerene acceptors.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Renewable Energy
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Polymer solar cells (PSCs) are a promising renewable energy technology.
- Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) electrodes are commonly used but require buffer layers for optimal performance.
- Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) is a traditional anode buffer layer with limitations in stability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate solution-processed vanadium oxide (s-VO(x)) as an alternative anode buffer layer for PSCs.
- To improve the stability and photovoltaic performance of PSCs compared to devices using PEDOT:PSS.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of s-VO(x) with different electron acceptors.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of s-VO(x) buffer layer via spin-coating vanadyl acetylacetonate solution on ITO, followed by thermal annealing.
- Fabrication of PSCs using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) as the donor and four fullerene derivatives (PC(60)BM, PC(70)BM, IC(60)BA, IC(70)BA) as acceptors.
- Characterization of photovoltaic performance under AM1.5G illumination.
Main Results:
- The s-VO(x) layer is highly transparent and exhibits effective hole collection.
- PSCs with s-VO(x) demonstrated superior performance compared to those with PEDOT:PSS, irrespective of the fullerene acceptor used.
- A power conversion efficiency of 6.35% was achieved for a P3HT:IC(70)BA based PSC with the s-VO(x) buffer layer.
Conclusions:
- Solution-processed vanadium oxide (s-VO(x)) is a viable and effective anode buffer layer for enhancing PSC performance and stability.
- s-VO(x) offers advantages over PEDOT:PSS, leading to higher power conversion efficiencies.
- The developed s-VO(x) buffer layer shows potential for advancing polymer solar cell technology.
