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Efficient "light-soaking"-free inverted organic solar cells with aqueous solution processed low-temperature ZnO
Wei Wei1, Chunfu Zhang, Dazheng Chen
1State Key Laboratory of Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology School Of Microelectronics, Xidian University , 2 South Taibai Road, Xi'an, China 710071.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|December 7, 2013
Summary
A novel aqueous solution method enables efficient, low-temperature fabrication of organic solar cells using zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films. This process avoids light-soaking issues and yields high performance, even in flexible devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Renewable Energy
- Organic Electronics
Background:
- Low-temperature fabrication is crucial for cost-effective organic solar cell (OSC) production.
- Achieving high efficiency and stability in OSCs often requires high-temperature processing or faces challenges like light-soaking effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a highly efficient, light-soaking-free inverted organic solar cell using low-temperature processed ZnO thin films.
- To compare the performance of aqueous-processed ZnO with traditional sol-gel methods for OSC fabrication.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of inverted organic solar cells utilizing ZnO thin films processed via an aqueous solution method.
- Annealing of ZnO thin films at various low temperatures (e.g., 80 °C, 150 °C).
- Fabrication and testing of flexible OSCs on PET substrates.
Main Results:
- OSCs with aqueous-processed ZnO annealed at 150 °C achieved 3.79% efficiency; devices annealed at 80 °C reached 3.71%.
- Flexible devices fabricated at 80 °C showed 3.56% efficiency and maintained >3.40% after 1000 bends.
- In contrast, sol-gel processed ZnO yielded significantly lower efficiency (1.3%) and exhibited a strong light-soaking effect.
Conclusions:
- The aqueous solution method is a superior low-temperature technique for ZnO thin film processing in OSCs compared to the sol-gel method.
- This approach enables efficient, stable, and flexible organic solar cells without the need for high-temperature annealing or light-soaking pre-treatment.
