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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Fabrication of Fully Solution Processed Inorganic Nanocrystal Photovoltaic Devices
Published on: July 8, 2016
Overcoming efficiency and stability limits in water-processing nanoparticular organic photovoltaics by minimizing
Chen Xie1, Thomas Heumüller2, Wolfgang Gruber3
1Institute of Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology (i-MEET), Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Martensstrasse 7, 91058, Erlangen, Germany. chen.xie@fau.de.
Eco-friendly water-based processing of organic photovoltaics is now viable. Surfactant-stripped nanoparticles achieve high efficiency and stability, comparable to traditional methods using harmful solvents.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Renewable Energy
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Market demand for sustainable organic photovoltaics (OPVs) processing.
- Water-dispersed organic semiconducting nanoparticles (NPs) offer eco-friendly potential.
- Surfactants, essential for NP stability, hinder OPV performance in water-based systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To minimize the negative impact of surfactants on water-processed OPV performance.
- To develop a method for purifying organic semiconducting NPs in aqueous dispersions.
- To enable high-efficiency and stable OPVs using non-toxic, water-based inks.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a poloxamer to remove excess surfactants from aqueous NP dispersions.
- Fabricated OPVs using surfactant-stripped poly(3-hexylthiophene) / non-fullerene acceptor NPs.
- Compared device performance and stability against those processed with halogenated solvents.
Main Results:
- Surfactant-stripped NPs achieved device efficiency and stability comparable to devices processed from halogenated solvents.
- A record power conversion efficiency of 7.5% was achieved for NP-based devices using a low-band gap polymer.
- Demonstrated the feasibility of water-based nanoparticle inks for future OPV fabrication.
Conclusions:
- A novel approach effectively reduces surfactant interference in water-processed OPVs.
- This method paves the way for environmentally benign manufacturing of organic solar cells.
- Achieved competitive device performance using sustainable, water-based nanoparticle inks.
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