Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 3, 2025
Fabrication of Fully Solution Processed Inorganic Nanocrystal Photovoltaic Devices
Published on: July 8, 2016
A Transparent Electrode Based on Solution-Processed ZnO for Organic Optoelectronic Devices
Zhi Chen1, Jie Wang1, Hongbo Wu1
1State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Center for Advanced Low-dimension Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Achieving high-efficiency indium tin oxide (ITO)-free organic optoelectronic devices requires the development of high-conductivity and high-transparency materials for being used as the front electrode. Herein, sol-gel-grown zinc oxide (ZnO) films with high conductivity (460 S cm-1) and low optical absorption losses in both visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions are realized utilizing the persistent photoinduced doping effect. The origin of the increased conductivity after photo-doping is ascribed to selective trapping of photogenerated holes by oxygen vacancies at the surface of the ZnO film. Then, the conductivity of the sol-gel-grown ZnO is further increased by stacking the ZnO using a newly developed sequential deposition strategy. Finally, the stacked ZnO is used as the cathode to construct ITO-free organic solar cells, photodetectors, and light emitting diodes: The devices based on ZnO outperform those based on ITO, owing to the reduced surface recombination losses at the cathode/active layer interface, and the reduced parasitic absorption losses in the electrodes of the ZnO based devices.
