Electron Transport Layer Optimization for Efficient PTB7:PC₇₀BM Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells

Bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells have received a great deal of attention mainly due to the possibility of higher power conversion efficiency for photovoltaic applications. Therefore, in this study, relatively novel polymer BHJ solar cells are proposed (ITO/ETL/PTB7:PC₇₀BM/PEDOT:PSS/Au) with various electron transport layers (ETL) such as zinc oxysulfide (Zn(O,S)), zinc selenide (ZnSe), and poly[(9,9-bis(3'-((N,N-dimethyl)-N-ethylammonium)-propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctylfluorene)] dibromide (PFN-Br). Here, each ETL material is selected based on the energy bandgap compatibility with ITO as well as the PTB7:PC₇₀BM active layer and is based on other physical properties, which are generally required for efficient photovoltaic responses. Each proposed device is comprehensively optimized and then photovoltaic responses are simulated and compared using the software SCAPS-1D. It was observed that the ITO/Zn(O,S)/PTB7:PC70BM/PEDOT:PSS/Au device offered the highest power-conversion efficiency of up to 17.15% with an open-circuit voltage of 0.85 volts, a short-circuit current of 28.23 mA/cm², and a fill factor of 70.69%.