Improving the Performance of Polymer Solar Cells with Benzo[ghi]perylenetriimide-Based Small-Molecules as Interfacial...

In this study, we prepared three benzo[ghi]perylenetriimide (BPTI) conjugated molecules as electron-transporting surface-modifying layers for polymer solar cells (PSCs). These three BPTI derivatives differed in the nature of their terminal functionalities, featuring butylamine (C₃NH₂), propylammonium iodide (C₃NH₃I), and butyldimethylamine (C₃DMA) units, respectively. We evaluated the optoelectronic properties of PTB7-Th: PC₇₁BM blends modified with these interfacial layers, as well as the performance of resulting PSCs. We used UV-Vis spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, surface energy analysis, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and photoelectric flow measurements to examine the phenomena behind the changes in the optoelectronic behavior of these blend films. The presence of a BPTI derivative changed the energy band alignment at the ZnO-active layer interface, leading to the ZnO film behaving more efficiently as an electron-extraction electrode. Modifying the ZnO surface with the BPTI-C₃NH₃I derivative resulted in a best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.2 ± 0.53% for the PTB7-Th:PC₇₁BM PSC (cf. PCE of the control device of 9.1 ± 0.13%). In addition, modification of a PM6:Y6:PCBM PSC with the BPTI-C₃NH₃I derivative increased its PCE from 15.6 ± 0.25% to 16.5 ± 0.18%. Thus, BPTI derivatives appear to have potential as IFLs when developing high-performance PSCs, and might also be applicable in other optoelectronic devices.