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A Universal Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene)-Based Hole Transport Layer Material for Efficient and Stable Organic
Yongkang Zhao1, Jiaxing Song1, Huinan Li1
1Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Advanced Tandem Photovoltaic Technology, College of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, China.
Chemsuschem
|January 7, 2026
Summary
A new PEDOT:PSF hole transport layer improves organic solar cell stability and efficiency by reducing acidity and water absorption compared to PEDOT:PSS. This leads to significantly longer device lifetimes under illumination.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Organic Electronics
- Photovoltaics
Background:
- Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is a common hole transport layer (HTL) in organic solar cells (OSCs).
- PEDOT:PSS exhibits high acidity and hydrophilicity, negatively impacting OSC device stability.
- Limitations of PEDOT:PSS hinder the long-term performance and reliability of OSCs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and synthesize a novel counterion for PEDOT to overcome the limitations of PEDOT:PSS.
- To develop a more stable and less hydrophilic HTL material for enhanced OSC performance.
- To evaluate the impact of the new PEDOT:PSF HTL on the efficiency and durability of various OSC configurations.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of a novel trifluoromethyl (CF3)-containing sulfonated copolymer (PSF) as a counterion.
- Formation of the PEDOT:PSF complex by incorporating PEDOT with the PSF counterion.
- Fabrication and testing of OSCs using PEDOT:PSF as the HTL with different active layers (PM6:Y6, PM6:BTP-eC9, PM6:L8-BO, D18:L8-BO).
Main Results:
- The PEDOT:PSF complex demonstrated reduced acidity and significantly decreased hygroscopic nature compared to PEDOT:PSS.
- OSCs utilizing PEDOT:PSF achieved high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) up to 18.55%, consistently outperforming PEDOT:PSS based devices.
- PEDOT:PSF-based OSCs exhibited superior operational stability, retaining 83% of their initial PCE after 730 hours of continuous illumination, compared to 58% for PEDOT:PSS devices.
Conclusions:
- The novel PEDOT:PSF HTL material offers a promising alternative to PEDOT:PSS for stable and efficient organic solar cells.
- Reduced acidity and hydrophilicity of PEDOT:PSF contribute to significantly enhanced device durability and longevity.
- The developed HTL material shows broad applicability across various organic solar cell active layer architectures.
