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Improved Stability of Polymer Solar Cells in Ambient Air via Atomic Layer Deposition of Ultra-Thin Dielectric Layers
Polydorou, Ermioni Botzakaki, Martha A. Sakellis, Ilias Soultati, Anastasia Kaltzoglou, Andreas Papadopoulos, Theodoros A. Briscoe, Joe Drivas, Charalabos Seintis, Kostas Fakis, Mihalis
Polydorou, Ermioni
Botzakaki, Martha A.
Sakellis, Ilias
Soultati, Anastasia
Kaltzoglou, Andreas
Papadopoulos, Theodoros A.
Briscoe, Joe
Drivas, Charalabos
Seintis, Kostas
Fakis, Mihalis
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Other Contributors
EPub Date
Publication Date
2017-07-12
Submitted Date
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Abstract
Polymer solar cells have attracted tremendous interest in the highly competitive solar energy sector, due to the practical advantages they exhibit, such as being lightweight, flexible, and low cost, in stark contrast to traditional photovoltaic technologies. However, their successful commercialization is still hindered by issues related to device instability. Here, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is employed to deposit conformal ultrathin dielectrics, such as alumina (Al2O3) and zirconia (ZrO2), on top of ZnO electron extraction layers to address problems that arise from the defect-rich nature of these layers. The deposition of dielectrics on ZnO significantly improves its interfacial electronic properties, manifested primarily with the decrease in the work function of ZnO and the concomitant reduction of the electron extraction barrier as well as the reduced recombination losses. Significant efficiency enhancement is obtained with the incorporation of six ALD cycles of Al2O3 into inverted devices, using photoactive layers, that consist of poly(3-hexylthiophene):indene-C60-bisadduct or poly({4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl}{3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl] thieno[3,4-b] thiophenediyl}):[6,6]-phenyl-C70-butyric acid methyl ester. More importantly, upon performing lifetime studies (over a period of 350 h), a strong improvement in polymer solar cell stability is observed when using the ALD-modified ZnO films.
Citation
Polydorou, E., et al. (2017). Improved Stability of Polymer Solar Cells in Ambient Air via Atomic Layer Deposition of Ultra-Thin Dielectric Layers. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 4(18), 1700231. DOI: 10.1002/admi.201700231
Publisher
Wiley
Journal
Advanced Materials Interfaces
Research Unit
DOI
10.1002/admi.201700231
PubMed ID
PubMed Central ID
Type
Article
Language
en
Description
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Polydorou, E., et al. (2017). Improved Stability of Polymer Solar Cells in Ambient Air via Atomic Layer Deposition of Ultra-Thin Dielectric Layers. Advanced Materials Interfaces, 4(18), 1700231. DOI: 10.1002/admi.201700231, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/admi.201700231/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving
Series/Report no.
ISSN
EISSN
2196-7350