Future low‐cost, high‐throughput production of organic solar cells in roll‐to‐roll printing processes calls for all‐solution‐processable device architectures. Mechanical flexibility and robustness are mandatory to roll the solar foils during printing and to eventually comply with certain end‐user requirements. Here, we report on semitransparent organic solar cells, comprising top and bottom silver nanowire (AgNW) electrodes that were embedded into conductive poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). The devices exhibited excellent robustness in bending experiments with radii of 5 and 2.5 mm as well as upon folding. To avoid short circuits from nanowires that could stick out of the bottom electrodes, the PEDOT:PSS:AgNW layers were flattened by hot‐pressing after deposition. All solar cells were fabricated in air by doctor blading and exhibited a clear (haze‐free) transparency due to the absence of bus bars. On photoactive areas of 0.5 cm2, power conversion efficiencies of 3.8 % were obtained.
For future integration into building facades or overhead glazing, the direct deposition of organic solar modules on glass substrates in sheet‐to‐sheet processes may be more cost efficient than postproduction lamination. Complying with the special requirements for the deposition of the layer stack on glass substrates, we report on all‐doctor‐bladed organic solar modules yielding power conversion efficiencies of 4.5 and 3.6 % on photoactive areas of 1 and 20 cm2, respectively. The bottom electrode is doctor bladed from a silver ink atop an adhesion enhancing primer. The top electrode is applied from silver nanowires, dispersed in poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), which thereby avoids any visible bus bars and reduces shading of the active layer. Importantly, all layers are deposited under ambient conditions by using only non‐chlorinated, eco‐compatible solvents.
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