Efficient Polymer Solar Cells on Opaque Substrates with a Laminated PEDOT:PSS Top Electrode

Abstract

Solution processed polymer:fullerene solar cells on opaque substrates have been fabricated in conventional and inverted device configurations. Opaque substrates, such as insulated steel and metal covered glass, require a transparent conducting top electrode. We demonstrate that a high conducting (900 S cm−1) PEDOT:PSS layer, deposited by a stamp‐transfer lamination technique using a PDMS stamp, in combination with an Ag grid electrode provides a proficient and versatile transparent top contact. Lamination of large size PEDOT:PSS films has been achieved on variety of surfaces resulting in ITO‐free solar cells. Power conversion efficiencies of 2.1% and 3.1% have been achieved for P3HT:PCBM layers in inverted and conventional polarity configurations, respectively. The power conversion efficiency is similar to conventional glass/ITO‐based solar cells. The high fill factor (65%) and the unaffected open‐circuit voltage that are consistently obtained in thick active layer inverted geometry devices, demonstrate that the laminated PEDOT:PSS top electrodes provide no significant potential or resistive losses.

Large-area soft-imprinted nanowire networks as light trapping transparent conductors

“…2a (top), assuming semi-infinite Al and glass layers, and neglecting the NWs. Complex dielectric constants were used for all materials, taken from the literature for P3HT-PCBM37, PEDOT:PSS37, Al38, and from spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements for ITO. We find three waveguide modes, of which dispersion curves showing the propagating wavevector β (real part of complex eigenmode wavevector) for each free-space wavevector k 0 are shown in Fig.…”

Transparent electrodes for organic optoelectronic devices: a review

“…Top-illuminated P3HT:PCBM devices were successfully fabricated on glass and opaque stainless steel substrates, which had maximum η P of 2.1 and 3.1% for normal and inverted polarity configurations, respectively. 15 For direct solution deposition, it is important to improve the wetting of the aqueous PEDOT:PSS solution on organic materials, which are typically hydrophobic. Several methods have been developed to solve this problem.…”

“…[10][11][12] First, the rising cost of indium, associated with the scarcity of global indium resources and its large consumption, is one of the greatest concerns for the boosted demand of ITO due to the popularity of liquid crystal displays, solid-state lighting, solar panels, and other products. [13][14][15] The deposition techniques and surface treatment processes also add to the cost of ITO. 16 Generally, most of the commercialized ITO thin films are deposited by magnetron sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy, thermal evaporation, and pulse laser deposition.…”

A Poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxypyrrole)–Au@WO3‐Based Electrochromic Pseudocapacitor

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Conducting polymers are attractive because they are cheap, easy to process and can exhibit a range of colors as a function of the applied potential. Such hybrid materials find use as active electrodes in diverse applications that include chemical sensors, supercapacitors, electrochromic devices, batteries, and organic solar cells.…”