Impact of P3HT materials properties and layer architecture on OPV device stability

Abstract

We report a cooperative study conducted between different laboratories to investigate organic solar cell degradation with respect to P3HT material properties and different solar cell architectures. Various batches of P3HT were collected from different suppliers reflecting commercial availability as well as properties variability. Among the materials properties explicitly considered were the molar mass, dispersity, regio-regularity, impurities by trace metals and intrinsic doping evaluated from radical concentrations. Each of the participating laboratories contributing test devices applied their own layer stack, i.e. their own device architecture and layout. This variation was appreciated as another parameter for evaluation. Even though a large amount of devices failed due to extrinsic degradation effects, indeed, some materials properties were found to be more important than others for obtaining long lifetimes and high stability of P3HT-based polymer solar cells.

Recent progress in cathode interlayer materials for non‐fullerene organic solar cells

“…11 To further improve the efficiency as well as stability, the development of new material as light-harvesting, improvement in the device processing, and designing a stable device architecture are most essential. [81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88] Besides, interface engineering through CIL plays a significant role in the improvement of OSCs devices. Recently, it has been demonstrated that interface engineering, primarily through inserting CIL between the electrode and photoactive layer could significantly enhance the performance of OSCs.…”

“…To date, PCE has exceeded over 18% in single‐junction NF‐OSCs 11 . To further improve the efficiency as well as stability, the development of new material as light‐harvesting, improvement in the device processing, and designing a stable device architecture are most essential 81–88 . Besides, interface engineering through CIL plays a significant role in the improvement of OSCs devices.…”

Introducing neat fullerenes to improve the thermal stability of slot-die coated organic solar cells

“…21 There are several mechanisms of degradation that have been identified to have significant influence on the lifetime of OPVs. These include thermal, 22,23 oxygen and moisture, 24,25 UV radiance 26,27 and mechanical 9,28,29 degradation. These factors are responsible for two significant decay trends of PCE: burn-in and linear degradation.…”

Aerosol‐Jet‐Printed Donor‐Blocking Layer for Organic Photodiodes

“…We choose the well-studied blend of the donor P3HT and the acceptor phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC 60 BM) as the photoactive BHJ. [8,41] On top of this active layer, a P3HT DBL is deposited to decrease the electron injection from the anode into the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of PC 60 BM due to the higher energetic barrier (see also Figure S1 in the Supporting Information). The DBL deposition is carried out by the digital and contactless AJP technique, which has recently experienced considerable attention in printed electronics research.…”