Photocatalytic effect of ZnO on the stability of nonfullerene acceptors and its mitigation by SnO₂for nonfullerene organic solar cells

Abstract

Nonfullerene acceptors tend to decompose in the presence of ZnO due to photocatalytic activity, and SnO2 is an alternative for higher efficiency and better stability.

Following in Operando the Structure Evolution‐Induced Degradation in Printed Organic Solar Cells with Nonfullerene Small Molecule Acceptor

“…In addition, a possible degradation of the aluminum electrodes or the active layer by air humidity is ruled out under these conditions. A potential decomposition of the nonfullerene small molecule acceptor by the photocatalytic activity of ZnO under illumination with UV light is ruled out, as the light of the solar simulator passes through a quartz glass window, which is not transparent to this wavelength range. As current density–voltage ( J–V ) characteristics depend on the light intensity, this parameter is kept stable during the measurement (AM 1.5 illumination, 100 mW cm −2 ).…”

A Cost‐Effective, Aqueous‐Solution‐Processed Cathode Interlayer Based on Organosilica Nanodots for Highly Efficient and Stable Organic Solar Cells

“…Figure 4f shows the UV-vis absorption spectra for Y6 on glass/ ZnO and glass/OSiNDs substrate before and after UV illumination (provided by a UV lamp at 5 mW cm −2 ) for 1 h. After UV illumination for 1 h, the absorption of Y6 on glass/ZnO substrate decreased significantly (the peak intensity reduced by 11%), indicating the decomposition of Y6 via the photocatalytic activity of ZnO, which is in agreement with the work by Zhou and co-workers, where ZnO was found to assist IT-4F decomposition under UV illumination. [37] For the Y6 film on glass/ OSiNDs substrate, the absorption spectra remained almost unchanged after UV illumination. As final evidence that the reduced photocatalytic activity of OSiNDs is responsible for the lifetime enhancement, we investigated devices with a two-stack interface layer consisting of OSiNDs on top of ZnO interlayer (ZnO/OSiNDs bilayer interface) and found significantly improved photostability for the bilayer interface compared to ZnO-based control device ( Figure S14, Supporting Information).…”

“…[34,35] On the other hand, as a well-known photocatalyst for organic compound, ZnO would facilitate the decomposition of NFAs such as IT-4F under UV irradiation. [36,37] In addition, the "photoinduced shunts" have been proven to be a general phenomenon in OSCs comprising "neat or electrically doped" ZnO-based interlayers, regardless if the interlayer is prepared from nanoparticles' dispersion or by vacuum-based techniques. [34] Therefore, developing novel cathode interlayer materials that could realize highly efficient and photostable devices is urgently needed for the industrial scalability of OSCs.…”

Self‐Assembled Monomolecular Layer Modified ZnO for Efficient Inverted Polymer Solar Cells with 11.53% Efficiency

“…Many cathode interfacial materials have been successfully applied in the inverted PSCs, including metal salts such as Cs 2 CO 3 , SrF 2 , and titanium chelate and conjugated or non‐conjugated polyelectrolytes . Among various cathode interface materials, transition metal oxidation such as SnO 2 and ZnO has received extensive attention for its excellent optical transparency, high reflection constant, and thermal and chemical stability . The ZnO is an n‐type semiconductor material with a wide band gap (3.3 eV), which is suitable for the cathode interfacial material.…”