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Vol. 6 No. 1 (2014)

Efficiency Enhancement of Inverted Polymer Solar Cells Using Ionic Liquid-functionalized Carbon Nanoparticles-modified ZnO as Electron Selective Layer

https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03353765
Feng Zhu
Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, and Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Xiaohong Chen
Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, and Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Zhe Lu
Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, and Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Jiaxiang Yang
Department of Chemistry, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui Province 230039, China
Sumei Huang
Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, and Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Zhuo Sun
Engineering Research Center for Nanophotonics and Advanced Instrument, Ministry of Education, and Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China

Corresponding Author: Xiaohong Chen

xhchen@phy.ecnu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 6 No. 1 (2014), Article Number: 24-29

Abstract

ZnO thin film was fabricated on tin-doped indium oxide electrode as an electron selective layer of inverted polymer solar cells using magnetron sputtering deposition. Ionic liquid-functionalized carbon nanoparticles (ILCNs) film was further deposited onto ZnO surfaces by drop-casting ILCNs solution to improve interface properties. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of inverted polymer solar cells (PSCs) with only ZnO layer was quickly decreased from 2.7% to 2.2% when the thickness of ZnO layer was increased from 15 nm to 60 nm. However, the average PCE of inverted PSCs with ZnO layer modified with ILCNs only decreased from 3.5% to 3.4%, which is comparable to that of traditional PSCs with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) anode buffer layer. The results suggested that the contact barrier between ZnO layer and poly(3-hexylthiophene) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methylester (P3HT:PCBM) blended film compared to ZnO bulk resistance can more significantly influence the performance of inverted PSCs with sputtered ZnO layer. The vanishment of negative capacitive behavior of inverted PSCs with ILCNs modified ZnO layer indicated ILCNs can greatly decrease the contact barrier of ZnO/P3HT:PCBM interface.

Keywords

Polymer Solar cell ZnO
Zhu, Feng, Xiaohong Chen, Zhe Lu, Jiaxiang Yang, Sumei Huang, and Zhuo Sun. 2013. “Efficiency Enhancement of Inverted Polymer Solar Cells Using Ionic Liquid-Functionalized Carbon Nanoparticles-Modified ZnO As Electron Selective Layer”. Nano-Micro Letters 6 (1):24-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03353765.
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