Simple O2 plasma-processed V2O5 as an anode buffer layer for high-performance polymer solar cells

Xichang Bao; Qianqian Zhu; Ting Wang; Jing Guo; Chunpeng Yang; Donghong Yu; Ning Wang; Weichao Chen; Renqiang Yang

doi:10.1021/acsami.5b00091

Simple O2 plasma-processed V2O5 as an anode buffer layer for high-performance polymer solar cells

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2015 Apr 15;7(14):7613-8. doi: 10.1021/acsami.5b00091. Epub 2015 Apr 3.

Authors

Xichang Bao¹, Qianqian Zhu², Ting Wang¹, Jing Guo¹, Chunpeng Yang¹, Donghong Yu^{3

4}, Ning Wang¹, Weichao Chen¹, Renqiang Yang^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ †CAS Key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China.
² ‡College of Materials Science and Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, China.
³ §Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, DK-9220 Aalborg, Denmark.
⁴ ∥Sino-Danish Centre for Education and Research (SDC), Niels Jenses Vej 2, DK-8000 Aarhus, Denmark.
⁵ ⊥State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China.

PMID: 25811422
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b00091

Abstract

A simple O2 plasma processing method for preparation of a vanadium oxide (V2O5) anode buffer layer on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass for polymer solar cells (PSCs) is reported. The V2O5 layer with high transmittance and good electrical and interfacial properties was prepared by spin coating a vanadium(V) triisopropoxide oxide alcohol solution on ITO and then O2 plasma treatment for 10 min [V2O5 (O2 plasma)]. PSCs based on P3HT:PC61BM and PBDTTT-C:PC71BM using V2O5 (O2 plasma) as an anode buffer layer show high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 4.47 and 7.54%, respectively, under the illumination of AM 1.5G (100 mW/cm(2)). Compared to that of the control device with PBDTTT-C:PC71BM as the active layer and

Pedot: PSS (PCE of 6.52%) and thermally annealed V2O5 (PCE of 6.27%) as the anode buffer layer, the PCE was improved by 15.6 and 20.2%, respectively, after the introduction of a V2O5 (O2 plasma) anode buffer layer. The improved PCE is ascribed to the greatly improved fill factor and enhanced short-circuit current density of the devices, which benefited from the change in the work function of V2O5, a surface with many dangling bonds for better interfacial contact, and the excellent charge transport property of the V2O5 (O2 plasma) layer. The results indicate that an O2 plasma-processed V2O5 film is an efficient and economical anode buffer layer for high-performance PSCs. It also provides an attractive choice for low-cost fabrication of organic electronics.

Keywords: O2 plasma processing; V2O5; annealing-free; anode buffer layer; efficient polymer solar cells.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't