Photostability of plasma polymerized γ-terpinene thin films for encapsulation of OPV

Kateryna Bazaka; Jakaria Ahmad; Michael Oelgemöller; Ashraf Uddin; Mohan V Jacob

doi:10.1038/srep45599

Photostability of plasma polymerized γ-terpinene thin films for encapsulation of OPV

Sci Rep. 2017 Mar 30:7:45599. doi: 10.1038/srep45599.

Authors

Kateryna Bazaka^{1

2}, Jakaria Ahmad², Michael Oelgemöller³, Ashraf Uddin⁴, Mohan V Jacob²

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry, Physics, and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.
² Electronic Materials Research Lab, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville 4811, Australia.
³ Applied and Green Photochemistry Group, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville 4811, Australia.
⁴ School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of New South Wales, 2052 Sydney, Australia.

Abstract

Optically transparent, smooth, defect-free, chemically inert and with good adhesion to a variety of substrates, plasma polymers from plant-derived secondary metabolites have been identified as promising encapsulating materials for organic electronics and photovoltaics. Here, we demonstrate that an encapsulating layer of plasma polymerized γ-terpinene reduces degradation-related loss in conversion efficiency in PCPDTBT:PC₇₀BM solar cells under ambient operating conditions. The stability of γ-terpinene films was then investigated under extreme UV irradiation conditions as a function of deposition power. When exposed to ambient air, prolonged exposure to UV-A and UV-B light led to notable ageing of the polymer. Photooxidation was identified as the main mechanism of degradation, confirmed by significantly slower ageing when oxygen was restricted through the use of a quartz cover. Under unnatural high-energy UV-C irradiation, significant photochemical degradation and oxidation occurred even in an oxygen-poor environment.

Publication types

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