Design of a Rigid Scaffold Structure toward Efficient and Stable Organic Photovoltaics

• DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2019.03.006
• Publication Date: 2019-07-17T14:32:20Z
• Authors: Rui Wang; Sheng-Yung Chang; Lei Meng; Wenchao Huang; Jin-Wook Lee; Hao-Wen Cheng; Tianyi Huang; Yuqiang Liu; Jingjing Xue; Pengyu Sun; Chenhui Zhu; Pei Cheng; Yang Yang
• Keywords: Active layer; Thermal Stability; Acceptor

Summary Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) have attracted considerable attention in recent years. Most reported strategies are from the perspective of the active layers to control the morphology of the donor/acceptor blend, with few methods focusing on modifying the transporting layers. Here, we develop a facile method to enhance both the thermal stability and efficiency of OPVs simultaneously from the perspective of the electron-transporting layer (ETL). Compared with traditional planar ETLs used in OPVs, our mesoporous ETL is designed to serve as a rigid scaffold to inhibit polymer diffusion upon heating. Furthermore, this structure creates more surface-area contact between the active layer and the ETL, potentially enhancing charge-extraction efficiency. As a result, the power-conversion efficiency (PCE) with this structure was enhanced by 11% relative to the planar structure. After being subjected to thermal stability test, the PCE of the mesoporous structure retained 69% of its original value.