Organic thin film solar cells (OTFSCs) were fabricated with blended active layers of poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl][3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]thieno[3,4-b]thiophenediyl]] (PTB7)/[6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric (PC71BM). The performances of active layers are prepared in chlorobenzene (CB) with different additives of 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) and 1,8-Diiodooctane (DIO) by a wet process with spin coating technique. The effects of different solvent additives on photovoltaic parameters such as fill factor, short circuit current density, and power conversion efficiency of active layers are reported. The absorption and surface morphology of the active layers are investigated using UV-visible spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The results indicate that structural and morphological changes were induced by the additives with solvent. The current density-voltage (J-V) characteristics of photovoltaic cells were measured under the illumination of simulated solar light with 100 mW/cm2(AM 1.5 G) by an Oriel 1000 W solar simulator. The OTFSCs of PTB7/PC71BM prepared with organic solvent additives of DIO+CN show more improved PCE of 4.96% by spin coating method.

Bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structure based active layers of PCDTBT/PC71BM were prepared by using different organic solvents for fabrication of organic solar cell (OSC) devices. Mixture of precursor solutions of PCDTBT/PC71BM in three different organic solvents was prepared to fabricate composite active layers by spin-coating process: chloroform; chlorobenzene; o-dichlorobenzene. Four different blend ratios (1 : 3–1 : 6) of PCDTBT: PC71BM were adopted for each organic solvent to clarify the effect on the resulting OSC device characteristics. Surface morphology of the active layers was distinctively affected by the blend ratio of PCDTBT/PC71BM in organic solvents. Influence of the blend ratio of PCDTBT/PC71BM on the OSC device parameters was discussed. Performance parameters of the resulting OSC devices with different composite active layers were comparatively investigated. Appropriate blend ratio and organic solvent to achieve better OSC device performance were proposed. Furthermore, from the UV-Vis spectrum of each active layer prepared using the PCDTBT/PC71BM mixed solution dissolved with different organic solvents, a possibility that the nanophase separation structure inside their active layer could appear was suggested.

We report the effect of a poly[(9,9-bis(3′-(N,N-dimethylamino)propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctyl fluorene)] (PFN) interlayer on the performance of PTB7:PC 71 BM-based organic thin-film solar cells (OTFSCs) prepared using the spray-coating method. The active layer shows a broad absorption, but the effective contact area in the bulk hetrojunction (BHJ) is small because of the formation of aggregates on the surface. The surface aggregates dissolved by the addition of 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) to the PTB7:PC 71 BM matrix, which results in an increase in the contact area between the donor and acceptor in the active layer and, thereby , an improvement in the device performance. The PFN interlayer enhances the charge-transport properties and suppresses exciton-recombination processes. This results in increases in the short-circuit current density (J sc = 13.87 mA/cm 2 ), open-circuit voltage (V oc = 0.747 V), and fill factor (FF = 57.97%), as a result of a high power conversion efficiency (PCE, η = 6.01%) compared to a device without a PFN layer (η = 4.84%). The thickness of the PFN interlayer was found to be of siginificant importance, as thicker layers exhibit an insulating nature instead of improving the electron transfer.

Abstract. We prepared high conducting poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) by solvent additives for using as a hole transport layer (HTL) in polymer solar cells (PSCs). PEDOT:PSS films treated with fluoro compounds of hexafluoroacetone (HFA) and hexafluoroisoproponal (HFIPA) with various concentrations show a significant enhancement in electrical conductivity without compromising optical transparency. The conductivity increased from 0.2 to 1053 and 746 S∕cm after 4 vol. % HFA and 6 vol. % HFIPA treatments, respectively. The high performance of the PEDOT:PSS layer is attributed to preferential phase segregation of PEDOT:PSS with HFA and HFIPA solvent mixture treatment methods. The improved performance of PSC was dependent on the structure of organic solvents and the concentration of fluoro compounds in PEDOT:PSS solution. Using these optimized layers, conjugated PSCs with a poly[[9-(1-octylnonyl)-9H-carbazole-2,7-diyl]-2,5-thiophenediyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-4,7-diyl-2,5 thiophenediyl] polymer:[6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl esters (PCDTBT∶PC 71 BM) bulk heterojunction have been produced. The high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.10% and 3.98% were observed for PEDOT:PSS films treated with 4 vol. % HFA and 6 vol. % HFIPA treatments, respectively. The obtained results show that PEDOT:PSS optimized with HFA and HFIPA organic solvents can be a very promising candidate for transparent anode buffer layer in the low cost organic solar cell devices. © The Authors.Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Organic thin film solar cells show generally lower power conversion efficiencies than those of the solar cells based on inorganic active materials. To solve the problem diverse research works have been tried: development of new organic semiconductors; modification of internal structure of active layers by means of organic solvent; design and fabrication of vertical device structure; introduction of buffer layer on the side of cathode electrode. Nevertheless, the buffer layer on the side of anode has not been fully optimized. This study is focused on the representative anode-side-buffer layer of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)(PEDOT): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS). PEDOT:PSS is an excellent conducting polymer material with favorably high optical transparency for almost entire range of visible wavelength, which is widely used for organic thin film solar cells as well as for other organic material based electronic devices such as organic light emitting diodes. Aiming for further performance enhancement of organic thin film solar cell device, an optimized condition was studied on the PEDOT:PSS by means of the thickness control and modification of the internal structure via addition of different organic solvents in mixture solution for thin film process.