Despite being the most commonly used hole transport layer for p-i-n perovskite solar cells, the conventional PEDOT:PSS layer is far from being optimal for the best photovoltaic performance. Herein, we demonstrate highly conductive thin DMSO-doped PEDOT:PSS layers which significantly enhance the light harvesting, charge extraction, and photocurrent production of organo-lead iodide devices. Both imaging and X-ray analysis reveal that the perovskite thin films grown on DMSO-doped PEDOT:PSS exhibit larger grains with increased crystallinity. Altogether, these improvements result in a 37% boost in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) compared to standard p-i-n photovoltaics with pristine PEDOT:PSS. Furthermore, we demonstrate that DMSO-doped PEDOT:PSS devices possess enhanced PCE durability over time which we attribute primarily to fill factor stability.
The development of thick organic photovoltaics (OPV) could increase absorption in the active layer and ease manufacturing constraints in large-scale solar panel production. However, the efficiencies of most low-bandgap OPVs decrease substantially when the active layers exceed ∼100 nm in thickness (because of low crystallinity and a short exciton diffusion length). Herein, we report the use of solvent additive diphenyl ether (DPE) that facilitates the fabrication of thick (180 nm) active layers and triples the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of conventional thienothiophene-co-benzodithiophene polymer (PTB7)-based OPVs from 1.75 to 6.19%. These results demonstrate a PCE 20% higher than those of conventional (PTB7)-based OPV devices using 1,8-diiodooctane. Morphology studies reveal that DPE promotes the formation of nanofibrillar networks and ordered packing of PTB7 in the active layer that facilitate charge transport over longer distances. We further demonstrate that DPE improves the fill factor and photocurrent collection by enhancing the overall optical absorption, reducing the series resistance, and suppressing bimolecular recombination.
Controlling the mesoscale geometric configuration of catalysts on the oxygen electrode is an effective strategy to achieve high reversibility and efficiency in Li-O2 batteries. Here we introduce a new Li-O2 cell architecture that employs a catalytic polymer-based membrane between the oxygen electrode and the separator. The catalytic membrane was prepared by immobilization of Pd nanoparticles on a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber membrane and is adjacent to a carbon nanotube electrode loaded with Ru nanoparticles. During oxide product formation, the insulating PAN polymer scaffold restricts direct electron transfer to the Pd catalyst particles and prevents the direct blockage of Pd catalytic sites. The modified Li-O2 battery with a catalytic membrane showed a stable cyclability for 60 cycles with a capacity of 1000 mAh/g and a reduced degree of polarization (∼ 0.3 V) compared to cells without a catalytic membrane. We demonstrate the effects of a catalytic membrane on the reaction characteristics associated with morphological and structural features of the discharge products via detailed ex situ characterization.
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