Cl₂-Doped CuSCN Hole Transport Layer for Organic and Perovskite Solar Cells with Improved Stability

Abstract

Copper­(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) is a wide bandgap and solution-processable p-type semiconductor with tremendous potential for large-area optoelectronic applications. In this work, chlorine-doped CuSCN (Cl2–CuSCN) was utilized to form a hole transport layer (HTL) for different organic solar cells (OSCs) and inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Chlorine doping into CuSCN thin films is found to improve the device performance of different OSCs, to a level comparable to that of PEDOT:PSS-based OSCs. Notably, the inverted PSCs with Cl2–CuSCN showed a better performance than those with pristine CuSCN or PEDOT:PSS-based inverted PSC devices. Moreover, Cl2–CuSCN-based OSCs and PSCs also reveal significantly better stability than pristine CuSCN and PEDOT:PSS-based devices. Our results show how Cl2–CuSCN thin films act as a universally applicable HTL for emerging solar cell technologies, improving both device performance and stability.

Organometallic Dyes Modification on the NiOx Hole Transport Layer for Organic Photovoltaic Application

“…1(a)). Two different bulkheterojunction (BHJ) active layers were employed, namely PBDBT-2F:Y6 and PTB7-Th:COi8DFIC:PC71BM, [5], [6] using two polymer donors (PBDBT-2F and PTB7-Th ) with different highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) levels. The chemical structures of the active layers are shown in Fig.…”

“…The dyes solutions (1.5 mg/ml in dimethylformamide (DMF)/tertbutanol (tBuOH) co-solvent (1/1:v/v)) were then spin-coated onto the NiOx substrates at 6000 rpm for 30 s followed by annealing at 150 °C for 10 min. PBDB-T:Y6 (ratio 1:1.2, 15.6 mg/ml in CF+0.5 vol% CN) or PTB7-Th:COi8DFIC:PC71BM (ratio 1:1.05:0.45, 25 mg/mL, CB+1.25% DIO) active layers were deposited following our previous works [5], [6]. A 5 nm PFN-Br ETL layer was spincoated at 2000 rpm for 30 s (0.5 mg/ml in methanol) on top of the active layer.…”

Blade‐Coated Carbon Electrode Perovskite Solar Cells to Exceed 20% Efficiency Through Protective Buffer Layers

“…Up to date, various HTL materials have been used in this kind of solar cells, including organic (such as 2,2′,7,7′-tetrakis(N,N-di-p-methoxyphenylamine)-9,9′-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD), Poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), poly[bis(4phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine (PTAA), Poly[bis(4-phenyl) (4-butylphenyl)amine] (PTPD), poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)), inorganic (such as CuX (X = I or S), CuXCN (X = S or Se), MxOy (M = Ni, Mo, V, Co, or Cu), and CuMO 2 (M = Ga, Cr, or Al)) HTL materials, and the organic:inorganic hybrid ones. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] The organic HTLs have potential advantages in humidity-proof for stability and deep highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to reach large V oc , [27] but the high-cost organic semiconductors themselves are not photothermally stable when exposed to the air infiltrated through mesoporous carbon. Besides, the charge mobility (10 −4 -10 −3 cm −2 V −1 S −1 ) is also relatively poor compared with the inorganic HTL materials.…”

Boosting electron transport in non-fullerene acceptors using non-chlorinated solvents

“…[21][22][23][24] Integrating NFAs into functional devices typically involves using chlorinated solvents to solubilise the materials before film deposition. 21,22,25 However, chlorinated solvents are among the worst in terms of their environmental impact and toxicity. 26 Therefore, using non-chlorinated solvents with lower toxicity and environmental impact is important to overcome these issues.…”