Reliability of Small Molecule Organic Photovoltaics with Electron-Filtering Compound Buffer Layers

Burlingame, Quinn; Song, Byeongseop; Ciammaruchi, Laura; Zanotti, Gloria; Hankett, Jeanne; Chen, Zhan; Katz, Eugene A.; Forrest, Stephen R.

doi:10.1002/aenm.201601094

Title: Reliability of Small Molecule Organic Photovoltaics with Electron-Filtering Compound Buffer Layers

Journal Article · Fri Aug 05 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Advanced Energy Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201601094· OSTI ID:1533060

Burlingame, Quinn ^[1]; Song, Byeongseop ^[1]; Ciammaruchi, Laura ^[2]; Zanotti, Gloria ^[2]; Hankett, Jeanne ^[3]; Chen, Zhan ^[3]; Katz, Eugene A. ^[4]; Forrest, Stephen R. ^[5]

Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Ben-Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Sede Boqer (Israel). Dept. of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics. Jacob Blaustein Inst. for Desert Research
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
Ben-Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Sede Boqer (Israel). Dept. of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics. Jacob Blaustein Inst. for Desert Research; Ben-Gurion Univ. of the Negev, Be'er Sheva (Israel). Ilse Katz Inst. of Nano-Science and Technology
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering. Dept. of Physics

Electron-filtering compound buffer layers (EF-CBLs) improve charge extraction in organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) by blending an electron-conducting fullerene with a wide energy gap exciton-blocking molecule. It is found that devices with EF-CBLs with high glass transition temperatures and a low crystallization rate produce highly stable morphologies and devices. The most stable OPVs employ 1:1 2,2',2"-(1,3,5-benzenetriyl tris-[1-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole] TPBi:C₇₀ buffers that lose <20% of their initial power conversion efficiency of 6.6 ± 0.6% after 2700 h under continuous simulated AM1.5G illumination, and show no significant degradation after 100 days of outdoor aging. When exposed to 100-sun (100 kW m^-2) concentrated solar illumination for 5 h, their power conversion efficiencies decrease by <8%. Moreover, it is found that the reliability of the devices employing stable EF-CBLs has either reduced or no dependence on operating temperature up to 130 °C compared with BPhen:C₆₀ devices whose fill factors show thermally activated degradation. The robustness of TPBi:C₇₀ devices under extreme aging conditions including outdoor exposure, high temperature, and concentrated illumination is promising for the future of OPV as a stable solar cell technology.

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Research Organization:: Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0005310; EE0006708

OSTI ID:: 1533060

Journal Information:: Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. 6, Issue 21; ISSN 1614-6832

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 27 works

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Title: Reliability of Small Molecule Organic Photovoltaics with Electron-Filtering Compound Buffer Layers

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