Title: Beyond Fullerenes: Indacenodithiophene-Based Organic Charge-Transport Layer toward Upscaling of Low-Cost Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) is universally used as the electron-transport layer (ETL) in the low-cost inverted planar structure of perovskite solar cells (PeSCs). PCBM brings tremendous challenges in upscaling of PeSCs using industry-relevant methods due to its aggregation behavior, which undermines the power conversion efficiency and stability. Herein, we highlight these, seldom reported, challenges with PCBM. Moreoever, we investigate the potential of nonfullerene indacenodithiophene (IDT)-based molecules by employing a commercially available variant, 3,9- bis(2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-indanone))- 5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3-d:2',3'-d']-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b'] dithiophene (ITIC), as a PCBM replacement in ambient-processed PeSCs. Films fabrication by laboratory-based spin-coating and industry-relevant slot-die coating methods are compared. While similar power-conversion efficiencies are achieved with both types of ETL in a simple device structure fabricated by spin-coating, the nanofibriller morphology of ITIC compared to the aggregated morphology of PCBM films enables improved mechanical integrity and stability of ITIC devices. Upon slot-die coating, the aggregation of PCBM is exacerbated, leading to significantly lower power-conversion efficiency of devices than spin-coated PCBM as well as slot-diecoated ITIC devices. Our findings clearly suggest that IDT-based molecules have great potential as an ETL in PeSCs, offering superior properties and upscaling compatibility than PCBM. Thus, we present a short summary of recently emerged nonfullerene IDT-based molecules frommore » the field of organic solar cells and discuss their scope in PeSCs as electron or holetransport layer.« less

Authors:

Angmo, Dechan  ^[1];

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Peng, Xiaojin ^[2]; Cheng, Jinshu ^[3]; Gao, Mei ^[1]; Rolston, Nicholas ^[4]; Sears, Kallista ^[1]; Zuo, Chuantian ^[1]; Subbiah, Jegadesan ^[5]; Kim, Seok-Soon ^[6]; Weerasinghe, Hasitha ^[1]; Dauskardt, Reinhold H. ^[4]; Vak, Doojin  ^[1]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Clayton, VIC (Australia). Flexible Electronics Lab.
2. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Clayton, VIC (Australia). Flexible Electronics Lab.; Wuhan Univ. of Technology (China). State Key Lab. of Silicate Materials for Architectures
3. Wuhan Univ. of Technology (China). State Key Lab. of Silicate Materials for Architectures
4. Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
5. Univ. of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC (Australia). Bio 21 Inst., School of Chemistry
6. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Clayton, VIC (Australia). Flexible Electronics Lab.; Kunsan National Univ., Kunsan (Korea). Dept. of Nano and Chemical Engineering

Publication Date:

Thu Jun 07 00:00:00 EDT 2018

Research Org.:

Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

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

OSTI Identifier:

1579826

Grant/Contract Number:  

EE0004946

Resource Type:

Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 10; Journal Issue: 26; Journal ID: ISSN 1944-8244

Publisher:

American Chemical Society (ACS)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

42 ENGINEERING; perovskite solar cell; nonfullerene; indacenodithiophene; ITIC; charge-transport layer