Organic-inorganic hybrid cathode interlayer for efficient flexible inverted organic solar modules

Zhang，Lin1; Yang，Fang1; Deng，Wen1; Guo，Xueliang1; He，Yuxin1; Zhou，Jixuan1; Li，Haojie2; Zhang，Yong3; Zhou，Ke4; Zhou，Conghua1; Zou，Yingping5; Yang，Junliang1; Hu，Xiaotian2; Ma，Wei4; Yuan，Yongbo1

2023-06-26

10.1063/5.0151870

Applied Physics Letters   Impact Factor & Quartile

0003-6951

1077-3118

Organic solar cells (OSC) have great potential for flexible and wearable electronics due to their significant energy supply. However, the brittleness of inorganic electron transport layers (ETL) and their large-area production make it difficult to use them in flexible inverted OSCs. Herein, an organic-inorganic hybrid cathode interlayer of incorporating poly(4-vinylphenol) (P4VP) into the ZnO precursor solution was developed. The addition of P4VP improves the conductibility of ETL and facilitates the favorable vertical component distribution of active layer on the ZnO:P4VP substrate. Thus, the blade-coated OSC based on ZnO:P4VP performs better than the ZnO-based OSC in terms of photovoltaic performance and thickness insensitivity. The P4VP acts as an adhesive in ZnO grain boundaries and eliminates cracks in the bent ETL, leading to a significantly improved mechanical flexibility. Consequently, the ZnO:P4VP-based large-area flexible OSC achieves a power conversion efficiency of 14.05% and retains 80% of its initial efficiency after 1000 bending cycles, which is much better than that based on pristine ZnO (12.26%, 44%). Furthermore, flexible inverted organic solar modules were fabricated and achieved a considerable efficiency of 12.01%. These findings provide a general approach for using inorganic materials in flexible and wearable electronics.

SCI

English

NI Journal Papers ; NI论文

Corresponding

Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province[2021JJ20077] ; National Natural Science Foundation of China[21875182] ; State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials[20202201] ; Innovation-Driven Project of Central South University[2020CX006]

Physics

Physics, Applied

WOS:001020250500005

AIP Publishing

PHYSICS

2-s2.0-85164022675

Scopus

1.Hunan Key Laboratory for Super Microstructure and Ultrafast Process,School of Physics and Electronics,Central South University,Changsha,410083,China
2.Institute of Polymers and Energy Chemistry,College of Chemistry,Nanchang University,Nanchang,330031,China
3.Department of Materials Science and Engineering,Shenzhen Engineering Research,Development Center for Flexible Solar Cells,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,518055,China
4.State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials,Xi'an Jiaotong University,Xi'an,710049,China
5.College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering,Central South University,Changsha,410083,China

Zhang，Lin,Yang，Fang,Deng，Wen,et al. Organic-inorganic hybrid cathode interlayer for efficient flexible inverted organic solar modules[J]. Applied Physics Letters,2023,122(26).

Zhang，Lin.,Yang，Fang.,Deng，Wen.,Guo，Xueliang.,He，Yuxin.,...&Yuan，Yongbo.(2023).Organic-inorganic hybrid cathode interlayer for efficient flexible inverted organic solar modules.Applied Physics Letters,122(26).

Zhang，Lin,et al."Organic-inorganic hybrid cathode interlayer for efficient flexible inverted organic solar modules".Applied Physics Letters 122.26(2023).