Morphological evolution of the poly(3-hexylthiophene)/[6,6]-phenyl-C 61-butyric acid methyl ester, oxidation of the silver electrode, and their influences on the performance of inverted polymer solar cells with a sol–gel derived zinc oxide electron selective layer

• Published in: Thin solid films Vol. 518; no. 17; pp. 4964 - 4969
• Main Authors: Liu, Meng-Yueh, Chang, Chin-Hsiang, Chang, Chih-Hua, Tsai, Kao-Hua, Huang, Jing-Shun, Chou, Chen-Yu, Wang, Ing-Jye, Wang, Po-Sheng, Lee, Chun-Yu, Chao, Cha-Hsin, Yeh, Chin-Liang, Wu, Chih-I, Lin, Ching-Fuh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 30.06.2010
• Subjects: Oxidation; Poly(3-hexylthiophene); Polymer solar cells; Silver; Surface morphology; Work function; Zinc oxide; Silver; Work function; Surface morphology; Zinc oxide; Poly(3-hexylthiophene); Oxidation; Polymer solar cells
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2010.04.010

The inverted polymer solar cell (PSC) based on a sol–gel derived zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film as an electron selective layer is investigated. The device performance is improved after the fabricated device is placed in air for a few days. The improvement is attributed to the self-organization of the poly(3-hexylthiophene)/[6,6]-phenyl-C 61-butyric acid methyl ester layer and oxidation of the silver electrode with time, resulting in a significant enhancement in the short circuit current, fill factor and open circuit voltage. The investigation shows that the inverted PSC based on ZnO thin film exhibits a high efficiency of 3.8% on the 6th day after fabrication without the use of poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) and encapsulation.