Fabrication of inverted organic solar cells on stainless steel substrate with electrodeposited and spin coated ZnO buffer layers
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D. G. K. Kalara Namawardana
,
Withana Siripala
Abstract
Polymer based organic solar cells (OSCs) are of tremendous interest as suitable candidates for producing clean and renewable energy in recent years. In this study, inverted OSCs on stainless steel (SS) substrate with zinc oxide (ZnO) as the electron selective transport layer (ESTL), are investigated, occupying bulk heterojunction blend of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as the active material and poly-(4,3-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) as the hole transport layer (HTL). The device structure is SS/ZnO/P3HT:PCBM/PEDOT:PSS/Au. ZnO films are prepared by spin coating and electrodeposition techniques, followed by annealing under ambient conditions. The insertion of ZnO layer between the SS substrate and active layer has improved short-circuit current (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE) compared to those of the reference cell without ZnO layer, achieving the highest efficiency of 0.66% for the device with spin coated ZnO from sol–gel technique. This enhancement can be attributed to the effective electron extraction and the increased crystallinity of ZnO after annealing treatments at higher temperatures as further confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses.
Funding source: National Science Foundation (NSF), Sri Lanka
Award Identifier / Grant number: NSF-PSF/ICRP/2017EA&ICT/02
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Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission.
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Research funding: This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Sri Lanka through research grant NSF-PSF/ICRP/2017EA&ICT/02.
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Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.
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© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Material Properties
- Morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of electrospun polyvinylidene/polyethylene glycol composite nanofibers as form-stabilized phase change materials
- Design of experiments for the methylene blue adsorption study onto biocomposite material based on Algerian earth chestnut and cellulose derivatives
- Characterization of polypropylene/magnesium oxide/vapor-grown carbon fiber composites prepared by melt compounding
- Preparation and Assembly
- Toughened poly(lactic acid)/thermoplastic polyurethane uncompatibilized blends
- Preparation of hydrophilic modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membranes by polymer/non-solvent co-induced phase separation: effect of coagulation bath temperature
- Fabrication of inverted organic solar cells on stainless steel substrate with electrodeposited and spin coated ZnO buffer layers
- Engineering and Processing
- A review on 3D printing in tissue engineering applications
- Application of radiation grafted waste polypropylene fabric for the effective removal of Cu (II) and Cr (III) ions
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Material Properties
- Morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of electrospun polyvinylidene/polyethylene glycol composite nanofibers as form-stabilized phase change materials
- Design of experiments for the methylene blue adsorption study onto biocomposite material based on Algerian earth chestnut and cellulose derivatives
- Characterization of polypropylene/magnesium oxide/vapor-grown carbon fiber composites prepared by melt compounding
- Preparation and Assembly
- Toughened poly(lactic acid)/thermoplastic polyurethane uncompatibilized blends
- Preparation of hydrophilic modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) ultrafiltration membranes by polymer/non-solvent co-induced phase separation: effect of coagulation bath temperature
- Fabrication of inverted organic solar cells on stainless steel substrate with electrodeposited and spin coated ZnO buffer layers
- Engineering and Processing
- A review on 3D printing in tissue engineering applications
- Application of radiation grafted waste polypropylene fabric for the effective removal of Cu (II) and Cr (III) ions
