Oxidation of silver electrodes induces transition from conventional to inverted photovoltaic characteristics in polymer solar cells

Abstract

Oxidation of silver top electrodes in polymer solar cells induces the devices to exhibit a transition from conventional to inverted photovoltaic characteristics. As silver oxidizes, its work function increases from 4.3 to 5.0 eV. The silver top electrode thus reverts from collecting electrons to collecting holes during device operation. We have quantified the extent of this transformation and find it to be correlated with the rate of silver oxidation, which we can influence by altering the annealing sequence of the polymer photoactive layer, ultimately varying the grain size of silver in the top electrode.