Use of fluorine-doped tin oxide instead of indium tin oxide in highly efficient air-fabricated inverted polymer solar cells

Abstract

The stability and efficiency of organic solar cells (OSCs) were improved using thermally stable fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) as the bottom electrode and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and TiO2 as the buffer layers. The TiO2 layer between FTO and the P3HT:PCBM active layer improved the interface characteristics for a better charge transfer. The PEDOT:PSS layer retarded the oxygen diffusion to the active layer. A maximum power conversion efficiency of 4.3% was obtained for the inverted structure of FTO/TiO2/P3HT:PCBM/PEDOT:PSS/Ag with a stable performance, and the cell retained over 65% of its initial efficiency after 500 h. Additionally, the OSCs were fabricated using all-solution based vacuum-free processes with screen printing for the Ag electrode and the results were comparable to the device that used an evaporated Ag electrode.