Improved Light Soaking and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Robust Interfacial Modification
The most widely used material in electron transport layers (ETL) of inverted organic solar cells (iOSCs) is zinc oxide (ZnO). However, the brittleness, inorganic nature, surface defects, and photocatalytic activity of ZnO lead to poor stability in iOSCs. Herein, the light‐soaking and thermal stabili...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley-VCH
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202300210 |
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| author | Mwende Mbilo Muhammad Haris Du Hyeon Ryu Julius Mwakondo Mwabora Robinson Juma Musembi Seungjin Lee Chang Eun Song Won Suk Shin |
| author_facet | Mwende Mbilo Muhammad Haris Du Hyeon Ryu Julius Mwakondo Mwabora Robinson Juma Musembi Seungjin Lee Chang Eun Song Won Suk Shin |
| author_sort | Mwende Mbilo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The most widely used material in electron transport layers (ETL) of inverted organic solar cells (iOSCs) is zinc oxide (ZnO). However, the brittleness, inorganic nature, surface defects, and photocatalytic activity of ZnO lead to poor stability in iOSCs. Herein, the light‐soaking and thermal stability of iOSCs are substantially improved by modifying ZnO surface with polyurethane diacrylate (SAR) or urethane acrylate (OCS)‐based ultraviolet (UV) resins. The UV resins significantly reduce the energy barrier, suppress surface defects, and improve interfacial contact between ZnO ETL and the organic photoactive layer. Notably, the SAR and OCS resins mitigate the photocatalytic activity of ZnO, electrical leakage, and interfacial resistance during photoaging of OSCs. As a result, iOSCs based on modified ZnOs retain over 80% of initial efficiency under 1 sun illumination for light soaking 1000 h. Furthermore, SAR and OCS resins on ZnO surfaces form a robust crosslinked network with excellent solvent resistant properties, which result in enhanced thermal stability. These results reveal that this simple and effective approach is a promising procedure to fabricate high‐performance iOSCs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T12:47:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5a175f5f0b0045c5bcc93ec49de6e4f1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2699-9412 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T12:47:52Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley-VCH |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a175f5f0b0045c5bcc93ec49de6e4f12024-04-06T12:20:45ZengWiley-VCHAdvanced Energy & Sustainability Research2699-94122024-04-0154n/an/a10.1002/aesr.202300210Improved Light Soaking and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Robust Interfacial ModificationMwende Mbilo0Muhammad Haris1Du Hyeon Ryu2Julius Mwakondo Mwabora3Robinson Juma Musembi4Seungjin Lee5Chang Eun Song6Won Suk Shin7Department of Physics Faculty of Science and Technology University of Nairobi (UoN) P.O. Box 30197‐00100 Nairobi 00100 KenyaAdvanced Energy Materials Research Center Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) Daejeon 34114 Republic of KoreaAdvanced Energy Materials Research Center Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) Daejeon 34114 Republic of KoreaDepartment of Physics Faculty of Science and Technology University of Nairobi (UoN) P.O. Box 30197‐00100 Nairobi 00100 KenyaDepartment of Physics Faculty of Science and Technology University of Nairobi (UoN) P.O. Box 30197‐00100 Nairobi 00100 KenyaAdvanced Energy Materials Research Center Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) Daejeon 34114 Republic of KoreaAdvanced Energy Materials Research Center Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) Daejeon 34114 Republic of KoreaAdvanced Energy Materials Research Center Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) Daejeon 34114 Republic of KoreaThe most widely used material in electron transport layers (ETL) of inverted organic solar cells (iOSCs) is zinc oxide (ZnO). However, the brittleness, inorganic nature, surface defects, and photocatalytic activity of ZnO lead to poor stability in iOSCs. Herein, the light‐soaking and thermal stability of iOSCs are substantially improved by modifying ZnO surface with polyurethane diacrylate (SAR) or urethane acrylate (OCS)‐based ultraviolet (UV) resins. The UV resins significantly reduce the energy barrier, suppress surface defects, and improve interfacial contact between ZnO ETL and the organic photoactive layer. Notably, the SAR and OCS resins mitigate the photocatalytic activity of ZnO, electrical leakage, and interfacial resistance during photoaging of OSCs. As a result, iOSCs based on modified ZnOs retain over 80% of initial efficiency under 1 sun illumination for light soaking 1000 h. Furthermore, SAR and OCS resins on ZnO surfaces form a robust crosslinked network with excellent solvent resistant properties, which result in enhanced thermal stability. These results reveal that this simple and effective approach is a promising procedure to fabricate high‐performance iOSCs.https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202300210crosslinked UV resinslight‐soaking stabilitiesorganic solar cellsthermal stabilitieszinc oxide modifications |
| spellingShingle | Mwende Mbilo Muhammad Haris Du Hyeon Ryu Julius Mwakondo Mwabora Robinson Juma Musembi Seungjin Lee Chang Eun Song Won Suk Shin Improved Light Soaking and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Robust Interfacial Modification Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research crosslinked UV resins light‐soaking stabilities organic solar cells thermal stabilities zinc oxide modifications |
| title | Improved Light Soaking and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Robust Interfacial Modification |
| title_full | Improved Light Soaking and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Robust Interfacial Modification |
| title_fullStr | Improved Light Soaking and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Robust Interfacial Modification |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improved Light Soaking and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Robust Interfacial Modification |
| title_short | Improved Light Soaking and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Robust Interfacial Modification |
| title_sort | improved light soaking and thermal stability of organic solar cells by robust interfacial modification |
| topic | crosslinked UV resins light‐soaking stabilities organic solar cells thermal stabilities zinc oxide modifications |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202300210 |
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