High-efficiency blade-coated organic solar cells enabled via an in situ nitrogen-blowing and heating strategy

Abstract

Blade-coating is a promising technology to develop high-performance large-area organic solar cells (OSCs), with significant potential in cost-effective industrial-scale production. However, the application of blade-coating is limited by challenges related to the formation of a non-uniform film and unfavorable morphology during large-area coating processes, particularly under ambient environments. In this study, we developed an in situ nitrogen-blowing and heating assisted blade-coating process, which facilitates the production of uniform large-area films. After the film uniformity and morphology optimizations under combined aerodynamic and thermal modulation, a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.1% was achieved in PM6:BTP-eC9 OSCs, which was comparable to that of spin-coated devices. Furthermore, large-area OSC modules (effective area: 12 cm²) fabricated via the nitrogen-blowing and heating assisted strategy demonstrated a PCE of 15.7%. This work paves the way for the rapid production of high-performance organic solar modules.