Issue 11, 2022

Inverted organic photovoltaics with a solution-processed Mg-doped ZnO electron transport layer annealed at 150 °C

Abstract

The use of dopants is an effective strategy to improve ZnO electron transport layers (ETLs) for application in solution-processed opto-electronic devices. Mg, in particular, has shown significant promise as a dopant and Mg-doped ZnO ETLs have been used to enhance the performance of a number of solution-processed light-emitting diodes and photovoltaics. However, such a use of Mg to dope ZnO ETLs for organic photovoltaics (OPVs) has remained limited, and only investigated in connection with annealing temperatures of 300 °C or so. In this work, with a view to increase sustainability and compatibility with soft and flexible or foldable substrates, we present OPVs incorporating Mg-doped ZnO ETLs fabricated with annealing temperatures of 150 °C. We demonstrate that Mg doping (≈1% at%) in the ZnO ETL reduces leakage currents and recombination losses in our devices, whilst leaving the morphology of the active layer and the work function of the ETL unaffected. A concomitant increase of the short circuit current density, open circuit voltage and fill factor is also observed, thereby leading to a relative enhancement of the power conversion efficiency by ≈18% compared to devices prepared using undoped ZnO.

Graphical abstract: Inverted organic photovoltaics with a solution-processed Mg-doped ZnO electron transport layer annealed at 150 °C

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 dez 2021
Accepted
10 abr 2022
First published
06 mai 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2022,6, 2835-2845

Inverted organic photovoltaics with a solution-processed Mg-doped ZnO electron transport layer annealed at 150 °C

I. Ierides, G. Ligorio, M. A. McLachlan, K. Guo, E. J. W. List-Kratochvil and F. Cacialli, Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2022, 6, 2835 DOI: 10.1039/D1SE02001C

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