Anionic nonconjugated polyelectrolyte as an anode interfacial layer for polymer solar cells

Abstract

Since the most high-performing donor polymers in polymer solar cells (PSCs) possessed the deep highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level, interfacial engineering on anode contact is becoming increasingly important. Herein, we demonstrated efficient PSCs using an anionic poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) as an anode interfacial layer (AIL). With the formation of the dipole layer, the effective work function (WF) of indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode is significantly increased from 4.8 to 5.3 eV, providing favorable energetic alignment to the quasi-Fermi level of various donor polymers. Moreover, by incorporating cationic polyelectrolytes as a cathode interfacial layer, a pair of electric dipole layers induces a strong built-in electric field across the photoactive layer to drive efficient sweep-out of photogenerated charges. Consequently, the device with PSS AIL exhibited high power conversion efficiencies of 9.2 and 14.8% in PTB7-Th:PC71BM- and PM6:Y6-based PSCs, respectively, both of which are higher than those of the devices with PEDOT:PSS.