Reducing charge recombination of polymer solar cells by introducing composite anode buffer layer

Abstract

An interface engineering strategy is employed to reduce charge recombination in inverted polymer solar cells by simply modifying active layer with an electrolyte PEDOT:PSS solvent between photon-active layer and MoO3 hole transfer layer. The incorporated PEDOT:PSS electrolyte can improve interfacial contact between PTB7:PC71BM and electrode via establishing a composite PEDOT:PSS/MoO3 hole transfer layer. The composite interface layer can optimize boundary topography and adjust the anode energy levels alignment, leading to a uniform and ordered hole transmission channel. The tailored boundary morphology eliminates the defect states and interfacial barrier, resulting in the simultaneously enhanced short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, and fill factor (FF). These results demonstrate that PEDOT:PSS/MoO3 composite layer owns a versatile potential using in high-performance organic photovoltaic devices.