Publication Type
Journal Article
Publication Date (Issue Year)
2024
Journal Name
Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research
Abstract
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.
Keywords
Light Soaking, Thermal Stability, Organic Solar Cells, Robust Interfacial Modification
Rsif Scholar Name
Mwende Mbilo
Thematic Area
Energy including Renewables
Africa Host University (AHU)
University of Nairobi (UoN), Kenya
Funding Statement
The authors would like to acknowledge Partnership for Skills in AppliedSciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET)-Regional ScholarshipInnovation Fund (RSIF) (World Bank PASET No. IP22-15). This workwas also supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF)(NRF-2021R1A2C2091787 and NRF-2022M3H4A1A03076280) and bythe National Research Council of Science and Technology (grant no.Global-23-007) of Republic of Korea. The authors are grateful to SpecialMaterials Source (SMS) Company, Republic of Korea, for supplying theSAR and OCS UV resins
Recommended Citation
Mbilo, M., Haris, M., Ryu, D. H., Mwabora, J. M., Musembi, R. J., Lee, S., Song, C. E., & Shin, W. S. (2024). Improved Light Soaking and Thermal Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Robust Interfacial Modification. Advanced Energy and Sustainability Research, 2300210. https://doi.org/10.1002/aesr.202300210