title: Impact of the electron-transport layer on the performance of solution-processed small-molecule organic solar cells.
abstract: Although the performance of polymer solar cells has been improved significantly recently through careful optimization with different interlayers for the same materials, more improvement is needed in this respect for small-molecule-based solar cells, particularly for the electron-transport layers (ETLs). In this work, three different solution-processed ETLs, PFN, ZnO nanoparticles, and LiF, were investigated and compared in the performance of small-molecule-based devices, and power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 8.32, 7.30, and 7.38% were achieved, respectively. The mechanism for the ETL-induced enhancement has been studied, and different ETLs have a significantly different impact on the device performance. The clearly improved performance of PFN is attributed to the combination of reduced bimolecular recombination and increased effective photon absorption in the active layer.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Functional Polymer Materials, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Institute of Polymer Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (PR China).
authors.forename: Guankui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Xiangjian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.forename: Zhicheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Mingtao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Hongbing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Shijian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Yongsheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004579:Electron Transport; D005449:Fluorenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005459:Fluorides / Q000737:chemistry; D018020:Lithium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D012993:Solar Energy; D012996:Solutions; D015034:Zinc Oxide / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D005449:Fluorenes; D018020:Lithium Compounds; D012996:Solutions; C027651:lithium fluoride; D005459:Fluorides; D015034:Zinc Oxide
keywords: DFT calculations; electron transport; lithium fluoride; photochemistry; zinc oxide