Low-temperature, solution-processed, layered V2 O5 hydrate as the hole-transport layer for stable organic solar cells
Teran Escobar, Gerardo (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Pampel, Jonas (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Caicedo Roque, Jose Manuel (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Lira-Cantu, Monica (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)

Date:	2013
Abstract:	Layered V O hydrate has been applied as the hole transport layer (HTL) in organic solar cells (OSCs). V O is obtained from a sodium metavanadate solution in water under ambient conditions, resulting in a final thin film of formula V O ·0. 5H O. The 0. 5 water molecules are not removed from the V O layered structure unless the sample is heated above 250 °C, which makes the thin film highly stable under real working conditions. The HTL was used in OSCs in the normal and the inverted configurations, applying metallic Ag as the back-metal electrode in both cases. Fabrication of both OSC configurations completely by solution-processing printing methods in air is possible, since the Al electrode needed for the normal-configuration OSC is not required. The work function (WF) and band gap energy (BG) of the V O thin films were assessed by XPS, UPS and optical analyses. Different WF values were observed for V O prepared from a fresh V O -isopropanol (IPA) solution (5. 15 eV) and that prepared from a 24 h-old solution (5. 5 eV). This difference is due to the gradual reduction of vanadium (from V to V ) in IPA. The OSCs made with the V O thin film obtained from the 24 h-old V O -IPA solution required photo-activation, whereas those made with the freshly obtained V O did not. Outdoor stability analyses of sealed OSCs containing a V O HTL in either configuration revealed high stability for both devices: the photovoltaic response at T was retained for more than 1000 h.
Grants:	Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad CSD2007-00041
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Ambient conditions ; Hole transport layers ; Layered Structures ; Organic solar cell ; Photovoltaic response ; Sodium metavanadate ; Solution-processed ; Solution-processing
Published in:	Energy & environmental science, Vol. 6, Issue 10 (October 2013) , p. 3088-3098, ISSN 1754-5706

DOI: 10.1039/c3ee42204f

11 p, 847.7 KB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles