Significant Enhancement in Built-in Potential and Charge Carrier Collection of Organic Solar Cells using 4-（5-hexylthiophene-2-yl）-2,6-bis（5- trifluoromethyl）thiophen-2-yl）pyridine as a Cathode Buffer Layer

An electron transporting material of TFTTP （4-（5-hexylthiophene-2-yl）-2,6-bis（5-trifluoromethyl）thiophen-2-yl）pyridine） was investigated as a cathode buffer layer to enhance the power efficiency of organic solar cells （OSCs） based on subphthalocyanine and C60. The overall power conversion efficiency was increased by a factor of 1.31 by inserting the TFTTP interfacial layer between the active layer and metallic cathode. The inner mechanism responsible for the performance enhancement of OSCs was systematically studied with the simulation of dark diode behavior and optical field distribution inside the devices as well as the characterization of device photocurrent. The results showed that the TFTTP layer could significantly increase the built-in potential in the devices, leading to the enhanced dissociation of charge transfer excitons. In addition, by using TFTTP as the buffer layer, a better Ohmic contact at C60/metal interface was formed, facilitating more efficient free charge carrier collection.

Improved performance of polymer solar cells by using inorganic, organic, and doped cathode buffer layers

The interface between the active layer and the electrode is one of the most critical factors that could affect the device performance of polymer solar cells. In this work, based on the typical poly（3-hexylthiophene）：[6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester （P3HT：PCBM） polymer solar cell, we studied the effect of the cathode buffer layer （CBL） between the top metal electrode and the active layer on the device performance. Several inorganic and organic materials commonly used as the electron injection layer in an organic light-emitting diode （OLED） were employed as the CBL in the P3HT：PCBM polymer solar cells. Our results demonstrate that the inorganic and organic materials like Cs2CO3, bathophenanthroline （Bphen）, and 8-hydroxyquinolatolithium （Liq） can be used as CBL to efficiently improve the device performance of the P3HT：PCBM polymer solar cells. The P3HT：PCBM devices employed various CBLs possess power conversion efficiencies （PCEs） of 3.0%-3.3%, which are ca. 50% improved compared to that of the device without CBL. Furthermore, by using the doped organic materials Bphen：Cs2CO3 and Bphen：Liq as the CBL, the PCE of the P3HT：PCBM device will be further improved to 3.5%, which is ca. 70% higher than that of the device without a CBL and ca. 10% increased compared with that of the devices with a neat inorganic or organic CBL.

Enhancement of the efficiency and stability of planar p-i-n perovskite solar cells via incorporation of an amine-modified fullerene derivative as a cathode buffer layer

A methanol-soluble diamine-modified fullerene derivative(denoted as PCBDANI)was applied as an efficient cathode buffer layer(CBL)in planar p-i-n perovskite solar cells(pero-SCs)based on the CH_3NH_3PbI_(3-x)Cl_x absorber.The device with PCBDANI single CBL exhibited significantly improved performance with a power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 15.45%,which is approximately17%higher than that of the control device without the CBL.The dramatic improvement in PCE can be attributed to the formation of an interfacial dipole at the PCBM/Al interface originating from the amine functional group and the suppression of interfacial recombinationby the PCBDANI interlayer.To further improve the PCE of pero-SCs,PCBDANI/LiF double CBLs were introduced between PCBM and the top Al electrode.An impressive PCE of 15.71%was achieved,which is somewhat higher than that of the devices with LiF or PCBDANI single CBL.Besides the PCE,the long-term stability of the device with PCBDANI/LiF double CBLs is also superior to that of the device with LiF single CBL.

Efficiency enhancement in DIBSQ：PC71BM organic photovoltaic cells by using Liq-doped Bphen as a cathode buffer layer

We have improved the photovoltaic performance of 2,4-bis[4-（N,N- diisobutylamino）-2,6-dihydroxyphenyl] squaraine：[6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester （DIBSQ：PC71BM） organic photovoltaic （OPV） cells via incorporating Liq-doped Bphen （Bphen-Liq） as a cathode buffer layer （CBL）. Based on the Bphen-Liq CBL, a DIBSQ：PC71BM OPV cell possessed an optimal power conversion efficiency of 4.90%, which was 13% and 60% higher than those of the devices with neat Bphen as CBL and without CBL, respectively. The enhancement of the device performance could be attributed to the enhanced electron mobility and improved electrode/active layer contact and thus the improved photocurrent extraction by incorporating the Bphen-Liq CBL. Light-intensity dependent device performance analysis indicates that the incorporating of the Bphen-Liq CBL can remarkably improve the charge transport of the DIBSQ：PC71BM OPV cell and thus decrease the recombination losses of the device, resulting in enhanced device performance. Our finding indicates that the doped Bphen-Liq CBL has great potential for high-performance solution-processed small-molecule OPVs.

A thermal stable cathode buffer based on an inexpensive tetranuclear zinc(Ⅱ) complex for organic photovoltaic devices

An inexpensive material, i.e., tetranuclear zinc（Ⅱ） complex, （Zn40（A/D）6） [AID = 7-azaindolate], was utilized as a cathode buffer in organic photovoltaic （OPV） devices, leading to the improvement of device performance. Compared to OPV devices based on a conventional cathode buffer of TPBi （1,3,5-tris（2-N-phenylbenzimidazolyl）benzene）, although the freshly prepared devices showed similar performance, when heated to a series of high temperatures under air, the short circuit current and the open circuit voltage of the Zn40（AID）6 devices dropped more slowly, indicating the superiority of using Zn40（AID）6 as a cathode buffer over TPBi in OPV devices.

Efficient organic solar cells with low-temperature in situ prepared Ga_(2)O_(3) or In_(2)O_(3) electron collection layers

Facile synthesis of an interfacial layer in organic solar cells (OSCs) is important for broadening material designs and upscaling photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE).Herein,a mild solution process of spin-coating In(acac)3and Ga(acac)3isopropanol precursors followed by low-temperature thermal treatment was developed to fabricate In_(2)O_(3)and Ga2O3cathode buffer layers (CBLs).The introduction of In_(2)O_(3)or Ga2O3CBLs endows PM6:Y6-based OSCs with outstanding performance and high PCEs of 16.17%and 16.01%,respectively.Comparison studies present that the In_(2)O_(3)layer possesses a work function (WF) of 4.58 eV,which is more favorable for the formation of ohmic contact compared with the Ga2O3layer with a WF of 5.06 eV and leads to a higher open circuit voltage for the former devices.Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was performed to reveal how In_(2)O_(3)and Ga2O3affect the internal charge transfer and the origin of their performance difference.Although In_(2)O_(3)possesses lower series resistance loss,Ga2O3has a higher recombination resistance,which enhances the device fill factor and compensates for its series resistance loss to some extent.Comparative analysis of the photo-physics of In_(2)O_(3)and Ga2O3suggests that both are excellent CBLs for highly efficient OSCs.