iScience (Apr 2020)

Over 14% Efficiency Folding-Flexible ITO-free Organic Solar Cells Enabled by Eco-friendly Acid-Processed Electrodes

  • Wei Song,
  • Ruixiang Peng,
  • Like Huang,
  • Chang Liu,
  • Billy Fanady,
  • Tao Lei,
  • Ling Hong,
  • Jinfeng Ge,
  • Antonio Facchetti,
  • Ziyi Ge

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 4

Abstract

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Summary: Environment-friendly manufacturing and mechanical robustness are imperative for commercialization of flexible OSCs as green-energy source, especially in portable and wearable self-powered flexible electronics. Although, the commonly adopted PEDOT:PSS electrodes that are treated with severely corrosive and harmful acid lack foldability. Herein, efficient folding-flexible OSCs with highly conductive and foldable PEDOT:PSS electrodes processed with eco-friendly cost-effective acid and polyhydroxy compound are demonstrated. The acid treatment endows PEDOT:PSS electrodes with high conductivity. Meanwhile, polyhydroxy compound doping contributes to excellent bending flexibility and foldability due to the better film adhesion between PEDOT:PSS and PET substrate. Accordingly, folding-flexible OSCs with high efficiency of 14.17% were achieved. After 1,000 bending or folding cycles, the device retained over 90% or 80% of its initial efficiency, respectively. These results represent one of the best performances for ITO-free flexible OSC reported so far and demonstrate a novel approach toward commercialized efficient and foldable green-processed OSCs. : Energy Storage; Mechanical Property; Materials Mechanics Subject Areas: Energy Storage, Mechanical Property, Materials Mechanics