Enhanced performance of inverted organic solar cell by a solution-based fluorinated acceptor doped P3HT:PCBM layer

An inverted organic solar cell based on strong electron acceptor 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8, 8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4-TCNQ) doped poly (3-hexylthiophene) P3HT: [ 6,6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) was fabricated to figure out the p-type doping effect on the device performance. It was found that the doping concentration played a critical role on the electrical output of the devices. An enhanced power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.22% was achieved, in comparison of PCE of 3.68% for the device based on pristine P3HT: PCBM. The topography morphology of the active film, the hole mobility, the ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrum, the photoluminescence (PL) lifetime and the Fermi energy level of P3HT film with and without F4-TCNQ doping were characterized to investigate the doping effect. The measured results indicated that the hole mobility and absorption of P3HT film was slightly modified with F4-TCNQ doping. On the contrary, the active film morphology, the PL lifetime and the Fermi energy level of P3HT changed dramatically with doping. It was found that F4-TCNQ preferred to approach to the air/liquid interface during the solvent dry process, leading to F4-TCNQ-rich upper layer due to its low surface energy. The layer with proper thickness between anode and active layer dramatically improve the interface contact, resulting in the enhanced device performance. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.