Perylene Diimide-Based Zwitterion as the Cathode Interlayer for High-Performance Nonfullerene Polymer Solar Cells

  • Changjian Song
  • , Xiaohui Liu
  • , Xiaodong Li
  • , Ying Chiao Wang
  • , Li Wan
  • , Xiaohua Sun
  • , Wenjun Zhang
  • , Junfeng Fang*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nonfullerene polymer solar cells (PSCs) have earned widespread and intense interest on account of their properties such as tunable energy levels, potential for low-cost production processes, reduced energy losses, and strong light absorption coefficients. Here, a water-/alcohol-soluble zwitterion perylene diimide zwitterion (PDI-z) consisted of sulfobetaine ion as a terminal substituent and PDI as a conjugated core was synthesized. PDI-z was employed as an electron-transport layer (ETL) for nonfullerene PSC devices, obtaining an optimal power conversion efficiency (PCE) above 11.23%. Moreover, nonfullerene PSCs with the PDI-z cathode interlayer displayed an excellent performance on a large scale of interlayer thickness, which was compatible with printing fabrication techniques. Additionally, the PDI-z interlayer presented good ability of modifying high work function metals (for instance, Au, Cu, and Ag) in nonfullerene devices, and the Ag device displayed a PCE of 9.38%. This work provides a good alternative ETL for high-efficiency nonfullerene PSCs.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)14986-14992
Number of pages7
JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume10
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - 2 May 2018
Externally publishedYes

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