Role of ZnO Nanoparticles in the Electron Transport Layer of Fullerene and Non‐Fullerene Organic Solar Cells
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT In this study, the properties of the electron transport layer (ETL) were improved by doping with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) in a PFN solution. The organic solar cells (OSCs) were entirely fabricated and tested under regular atmospheric conditions by using active materials composed of fluorene ( F ) and diketopyrrolopyrrole ( DPP ) monomers called PFDPP‐2 copolymer, combined with poly(3‐hexylthiophene) ( P3HT ), and synthesized with 0.075% catalyst and PC 71 BM in a fullerene ternary system. P3HT and PFDPP‐2 polymers were synthesized by direct arylation polymerization. Additionally, a non‐fullerene binary system based on (PBDB‐T‐2F [ PM6 ]:BTP‐4Cl [ Y7 ]) was also analyzed. The solar devices based on this binary system, with ZnO NPs‐doped in the ETL layer, adopted the structure glass/ITO/PEDOT:PSS/ PM6 : Y7 /PFN:ZnO NPs/FM. Field's metal (FM) is a eutectic alloy used as a top electrode, deposited vacuum‐free. In contrast, the ternary system was configured with glass/ITO/PEDOT:PSS/ P3HT : PFDPP‐2 :PC 71 BM/PFN:ZnO NPs/FM. In the ternary system, a 39.9% improvement in current density (J sc ) was observed upon doping with ZnO NPs, achieving a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.02%, 5.5% more with respect to the ternary reference and 24.8% considering only P3HT in the active layer. A similar behavior was observed in binary solar cells, resulting in a 51.8% increase in J sc compared to the reference cell without ZnO NPs. For the non‐fullerene OSCs, the maximum PCE of 11.84% was achieved, representing a 2.7% improvement compared to the reference binary system without ZnO NPs. Regarding stability, both systems (binary and ternary) maintained their transmission bands partially during the first 200 h of operation, indicating a significant improvement in the stability of both devices. However, in P3HT : PFDPP‐2 :PC 71 BM cells, PCE decreased by 11% after 400 h, whereas in PM6 : Y7 cells, stability improved by 5% under the same conditions.
Source: Applied Organometallic Chemistry
DOI: 10.1002/aoc.70517
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7125081394